The birth of Prince George in 2013 has catapulted the classic name into the top 10 most popular baby names given to babies born in England over the past 12 months.
While his father and uncle’s monikers, William and Harry, have been mainstays in the baby name game for decades, George and Oscar replaced Alfie and Riley to join the ranks of popularity.
Oliver took poll position, with Jack coming first runner up, followed by Harry, Jacob, Charlie, Thomas, Oscar, William, James and George creeping into 10th place.
Compared to Australia there is some overlap – and classical names seem to reign supreme with Oliver coming in first place and Jack polling second, followed by Jackson, William, Ethan, Charlie, Lucas, Cooper, Lachlan and Noah to round out the top 10.
According to the UK’s Office for National Statistics (ONS), the latest baby names are also an indication of the increasing popularity of Muslim names with results indicating that if the three most popular spellings of the name Mohammed were combined they would easily surpass Oliver for the nation’s top first name.
In a press release, the ONS explains that there are multiple factors to consider in what might get a baby name to trend.
“The popularity of names can be influenced by names of famous figures or current celebrities and what they name their own babies.”
“However, it can also be influenced by other factors such as the religious, cultural or ethnic identities of parents or the names of family, friends or fictional characters.”
The popularity of Game of Thrones has also seen a surge of character names such as Theon and Tyrion and last year only seven baby girls were titled Britney in England and Wales – a significant decrease from the names peak in 1999 following the release of the Britney Spears hit, Baby one More Time.
With regard to the girls, in the UK Amelia, Olivia and Emily rounded out the top three and where in Australia Charlotte, Ava and Chloe proved most popular.
