Top Baby Names Revealed as Axel and Nova Soar in Popularity

The most popular baby names are Noah and Olivia – but Musa, Axel, Ottilie and Nova have hit the top 100 for the first time.

This is the second year in a row that Noah has taken the top spot for boys, having unseated Oliver from number one.

Olivia is number one for the seventh year in a row.

The new entries to the top 100 for boys included Leon, Elias, Musa and Axel. For girls they were Ophelia, Ottilie, Eloise, Nova and Fatima.

The data comes from the Office for National Statistics, which published the top boy and girls’ names for England and Wales in 2022 this week.

The new entries are an interesting mixture of vintage name, such as Eloise, and modern favourites, such as Nova and Axel.

Isabella replaced Willow in the top 10 names for girls, while Theodore, Theo and Freddie replaced Harry, Archie and Henry in the top 10 names for boys.

Muhammad was the most popular boys’ name in four out of nine English regions. Olivia was the top girls’ name for every English region and Wales, except London where Amelia was the most popular girls’ name.

Meanwhile, Charles, Harvey, Ollie and Nathan all dropped out of the top 100. 

For girls, Beatrice, Anna, Holly, Heidi and Amber all left the top 100.

Baby names of Welsh origin featured among the most popular in Wales in 2022, with Mali, Seren and Eira among the top 50 for girls and Arthur, Osian, Elis, Harri and Jac among the top 30 for boys.

James Tucker, from ONS, said:  ”Noah was the most popular name for boys in 2022, for the second year in a row, having replaced Oliver at the top in 2021. Oliver has now slipped to fourth most popular boys’ name, behind Muhammad and George.    

“Olivia remained the most popular girls’ name in 2022, having held the top spot since 2016. In second and third place for the girls it’s Amelia and Isla, both unchanged from 2021. 

“Theodore, Theo and Freddie are three new entries into the top 10 boys’ names in 2022. Isabella is the only new entry into the girls’ top 10.”   

Top 10 names for baby girls in 2022:

Olivia (3,289)
Amelia (2,884)
Isla (2,613)
Ava (2,293)
Lily (2,281)
Ivy (2,195)
Freya (2,162)
Florence (1,971)
Isabella (1,927)
Mia (1,868)

Top 10 names for baby boys in 2022:

Noah (4,586)
Muhammed (4,177)
George (3,699)
Oliver (3,691)
Leo (3,610)
Arthur (3,603)
Oscar (2,883)
Theodore (2,835)
Theo (2,808)
Freddie (2,760)

Using baby names data to find a name

The annual baby names data can be a great place to find inspiration for your baby’s name.

It not only includes the popular baby names, but also those that may have only been given to a handful of babies. It’s a great way to spot rising trends in baby names and find a name that’s a little unusual for those parents seeking a name outside of the top 10.

To do this, download the raw data, which you can find for boys and girls, then head to the full baby names list and scroll way down to beyond the top 100.

Here are the top 100 names in full for you to browse!