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Edinburgh Live
Edinburgh Live
Courtney Pochin & Mya Bollan

100 most popular baby names of 2022 for boys and girls as Love Island and 90s prove influential

As 2022 nears its end, it is yet again time for the big unveiling of the top 100 baby names across the UK.

With lots of new arrivals up and down the country this year, BabyCentre has tallied up and revealed the most popular names given to boys and girls born throughout the months of this year. The site uses data to spot trends followed by new parents throughout the months, with experts doing some digging into where inspiration may have been coming from. And it seems lots of new mums and dads have been loving some throwback and traditional names as well as using the well-loved ITV2 show Love Island to help them make the all-important decision.

This year's biggest change comes from the girl's list, with last year's No.1 name Olivia falling from the top spot with Sophie its replacement - the name recently crowned the 'most beautiful name' of the year by scientists.

READ MORE: 40 baby names on the brink of extinction in 2023 - and 40 set to trend

The full top 10 had a bit of a reshuffle when it comes to the girl's list, with Lily also overtaking last year's most popular choice. The ninth and tenth spots are new additions to the top 10, with Maya and Ivy slotting in, reports The Mirror.

According to the research, the sudden popularity of Maya could be due to the presenter Maya Jama, who has recently been named the new host of Love Island.

Sticking with the Love Island theme, contestants from the show also seem to have been influential. The name Luca has jumped a huge 21 places to second after Luca (Bish) appearing on our screen. Toby and Chloe have also increased in popularity too, with Toby Aromolaran and Chloe Burrows runners-up in last year's Love Island.

Other Love Island names storming the charts included Millie, Liam, Teddy, Alex, Zara, and Theo. While names such as Maura (Higgins) and Ovie (Soko) saw a number of registrations for the very first time this year.

Lots of parents seemed to be throwing it back to the 90s with their name choices too, with Gabrielle and Aaliyah appearing in the list. The names of Friends stars like Matthew (Perry/LeBlanc), Lisa (Kudrow) and David (Schwimmer) also had an uptick in registrations, in addition to other popular 90s monikers including Thomas, Jack, Daniel, Liam, Charlotte, Emily and Jason.

The research also found that the names of the England Women's football squad were winning over parents after becoming UEFA Champions, with Leah (Williamson), Gabby (Logan) and Alexandra (Alex Scott) surging in popularity.

100 names for boys and girls for 2022 - full list

Top 100 baby girls' names of 2022

  1. Sophia
  2. Lily
  3. Olivia
  4. Isla
  5. Ava
  6. Amelia
  7. Freya
  8. Aria
  9. Maya
  10. Ivy
  11. Emily
  12. Isabella
  13. Mia
  14. Grace
  15. Evie
  16. Zara
  17. Millie
  18. Ella
  19. Hannah
  20. Daisy
  21. Rosie
  22. Elsie
  23. Willow
  24. Luna
  25. Poppy
  26. Zoe
  27. Isabelle
  28. Sophie
  29. Sienna
  30. Ada
  31. Nur
  32. Florence
  33. Charlotte
  34. Evelyn
  35. Emilia
  36. Maryam
  37. Fatima
  38. Harper
  39. Phoebe
  40. Ayla
  41. Mila
  42. Maisie
  43. Chloe
  44. Hallie
  45. Eliana
  46. Layla
  47. Lyla
  48. Emma
  49. Erin
  50. Eva
  51. Alice
  52. Aurora
  53. Aaliyah
  54. Ruby
  55. Matilda
  56. Leah
  57. Bella
  58. Thea
  59. Nora
  60. Molly
  61. Anna
  62. Darcie
  63. Lottie
  64. Eleanor
  65. Robyn
  66. Violet
  67. Maeve
  68. Anaya
  69. Maddison
  70. Arabella
  71. Maria
  72. Holly
  73. Ellie
  74. Penelope
  75. Imogen
  76. Lucy
  77. Talia
  78. Rose
  79. Mirha
  80. Bonnie
  81. Eliza
  82. Iris
  83. Abigail
  84. Nova
  85. Aisha
  86. Nancy
  87. Orla
  88. Gabriella
  89. Gracie
  90. Esme
  91. Jessica
  92. Scarlett
  93. Amira
  94. Elizabeth
  95. Jasmine
  96. Olive
  97. Lara
  98. Lola
  99. Mabel
  100. Harriet

Top 100 Baby Boys' names of 2022

  1. Muhammad
  2. Noah
  3. Theo
  4. Leo
  5. Oliver
  6. Jack
  7. George
  8. Luca
  9. Ethan
  10. Freddie
  11. Arthur
  12. Ryan
  13. Harry
  14. Oscar
  15. Henry
  16. Charlie
  17. Archie
  18. Teddy
  19. Thomas
  20. Adam
  21. Aiden
  22. Alfie
  23. Louie
  24. Finley
  25. Liam
  26. Jacob
  27. Lucas
  28. Daniel
  29. Caleb
  30. Joshua
  31. Jaxon
  32. Max
  33. Isaac
  34. Elijah
  35. Zayn
  36. Theodore
  37. Reuben
  38. Arlo
  39. Jayden
  40. James
  41. William
  42. Jude
  43. Tommy
  44. Mason
  45. Ali
  46. Albie
  47. Ezra
  48. Alexander
  49. Nathan
  50. Dylan
  51. Yusuf
  52. Kai
  53. Rory
  54. Logan
  55. Toby
  56. Roman
  57. Samuel
  58. Michael
  59. Elliot
  60. Myles
  61. Ayaan
  62. Sebastian
  63. Finn
  64. Kian
  65. Harrison
  66. Alex
  67. Jesse
  68. Jason
  69. David
  70. Grayson
  71. Levi
  72. Benjamin
  73. Hunter
  74. Hudson
  75. Gabriel
  76. Ollie
  77. Rowan
  78. Zachary
  79. Asher
  80. Ibrahim
  81. Riley
  82. Brodie
  83. Eli
  84. Oakley
  85. Abdul
  86. Luke
  87. Matthew
  88. Joseph
  89. Milo
  90. Hugo
  91. Reggie
  92. Edward
  93. Ronnie
  94. Aaron
  95. Jasper
  96. Omar
  97. Zion
  98. Bobby
  99. Abdullah
  100. Syed

Sarah Redshaw, UK Managing Editor for BabyCentre, said: "Love Islander names are definitely parents’ type on paper. And BabyCentre parents haven’t been putting all their eggs in the 2022 Love Island basket either. It’s possible that the islanders’ continued fame on social media and more reality TV is causing this surge. We now want to keep a watch on the names of 2022 winners Ekin-Su and Davide to see if they become more popular as they go on to bigger things."

And speaking of the 90s revival, she added: "We wonder if parents are just excited to be dusting off their bucket hats or if 90s babies are now starting to have their own and giving into nostalgia when it comes to naming their little ones!"

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