Celeb gossip caused drama for the UK’s most popular baby names so far this year as Phillip, Holly, Meghan and Harry tumbled down BabyCentre’s half-year name charts. The leading pregnancy and parenting resource today unveils the top 100 baby boys’ and girls’ names of 2023 so far – and the biggest trends influencing parents.
Parents may have been turned off names involved in recent celebrity drama but BabyCentre data revealed they tuned into Eurovision, TV and film and quaint cottagecore for naming inspiration. This Morning presenters Holly Willoughby and Phillip Schofield have been embroiled in controversy over the past few months – from queuegate to the exposure of Phillip’s covert relationship with a younger colleague.
Although ranking highly in the charts in previous years, Holly plummeted in registrations, waving goodbye to its all too familiar place in the top 100. Phillip also dropped in popularity outside of the top 100, along with Phil, which only had one registration this year so far. Prince Harry and Meghan Markle have also made their mark in the media, following the release of their controversial documentary and Harry’s memoir Spare.
Harry toppled 10 places from number 13 to number 23 while Meghan and alternate spelling Megan have also dropped in registrations. Sarah Redshaw, managing editor for BabyCentre, said: “Whether you keep up with celebrity drama or not, it’s been hard to avoid some of the latest outbreaks in the media. I’ve no doubt that negative press around some celeb names played a part in their fall from favour with parents this year.
“It just remains to be seen how quickly reputations turn around, or how short memories are, and whether Phillip, Holly, Meghan and Harry can regain their popularity.”
While parents were turned off by real-life gossip, on-screen drama sent other names up the charts. As fans of HBO series Succession waved goodbye to the final season, family patriarch Logan leapt six places to 48, while wayward son Roman flew nine places to 47. Frankie (right-hand man Frank) was a new top 100 entry, Hugo (Waystar Royco’s slippery spindoctor) soared 47 places to 43, while Kendal (number one boy Kendall) saw its first registrations in BabyCentre’s data.
Following the release of Queen Charlotte: A Bridgerton Story, Charlotte soared to number 25 in the top 100, Violet went up 19 places to 47 and Penelope, up 14 places to number 60. Theo held on firmly to third place. Names inspired by the release of Disney’s The Little Mermaid also made a splash in the half-year charts. New entry Ariella dove straight into the top 100 at 86 while Ariel remained as popular as ever outside the top reaches. Sebastian floated parents’ boats, swimming up 24 places to number 38 and the name of Ariel’s sister, Indira, was also a new registration.
Netflix’s 2022 adaption of the childhood classic Matilda saw the heroine’s name soar 23 places to number 32. Tommy sky-rocketed to number 27, while Lavender was a new registration. Agatha (Trunchbull, Matilda’s cruel nemesis) on the other hand fell in popularity.
Sarah said: “Film and TV have always been strong influences for parents, and this year is no exception. Names in top movies and shows will always score in our charts, as long as the drama stays on the screen.”
The UK’s spectacular hosting of Eurovision 2023 hit the right note for parents. The event drew 162 million viewers worldwide, and reached the largest ever UK TV audience. Fan favourite and 2022 runner-up Sam Ryder continued to be a hit as the name soared into the top 100 as a new entry, while the UK’s 2023 entrant Maeve (Mae Muller) leapt up 5 places to 62. Mae stayed a steady favourite for parents outside the top 100.
Parents moved away from the Victorian vintage vibe for more recent retro inspo as classic Gen X names John and Sarah both crashed into the top 100 as new entries. Sarah was the second highest new entry for the girls at 58 while John landed at 92. The boys’ name was joined in the retro ranks by high risers David, up 23 places to 36, and James up 25 places to 35. The trend could also be another reason for Sebastian’s splash into the top 40.
For Gen X girls, Niamh joined Sarah as a new entry, landing at 81 while Layla soared 34 places to number 12, Penelope climbed 14 places to 60 and Maria went up six places to number 65.
Cottagecore – the social media aesthetic depicting a homely, romanticised life in nature – could be behind a blossoming of flower names. Lily topped the chart while Jasmine, climbed 28 to number 67. Dahlia also shows budding signs of success, nearly doubling in registrations.
Sarah said: “As more and more people work in the comfort of their homes and gardens post-pandemic, and away from the bright lights of city office blocks, nature-themed names have blossomed. New parents have also been branching out to tree-inspired names Willow, rooting itself at 14th place, and Hazel, which was a new entry to the top 100 at 72.”
The release of the BabyCentre top 100 most popular names at the end of each year is a much-anticipated fixture for parents keen to know the nation’s favourite baby boy names and baby girl names.
But because parents love finding out whether their chosen name will make it into the charts, the mid-year results offer a sneaky peek at naming trends.
For the boys, Muhammed stayed at the top. Non-movers Noah, Theo, Leo and Oliver also refused to budge, hanging on tightly to the remainder of the top five positions. Arthur, on the other hand, leapt up five places to number 6 knocking Jack down a place.
