UK's most popular baby names of 2023 revealed for boys and girls - as familiar favourite returns to top spot

12 December 2023, 10:04

The most popular baby names have been released
The most popular baby names have been released. Picture: Alamy

By Kit Heren

The most popular boys and girls names in the UK have been released for 2023, with a favourite of previous years returning to the top spot after falling away in 2022.

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Olivia is the most popular name for baby girls this year, coming back to the top of Baby Centre's list and toppling Sophia, which had claimed pole position in 2022.

Olivia had previously been the most popular baby girls' name in every year since 2015.

Sophia has fallen behind again in part because of spelling rules: list compiler BabyCentre used to consider spelling variants as one name, but Sophia and Sofia are no longer counted together. Sophia is now seventh on the girls' name list.

Faye Mingo, spokeswoman for BabyCentre, said of the change: "Parents spend a lot of time thinking not only about their baby's name but how it's spelt.

Olivia is the most popular name for baby girls again
Olivia is the most popular name for baby girls again. Picture: Alamy

"They may be small, but these differences are important to parents so we will now be including all individual baby name spellings in our charts."

The list is based on names submitted to the site by parents.

Muhammad is the top boys' name again for 2023, and variants Mohammed and Mohammad also feature in the top 100.

Amelia, Isla, Lily, Ava, Freya, Ivy, Grace and Willow make up the rest of the top ten for girls.

Muhammad is the most popular boys name
Muhammad is the most popular boys name. Picture: Alamy

For boys, Noah, Theo, Leo, Oliver, Arthur, George, Luca, Freddie and Jack round out the top of the list.

BabyCentre said that Taylor Swift, the royal rows, and major films could all have had an impact on names' popularity.

'Witchcore', a TikTok trend, was also thought to have an influence on parents' decision-making, with Sage and Lyra both shooting up in popularity.

Taylor Swift may have been an inspiration for parents
Taylor Swift may have been an inspiration for parents. Picture: Getty

Top 100 girls' names for 2023

Olivia

Amelia

Isla

Lily

Ava

Freya

Ivy

Sophia

Grace

Willow

Mia

Isabella

Daisy

Elsie

Evie

Florence

Ella

Emily

Evelyn

Luna

Poppy

Sofia

Sienna

Phoebe

Aria

Charlotte

Maya

Aurora

Millie

Rosie

Layla

Harper

Maisie

Maryam

Mila

Sophie

Eliana

Hallie

Ayla

Lottie

Matilda

Jasmine

Bonnie

Fatima

Zoe

Chloe

Eva

Emilia

Violet

Zara

Mabel

Ruby

Isabelle

Ada

Arabella

Maeve

Alice

Ellie

Robyn

Erin

Maria

Princess

Rose

Esme

Delilah

Penelope

Sarah

Eden

Hazel

Hannah

Nur

Eleanor

Imogen

Thea

Lyra

Scarlett

Abigail

Aisha

Bella

Olive

Orla

Amelie

Lara

Lucy

Ophelia

Anaya

Gianna

Myla

Emma

Kiara

Talia

Clara

Lilly

Nova

Summer

Zahra

Ariella

Iris

Nora

Raya

Top 100 boys' names for 2023

Muhammad

Noah

Theo

Leo

Oliver

Arthur

George

Luca

Freddie

Jack

Ethan

Charlie

Henry

Oscar

Jude

Alfie

Archie

Lucas

Liam

Arlo

Jacob

Elijah

James

Teddy

Ezra

Thomas

Tommy

Isaac

Finley

Max

Harry

Joshua

Adam

Nathan

Jayden

Albie

Theodore

Alexander

Sebastian

David

Reuben

Rory

Daniel

Dylan

Logan

Mohammed

Caleb

Roman

Mohammad

Jaxon

Aiden

Harrison

William

Hudson

Hugo

Louis

Samuel

Gabriel

Mason

Michael

Oakley

Ali

Jesse

Kai

Ryan

Louie

Joseph

Zion

Asher

Alex

Edward

Luke

Benjamin

Reggie

Rowan

Zachary

Abdullah

Austin

Hunter

Ibrahim

Ronnie

Abdul

Levi

Ollie

Grayson

Musa

Ahmed

Cody

Yusuf

Frankie

Myles

Toby

Finn

Sonny

Jason

Omar

Zayn

Hamza

Ahmad

Albert

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