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Wales Online
Wales Online
National
Courtney Pochin & Neil Shaw

100 most popular baby names of 2022 listed and Olivia is not top of the chart

Reality TV stars and 90s throwbacks have been inspiring parents this year as BabyCentre has released its list of the most popular names for babies registered on its site in 2022. This year the biggest changes can be seen in the top names for girls, with Olivia being knocked off the number one spot from 2021 and replaced by Sophia.

Olivia has dropped down to third place and has been overtaken by Lily. The ninth and 10th spots also welcomed new names for 2022, with Maya jumping up 10 places to number nine and Ivy also moved up two spots to enter the top 10, reports The Mirror.

According to BabyCentre's research, the sudden popularity of the name Maya could be due to presenter Maya Jama being named as the new Love Island host for 2023. Love Islanders seemed to have an impact on names on the list.

Luca, the name of the 2022 runner-up, leapt 21 places into the top 10 boys' names and was followed closely by 2021’s Toby, which rose 20 places. Fellow runner-up Chloe also went up a place. Other Love Island names on the charts included Millie, Liam, Teddy, Alex, Zara and Theo.

Names such as Maura and Ovie saw a number of registrations for the very first time this year.

BabyCentre also noted that parents seemed to be returning to the 90s when naming their little ones over the last 11 months, with mums and dads opting to name their little ones after some of the decade's biggest icons, like Gabrielle and Aaliyah.

The names of Friends stars like Matthew (Perry/LeBlanc), Lisa (Kudrow) and David (Schwimmer) also had an uptick in registrations, in addition to other popular 90s names including Thomas, Jack, Daniel, Liam, Charlotte, Emily and Jason.

The research also found that the names of the England Women's football squad were winning over parents after becoming UEFA Champions, with Leah (Williamson), Gabby (Logan) and Alexandra (Alex Scott) surging in popularity.

Sarah Redshaw, UK Managing Editor for BabyCentre, said: "Love Islander names are definitely parents’ type on paper. And BabyCentre parents haven’t been putting all their eggs in the 2022 Love Island basket either. It’s possible that the islanders’ continued fame on social media and more reality TV is causing this surge. We now want to keep a watch on the names of 2022 winners Ekin-Su and Davide to see if they become more popular as they go on to bigger things."

Speaking of the 90s revival, she added: "We wonder if parents are just excited to be dusting off their bucket hats or if 90s babies are now starting to have their own and giving into nostalgia when it comes to naming their little ones!"

Earlier this year the ONS revealed which had been the biggest names of 2021.

Top 100 names for boys and girls for 2022

Top 100 baby girls' names of 2022

1. Sophia

2. Lily

3. Olivia

4. Isla

5. Ava

6. Amelia

7. Freya

8. Aria

9. Maya

10. Ivy

11. Emily

12. Isabella

13. Mia

14. Grace

15. Evie

16. Zara

17. Millie

18. Ella

19. Hannah

20. Daisy

21. Rosie

22. Elsie

23. Willow

24. Luna

25. Poppy

26. Zoe

27. Isabelle

28. Sophie

29. Sienna

30. Ada

31. Nur

32. Florence

33. Charlotte

34. Evelyn

35. Emilia

36. Maryam

37. Fatima

38. Harper

39. Phoebe

40. Ayla

41. Mila

42. Maisie

43. Chloe

44. Hallie

45. Eliana

46. Layla

47. Lyla

48. Emma

49. Erin

50. Eva

51. Alice

52. Aurora

53. Aaliyah

54. Ruby

55. Matilda

56. Leah

57. Bella

58. Thea

59. Nora

60. Molly

61. Anna

62. Darcie

63. Lottie

64. Eleanor

65. Robyn

66. Violet

67. Maeve

68. Anaya

69. Maddison

70. Arabella

71. Maria

72. Holly

73. Ellie

74. Penelope

75. Imogen

76. Lucy

77. Talia

78. Rose

79. Mirha

80. Bonnie

81. Eliza

82. Iris

83. Abigail

84. Nova

85. Aisha

86. Nancy

87. Orla

88. Gabriella

89. Gracie

90. Esme

91. Jessica

92. Scarlett

93. Amira

94. Elizabeth

95. Jasmine

96. Olive

97. Lara

98. Lola

99. Mabel

100. Harriet

Top 100 Baby Boys' names of 2022

1. Muhammad

2. Noah

3. Theo

4. Leo

5. Oliver

6. Jack

7. George

8. Luca

9. Ethan

10. Freddie

11. Arthur

12. Ryan

13. Harry

14. Oscar

15. Henry

16. Charlie

17. Archie

18. Teddy

19. Thomas

20. Adam

21. Aiden

22. Alfie

23. Louie

24. Finley

25. Liam

26. Jacob

27. Lucas

28. Daniel

29. Caleb

30. Joshua

31. Jaxon

32. Max

33. Isaac

34. Elijah

35. Zayn

36. Theodore

37. Reuben

38. Arlo

39. Jayden

40. James

41. William

42. Jude

43. Tommy

44. Mason

45. Ali

46. Albie

47. Ezra

48. Alexander

49. Nathan

50. Dylan

51. Yusuf

52. Kai

53. Rory

54. Logan

55. Toby

56. Roman

57. Samuel

58. Michael

59. Elliot

60. Myles

61. Ayaan

62. Sebastian

63. Finn

64. Kian

65. Harrison

66. Alex

67. Jesse

68. Jason

69. David

70. Grayson

71. Levi

72. Benjamin

73. Hunter

74. Hudson

75. Gabriel

76. Ollie

77. Rowan

78. Zachary

79. Asher

80. Ibrahim

81. Riley

82. Brodie

83. Eli

84. Oakley

85. Abdul

86. Luke

87. Matthew

88. Joseph

89. Milo

90. Hugo

91. Reggie

92. Edward

93. Ronnie

94. Aaron

95. Jasper

96. Omar

97. Zion

98. Bobby

99. Abdullah

100. Syed

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