George and Luca fell two places, landing at numbers 9 and 10 while Freddie climbed two places to number 8.
In the girls’ chart, Lily jumped a place to claim pole position, knocking previous chart-topper Sophia off. Names ending in A didn’t fall out of popularity though, as Amelia, Freya and Aria all rose 2 places to take numbers 4 to 6.
Elsewhere in the charts Ivy tumbled out of the top 10, tumbling six places to number 16. This made way for a hot new entry to the top 10, Mila, which soared an impressive 31 places, landing in at 10th place.
Top 100 names in full:
Boys' names
1. Muhammad +0
2. Noah +0
3. Theo +0
4. Leo +0
5. Oliver +0
6. Arthur +5
7. Jack -1
8. Freddie +2
9. George -2
10. Luca -2
11. Henry +4
12. Ethan -3
13. Oscar +1
14. Jude +28
15. Alfie +7
16. Archie +1
17. Jacob +9
18. Liam +7
19. Charlie -3
20. Thomas -1
21. Jayden +18
22. Teddy -4
23. Harry -10
24. Aiden -3
25. James +15
26. Lucas +1
27. Tommy +16
28. Ezra +19
29. Jaxon +2
30. Louis -7
31. Elijah +3
32. Daniel -4
33. Finley -9
34. Isaac -1
35. Max -3
36. Ryan -24
37. Theodore -1
38. Sebastian +24
39. Yusuf +12
40. Nathan +9
41. Albie +5
42. Alexander +6
43. Hugo +47
44. Ahmed new
45. Arlo -7
46. David +23
47. Roman +9
48. Logan +6
49. William -8
50. Caleb -21
51. Dylan -1
52. Hudson +22
53. Rory +0
54. Harrison +11
55. Mason -11
56. Reuben -19
57. Adam -37
58. Gabriel +17
59. Zain -24
60. Joshua -30
61. Kai -9
62. Mateo new
63. Abdul +22
64. Alex +2
65. Grayson +5
66. Luke +20
67. Joseph +21
68. Michael -10
69. Myles -9
70. Zion +27
71. Ali -26
72. Samuel -15
73. Toby -18
74. Benjamin -2
75. Jason -7
76. Axel new
77. Hunter -4
78. Musa new
79. Oakley +5
80. Reggie +11
81. Sam new
82. Austin new
83. Cody new
84. Edward +8
85. Asher -6
86. Hamza new
87. Jesse -20
88. Rowan -11
89. Frankie new
90. Harvey new
91. Felix new
92. John new
93. Levi -22
94. Abdullah +5
95. Ayaan -34
96. Eddie new
97. Eli -14
98. Elias new
99. Jake new
100. Junior new
Girls' names
1. Lily +1
2. Sophia -1
3. Olivia +0
4. Amelia +2
5. Freya +2
6. Aria +2
7. Ava -2
8. Isabella +4
9. Isla -5
10. Mila +31
11. Grace +3
12. Layla +34
13. Maryam +23
14. Willow +9
15. Elsie +7
16. Ivy -6
17. Ella +1
18. Evelyn +16
19. Evie -4
20. Mia -7
21. Maya -12
22. Daisy -2
23. Emily -12
24. Sienna +5
25. Charlotte +8
26. Florence +6
27. Isabelle +0
28. Luna -4
29. Poppy -4
30. Aurora +22
31. Fatima +6
32. Matilda +23
33. Millie -16
34. Phoebe +5
35. Eliana +10
36. Zara -20
37. Zoe -11
38. Eva +12
39. Ayla +1
40. Darcie +22
41. Harper -3
42. Rosie -21
43. Ayzal new
44. Hannah -25
45. Maisie -3
46. Scarlett +46
47. Violet +19
48. Emilia -13
49. Nur -18
50. Sophie -22
51. Chloe -8
52. Esme +38
53. Aisha +32
54. Alice -3
55. Bonnie +25
56. Hallie -12
57. Lottie +6
58. Sarah new
59. Imogen +16
60. Penelope +14
61. Ellie +12
62. Maeve +5
63. Ruby -9
64. Lyra new
65. Maria +6
66. Delilah new
67. Jasmine +28
68. Nora -9
69. Talia +8
70. Eleanor -6
71. Erin -22
72. Hazel new
73. Riley new
74. Robyn -9
75. Thea -17
76. Bella -19
77. Mabel +22
78. Maddison -9
79. Ada -49
80. Clara new
81. Niamh new
82. Rose -4
83. Nova +1
84. Orla +3
85. Arabella -15
86. Ariella new
87. Emma -39
88. Abigail -5
89. Olive +7
90. Ophelia new
91. Zahra new
92. Anaya -24
93. Athena new
94. Cora new
95. Lucy -19
96. Amelie new
97. Gabriella -9
98. Lara -1
99. Leah -43
100. Amber new
