Would YOU call your baby after your favourite Netflix character? TV-inspired names such as Love and Otis soar in popularity in 2021 – but Olivia is back on top and Mohammed is still the most popular for boys in the UK
- Muhammad and Olivia were the most popular name of 2021, BabyCentre said
- The UK parenting website surveyed the top 100 names registered by their users
- Marvel and DC heroes names and baby names inspired by locations topped list
- But names like Piers, Elliott, Dwayne and Maud have fallen out of favour this year
Whether it’s the endless hours spent watching Netflix when there was nowhere to go, or joy of emerging from lockdown and being able to travel again, the pandemic has certainly had an impact on thei year’s most popular baby names.
British parenting website BabyCentre has revealed the top 100 boys and girls names registered by its users in 2021, with Muhammad and Olivia taking the top spots in each category.
Olivia was briefly knocked off the top spot last year by Sophia, but is back at number one for girls. Meanwhile, Muhammad usually comes out on top when all the different spelling variations are combined.
The website noted that following a period of uncertainty due to the coronavirus, hopeful parents opted for names synonymous with new beginnings, such as Aurora, throughout the year.
In a year where people made the most of their streaming platforms’ releases at home, names made popular by Disney+ shows like Luca and Netflix series like Bridgerton’s Penelope and Sex Education’s Maeve also climbed up to the top 100.
And following Euro 2020 and the Tokyo Olympics, sports enthusiasts have also named their kin after this year’s athletes of the moment, including Jack – inspired by Jack Grealish – Jason – inspired by Olympian Jason Kenny – and Luke – after Luke Shaw – all making it into the top 100.
However, the website noted the name Piers fell out of favour this year, alongside names like Maud, Elliott and Dwayne.
British parenting website BabyCentre has revealed the top 100 names for boys and girls that were the most popular with parents in 2021, stock image
The top five for boys included Muhammad, a name of Arabic origin, as well as Noah, Oliver, George and Leo.
Meanwhile, names ending in ‘a’ were a popular choice for girls, with Olivia and Sophia take the two top spots, followed by Lily, Amelia and Ava.
BabyCentre also noted that as the coronavirus pandemic is still progressing, some names’ popularity is particularly telling.
For instance, Sarah Gilbert, who developed the Oxford vaccine to fight the pandemic was a popular choice this year, with the name going up five places compared to 2020, to number 42.
Optimistic parents also went for names such as ‘Aurora and Eden,’ symbolising new beginnings, for girls.
Top 100 baby girls’ names of 2021
1. Olivia
2. Sophia
3. Lily
4. Amelia
5. Ava
6. Mia
7. Isla
8. Freya
9. Ella
10. Rosie
11. Aria
12. Ivy
13. Emily
14. Grace
15. Isabella
16. Poppy
17. Mila
18. Evie
19. Maya
20. Willow
21. Hannah
22. Sophie
23. Luna
24. Zara
25. Florence
26. Layla
27. Daisy
28. Elsie
29. Evelyn
30. Phoebe
31. Millie
32. Nur
33. Sienna
34. Charlotte
35. Emilia
36. Zoe
37. Ada
38. Alice
39. Fatima
40. Eva
41. Ruby
42. Sarah
43. Hallie
44. Chloe
45. Maisie
46. Isabelle
47. Ayla
48. Emma
49. Maryam
50. Scarlett
51. Matilda
52. Ellie
53. Lyla
54. Harper
55. Molly
56. Jessica
57. Eliza
58. Thea
59 Arabella
60. Eliana
61. Leah
62. Violet
63. Maria
64. Erin
65. Lucy
66. Lottie
67. Holly
68. Aurora
69. Robyn
70. Imogen
71. Penelope
72. Anna
73. Bonnie
74. Iris
75. Jasmine
76. Maeve
77. Eleanor
78. Kiara
79. Gracie
80. Esme
81. Abigail
82. Rose
83. Bella
84. Delilah
85. Nancy
86. Elizabeth
87. Amelie
88. Orla
89. Amber
90. Georgia
91. Gianna
92. Eden
93. Lola
94. Lara
95. Hazel
96. Clara
97. Summer
98. Mirha
99. Elodie
100. Olive
Top 100 baby boys’ names of 2021
1. Muhammad
2. Noah
3. Oliver
4. George
5. Leo
6. Theo
7. Freddie
8. Harry
9. Jack
10. Arthur
11. Charlie
12. Ryan
13. Ethan
14. Henry
15. Archie
16. Finley
17. Lucas
