Did you name your baby Harry and Amelia? If you did then you used the most popular first names given to babies born in England and Wales in 2011, replacing Oliver and Olivia in 2010
With Jacob replacing George in the top 10 most popular names for baby boys climbing five places from number 12 to number 7 and Ava and Isabella replacing Evie and Chloe in the top 10 most popular names for baby girls, both climbing two places from numbers 11 and 12 to numbers 9 and 10 respectively
In Wales, Oliver was the most popular name for baby boys for the second year running, while Lily replaced Ruby as the most popular name for baby girls
Top 10 baby names in England and Wales, 2011
| Boys | Girls | ||
| Rank | Name | Name | |
| 1 | HARRY | AMELIA | |
| 2 | OLIVER | OLIVIA | |
| 3 | JACK | LILY | |
| 4 | ALFIE | JESSICA | |
| 5 | CHARLIE | EMILY | |
| 6 | THOMAS | SOPHIE | |
| 7 | JACOB | RUBY | |
| 8 | JAMES | GRACE | |
| 9 | JOSHUA | AVA | |
| 10 | WILLIAM | ISABELLA |
Within the 100 most popular boys’ names given to babies born in England and Wales in 2011, there were only five new entries:
- Tommy
- Blake
- Frankie
- Elijah
- Jackson
These replaced Aidan, Bradley, Sam, Brandon and Kieran which fell out of the top 100.
The six new entries in the top 100 most popular girls’ names were:
- Bella
- Willow
- Elsie
- Kayla
- Francesca
- Lydia
These replaced Maisy, Tilly, Aimee, Libby, Alexandra and Laila which fell out of the top 100.
There are a number of possible reasons why the popularity of baby names can change over time. The popularity of names can be influenced by names of famous figures or current celebrities and what they name their own babies. However, it is an individual choice which can be influenced by a number of other factors such as the religious, cultural and/or ethnic identities of the parents or the names of family, friends or fictional characters. As such, there is a great diversity of baby names. In 2011, there were 723,913 live births in England and Wales (ONS, 2012), with over 28,000 different boys’ names and just over 35,000 different girls’ names registered. The top ten names only account for 14 per cent of all names in 2011.
Top 10 baby names, by country, 2011
| Boys | Girls | |||||
| Rank | England | Wales | Rank | England | Wales | |
| 1 | HARRY | OLIVER | 1 | AMELIA | LILY | |
| 2 | OLIVER | JACK | 2 | OLIVIA | AMELIA | |
| 3 | JACK | JACOB | 3 | LILY | AVA | |
| 4 | CHARLIE | RILEY | 4 | JESSICA | RUBY | |
| 5 | ALFIE | ETHAN | 5 | EMILY | OLIVIA | |
| 6 | THOMAS | ALFIE | 6 | SOPHIE | SEREN | |
| 7 | JAMES | HARRY | 7 | GRACE | EMILY | |
| 8 | JACOB | DYLAN | 8 | RUBY | ELLA | |
| 9 | JOSHUA | THOMAS | 9 | AVA | MIA | |
| 10 | WILLIAM | CHARLIE | 10 | ISABELLA | MEGAN | |
Harry was the most popular name for boys in seven of the regions in England. Jack was the most popular in the North East and Daniel the most popular in London.
Among baby girls, Lily was the most popular name in five regions, Olivia in two regions (North West and Yorkshire and The Humber), Amelia in two regions (East and West Midlands), and Isabella proving the most popular in London.
Watch the video podcast, using audio commentary and graphical animations to cover the key trends in baby names
A baby names comparison tool is also available which allows you to analyse changing trends in boys and girls names in England and Wales.
Follow ONS on Twitter and Facebook or visit www.ons.gov.uk for more information.
The baby names statistics have been derived from final annual births registration data and include all live births occurring in England and Wales in 2011.
This is the first time that 2011 annual statistics on baby names in England and Wales have been published by the Office for National Statistics (ONS).
Source: Office for National Statistics (2012) Births and Deaths in England and Wales (provisional), 2011
© Crown copyright 2012
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