Revealed: the South East’s most popular baby names
Royal names feature strongly in the rankings
Last updated 19th Oct 2021
Arthur and Olivia were the most popular names for boys and girls in South East England last year.
New data from the Office for National Statistics (ONS) shows more than 90,000 babies were born in the region in 2020.
Arthur topped the South East’s boys’ list with 787 babies, followed by George (740), Oliver (677), Noah (626), and Oscar (607).
The rest of the top 10 were Henry, Leo, Jack, Archie, and Theodore.
Among the 44,000 girls born in the South East, Olivia was by far the most popular name, with 669 babies.
Amelia (520), Isla (473), Ava (440), and Mia (408) also featured in the top five. Florence, Ivy, Lily, Rosie, and Poppy rounded out the top 10.
Oliver and Olivia top the national list
Nationally, Oliver was the most popular name for boys in England and Wales for the eighth year in a row, followed by George and Arthur.
Mirroring the South East, Olivia topped the national girls’ list for the fifth consecutive year, with Amelia, Isla, Ava, and Mia making up the top five nationally too.
But the ONS notes the surging popularity of Archie, the name of the Duke and Duchess of Sussex’s son.
Archie moved from 19th to 9th in just one year, moving Charlie out of the top 10 – the first time it’s not been in the top 10 since 2005.
Sian Bradford from the ONS said: "Archie jumped into the top 10 boys' names for the first time, driven by younger mothers as well as the obvious royal link, while on the girls' side, Ivy rose to sixth place.
"Popular culture continues to provide inspiration for baby names, whether it's characters in our favourite show or trending celebrities.
"Maeve and Otis, characters from the popular programme Sex Education, have seen a surge in popularity in 2020, while the name Margot has been rapidly climbing since actress Margot Robbie appeared in the popular film The Wolf Of Wall Street."
Meanwhile, analysis by name label manufacturer My Nametags shows the South East is the ‘name capital’ for two other top royal names: William and Charlotte.
William and Charlotte – the first names of the Duke of Cambridge and his daughter - were more popular in the South East than in any other region.