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Wales Online
Wales Online
National
Courtney Pochin & Phil Norris

The most popular baby names of 2022 so far and the names no parent chose for their child

The mid-year baby name charts have been published and there is a change at the top on the girls' list. Lily is now the number one girl name while Muhammad retains top spot for boys.

The list has been revealed by BabyCentre. It appears to show how parents' choices of names are affected by TV and films, as well as by current events.

The big shock so far this year is that Olivia is not the most popular name for a girl, at least so far. It has been number one since 2015, MirrorOnline reports.

Other changes for the girls is Aria and Ivy as new entries in the top 10, with Ella and Rosie falling down the list. Sophia remains at number two.

With the boys, Muhammed and Noah retain their place at number one and two, with Jack leaping to third place to replace Oliver. New top 10 entries are Ethan and Oscar as Freddie and Harry fall down the charts.

There have been some interesting developments with parents opting to shy away from names involved in high-profile court cases - such as Wagatha Christie and the Amber Heard vs Johnny Depp trial. Amber is no longer in the charts with no parents choosing Johnny as a name.

There are also a whole host of television-inspired names in the charts with some Peaky Blinders names - Arthur, Alfie, Freddie, Charlie, Finley (Finn), Luca, and Thomas were all in the top 20. Tommy was at number 43, Grace at number 14, Esme at 31 and Ada sat at number 51.

While the hotly anticipated new series of Stranger Things saw a rise outside the top 100 of fan favourites Robin, Maxine (Max), Elle, Mike, Billy, and Steve. Robyn, as an alternative to Robin, and Willliam (Will) both climbed up the top 100 while Lucas and Nancy held firm.

The Royals seemed to have an impact as Elizabeth went up two places in the top 100 while William climbed 12 places from 41 to 29. Lily – the shortened version of the queen’s nickname Lilibet as well as Harry and Meghan’s baby girl’s name- was crowned number one.

Zero-registration names often hark back to the 70s, with Kelly, Gail, Brenda and Susie and Keith, Leslie, Glenn and Terry all rejected by parents in 2022.

Sarah Redshaw, the managing editor for BabyCentre, said: "Parents proved they are judge and jury when it comes to baby names as they threw the book at Amber, Johnny, Wayne, Coleen and Rebekah, all at the heart of expensive high-profile court cases.

"I predict the impact of Johnny and Amber’s battle and the Wagatha Christie effect will continue and we will see those names fall further in the charts."

Boys' names

1. Muhammad

2. Noah

3. Jack

4. Theo

5. Leo

6. Oliver

7. George

8. Ethan

9. Oscar

10. Arthur

11. Charlie

12. Freddie

13. Harry

14. Zayn

15. Alfie

16. Finley

17. Henry

18. Luca

19. Thomas

20. Aiden

21. Archie

22. Teddy

23. Lucas

24. Ryan

25. Kai

26. Liam

27. Jaxon

28. Louie

29. William

30. Jacob

31. Ali

32. Caleb

33. Isaac

34. Joshua

35. Jude

36. James

37. Jayden

38. Adam

39. Arlo

40. Daniel

41. Elijah

42. Max

43. Tommy

44. Ezra

45. Mason

46. Theodore

47. Roman

48. Dylan

49. Reuben

50. Albie

51. Alexander

52. Toby

53. Yusuf

54. Logan

55. Rory

56. Alex

57. Harrison

58. Kayden

59. Nathan

60. Ollie

61. Ayaan

62. Elliot

63. Ahmad

64. Kian

65. Samuel

66. Hudson

67. Jason

68. Myles

69. Rowan

70. Benjamin

71. Finn

72. Omar

73. Riley

74. Zachary

75. Brodie

76. Michael

77. Abdullah

78. Matthew

79. Sebastian

80. Hugo

81. Jesse

82. Junior

83. Oakley

84. Abdul

85. Eli

86. Grayson

87. Mateo

88. Reggie

89. Gabriel

90. Hunter

91. Levi

92. Ibrahim

93. Jasper

94. Syed

95. Zion

96. Luke

97. Seth

98. Aaron

99. Asher

100. Blake

Girls' Names

1. Lily

2. Sophia

3. Olivia

4. Amelia

5. Ava

6. Isla

7. Freya

8. Aria

9. Ivy

10. Mia

11. Elsie

12. Emily

13. Ella

14. Grace

15. Isabella

16. Evie

17. Hannah

18. Luna

19. Maya

20. Daisy

21. Zoe

22. Millie

23. Rosie

24. Layla

25. Isabelle

26. Zara

27. Fatima

28. Harper

29. Nur

30. Charlotte

31. Esme

32. Florence

33. Maryam

34. Poppy

35. Sienna

36. Sophie

37. Aisha

38. Emilia

39. Willow

40. Emma

41. Evelyn

42. Eliana

43. Maisie

44. Alice

45. Chloe

46. Erin

47. Hallie

48. Mila

49. Phoebe

50. Lyla

51. Ada

52. Lottie

53. Ellie

54. Matilda

55. Molly

56. Ruby

57. Ayla

58. Sarah

59. Maddison

60. Aaliyah

61. Aurora

62. Maeve

63. Bella

64. Nova

65. Robyn

66. Arabella

67. Eva

68. Lucy

69. Eden

70. Gracie

71. Jessica

72. Amaya

73. Anna

74. Leah

75. Violet

76. Eleanor

77. Maria

78. Olive

79. Orla

80. Abigail

81. Eliza

82. Rose

83. Talia

84. Elizabeth

85. Gianna

86. Holly

87. Imogen

88. Nancy

89. Annabelle

90. Hazel

91. Margot

92. Raya

93. Bonnie

94. Nina

95. Nora

96. Penelope

97. Scarlett

98. Anaya

99. Delilah

100. Iris

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