Baby name trends often reveal the huge influence that present-day pop culture, social issues and generational differences will have on the next generation.
This year’s most popular baby name predictions are no different, with gender neutral names remaining just as in demand as they were last year in both boys’ and girls’ names.
According to parenting website BabyCenter, the most popular baby names of 2021 for girls was Olivia and Liam for boys, but these have now been replaced by Emma and Noah.
Last year, official data from the Office for National Statistics (ONS) revealed the name Olivia was top in 2020 for a fifth consecutive year for girls. But BabyCenter saw the name get knocked down to third place so far in 2022, with Amelia taking the second spot.
The name Ava comes in fourth place after Olivia, followed by Mia, Luna, Sophia, Ella, Charlotte, and Isabella rounding off the top 10 most popular baby names for girls so far in 2022.
As for boys’ names, Liam is second in popularity after Noah, which is a unisex name. The name Elijah takes the third spot, followed by Oliver, Mateo, James, Lucas, Levi, Grayson and Daniel.
While more traditional names remain high in the rankings, there have been some more unique additions to the lists.
For example, the name Nova appears in 16th place on the girl names list. The futuristic name comes from the Latin word “novus”, which means “new”, and also refers to a star that shows a sudden large increase in brightness before slowly returning to its original state.
On the boys’ list, the gender neutral name Maverick made its way to 18th position, meaning “non-conformist”.
BabyCenter’s name rankings are updated in real time, so are subject to change from day to day. The platform claims to be the world’s top parenting resource and uses data from its mobile app, Baby Names by BabyCenter, to pinpoint name trends used by millions of parents in the US.
Official ONS data published last year, which is based on registered births in the UK, showed that royal baby names proved popular in 2020, with the name George – chosen by the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge for their first son – climbing to second place for boys.
Meanwhile, 2020 saw the name Archie – chosen by the Duke and Duchess of Sussex for their son – entering the top 10 list for the first time since records began.
The names Maeve and Otis also climbed both the boys and girls’ lists, largely thanks to the Netflix hit series, Sex Education, which features main characters of the same names.
Sian Bradford, of the ONS, said the surge in popularity in the names Maeve and Otis showed how “popular culture continues to provide inspiration for baby names, whether it’s characters in our favourite show or trending celebrities”.