18. Oscar
19. Jacob
20. Thomas
21. Isaac
22. Adam
23. Alfie
24. Elijah
25. Jaxon
26. Aiden
27. Louie
28. Joshua
29. Luca
30. Tommy
31. James
32. Max
33. Daniel
34. Reuben
35. Liam
36. Teddy
37. Arlo
38. Alexander
39. Logan
40. Jayden
41. William
42. Michael
43. Theodore
44. Mason
45. Yusuf
46. Rory
47. Ezra
48. Albie
49. Dylan
50. Caleb
51. Nathan
52. Roman
53. Jude
54. Ollie
55. Benjamin
56. Myles
57. Ayaan
58. Finn
59. Zachary
60. Zayn
61. Joseph
62. Samuel
63. Hugo
64. Ali
65. Sebastian
66. Reggie
67. Hunter
68. Kai
69. Harrison
70. Rowan
71. David
72. Edward
73. Alex
74. Ronnie
75. Toby
76. Riley
77. Jesse
78. Luke
79. Omar
80. Ibrahim
81. Frankie
82. Blake
83. Gabriel
84. Jason
85. Grayson
86. Levi
87. Jasper
88. Eli
89. Milo
90. Abdul
91. Matthew
92. Asher
93. John
94. Hudson
95. Carter
96. Nathaniel
97. Jake
98. Leon
99. Bobby
100. Stanley
Sarah Redshaw, UK Managing Editor for BabyCentre, said: ‘Parents don’t just reflect popular trends with their baby name picks, what they don’t choose can be just as revealing.
‘We predict there will be a rise in superhero names as Marvel and DC films continue to dominate and inspire many more parents to call their baby Thor, Thanos or Sylvie,’ she added.
‘But despite all this inspiration it can take a long time for parents to decide on a name.
‘Our poll showed that 8 per cent of parents were still undecided about what to call their baby more than a week after they were born. And however long it takes to decide, many parents – nearly 13 per cent – end up regretting their name choice.’
Top baby naming trends of 2021: New parents take inspiration from Netflix hits and sporting heroes, but old fashioned monikers like Bertha and Roger fall out of favour
POPULAR CULTURE
Without contest, 2021 was the year where pop culture was one of the biggest trend among baby names, with monikers inspired by Netflix shows breaking into the top 100.
Maeve, Otis and Eric, made popular by the character from Netflix’s raunchy series Sex Education, entered the top 100, while YOU-inspired names Love and Henry moved up the charts.
Penelope rose to number 71, perhaps influended by Miss Featherington in Bridgerton, names inspired by Made in Chelsea also rose in popularity, with Myles reaching number 56, Harry making it into the top ten, Millie in 31st position and Ollie climbing 13 places.
SPORTING HEROES
After a summer filled with sporting competitions including the UEFA European Championship which kicked off in June and the Olympics and Paralympics in July and August, sports enthusiasts took inspiration from their heroes as well.
Harry Kane and Harry McGuire’s exploits during the Euros saw the name making it into the top ten, while Jack was also a popular option following Jack Grealish’s rise in popularity this year.
Team GB had their second best Olympics ever in the Tokyo games this year, winning 65 medals.
Jason Kenny, first Briton to win seven Olympic gold medals with a spectacular defence of his men’s keirin title, saw the name Jason reach number 84 in the boys’ top 100 names list.
TRAVEL
With international travel being a big topic of conversation this year, with restrictions being updated to reflect the stat of the pandemic, some parents opted for wanderlust names, picking patronyms like Ocean and Destiny making the girls’ top 100.
GENDER NEUTRAL
Meanwhile, gender neutral names were also a popular trend of 2021, with Willow reaching number 20 in the girls’ top 100 list and climbing outside of the top 100 for boys as well.
Noah was a big favourite for boys, making it to second place, and it climbed in popularity with girls too, as well as Blake.
DEATH OF OLD-FASHIONED NAMES
However, some names fell out of favour this year, with no new registrations recorded by BabyCentre.
This was the case for Piers, as well as Elliott, Clive, Maurice, Roger, Clifford, Dwayne, Vernon and Daryl.
Girls name that were not registered this year included Maud, Tina, Pauline, Doreen, Doris, Edna, Glynis, Bertha, Kerry and Gertrude.
Source: Read Full Article
