Most popular baby names for 2023 revealed - Muhammad replaces Noah at top spot, Olivia remains girls' favourite

While Olivia remains the top girls name, Muhammad has overtaken Noah as the most popular boys name last year. The new data was released by the Office for National Statistics (ONS).

Muhammad had placed second to Noah in the previous rankings, this time taking the top spot. Noah moved down to second, while Oliver, george and Leo rounded out the top five. As for the girls, there wasn’t much change, with the top three names - Olivia, Amelia and Isla - remaining in the same ranking from last year.

There were also pop culture influences within the top 100 names. For baby girls, the name Margot, possibly inspired by the Barbie phenomenon that was spearheaded by its star Margot Robbie, shot to 44th in the rankings, while there were also Mileys, Rhiannas, Billies and Lana born last year, in a nod to Miley Cyrus, Rhianna, Lana Del Rey and Billie Eilish.

There were also boys named Kendrick, in a nod to Kendrick Lemar, and Elton, a possible reference to Sir Elton John. However, royal names saw a noted decrease in popularity - George dropped to fourth, William sat at 29th, Louis ranked at 45th and, for the girls, Charlotte dropped to 23rd.

Top 10 baby names for boys in England and Wales in 2023

1. Muhammad - 4,661
2. Noah - 4,382
3. Oliver - 3,556
4. George - 3,494
5. Leo - 3,416
6. Arthur - 3,387
7. Luca - 3,195
8. Theodore - 2,666
9. Oscar - 2,632
10. Henry - 2,490

Top 10 baby names for girls in England and Wales in 2023

1. Olivia - 2,906
2. Amelia - 2,663
3. Isla - 2,337
4. Lily - 2,290
5. Freya - 2,086
6. Ava - 2,050
7. Ivy - 1,997
8. Florence - 1,899
9. Willow - 1,833
10. Isabella - 1,795