Baby names: Sarah out of top 100 for first time as Oliver and Olivia top list again

Sarah seems to have fallen out of fashion in England and Wales Credit: AP

Oliver and Olivia were the most popular baby names in England and Wales for the second year running, according to the Office for National Statistics.

In 2017, 5,204 baby girls were given the name Olivia, up from 5,017 in 2016, and 6,529 baby boys were named Oliver, down from 6,623 last year.

And Sarah has dropped out of the top 100 for the first time since the records began in 1904.

Despite the top of the lists remaining steady, there are eight new names appearing in the top 100 baby names lists: two for boys, and six for girls.

The data shows the six new female entries were Aurora, Orla, Edith, Bonnie, Lyla and Hallie, replacing Lexi, Zoe, Maddison, Sarah, Felicity and Lydia.

Hunter and Ralph replace Aaron and Jasper in the top 100 names for boys.

There is little regional variation in the top-choice names for girls, with Olivia coming top in every region in England and Wales, and Amelia coming second in every area apart from the South West, where Isla took the second spot.

Credit: PA

Nick Stripe, of the Office for National Statistics, said: "Although Oliver and Olivia remained the most popular baby names in 2017, some fascinating changes took place beneath them.

"Leo entered the boys' top 10 for the first time, whilst Hunter rocketed into the top 100, also for the first time, reaching number 78.

"Sarah, the most popular name for baby girls throughout much of the 1970s and 1980s, dropped out of the top 100 for the first time since our records began in 1904. Brand new entries into the top 100 for girls include the names Aurora and Hallie."

There was more variety in the naming of boys, with Muhammad coming top in London, the West Midlands and Yorkshire and the Humber, but Oliver was consistently popular, coming first or second in every region across England and Wales.

The top 10 boys’ names are:

  • Oliver

  • Harry

  • George

  • Noah

  • Jack

  • Jacob

  • Leo

  • Oscar

  • Charlie

  • Muhammad

  • Leo

The top 10 girls’ names are:

  • Olivia

  • Amelia

  • Isla

  • Ava

  • Emily

  • Isabella

  • Mia

  • Poppy

  • Ella

  • Lily

Across the UK there was little variation in the popularity of names.

The top 10 boys' names in the north-east of England were:

  • Harry

  • Oliver

  • Jack

  • Jacob

  • Charlie

  • George

  • Noah

  • Thomas

  • James

  • Alfie

The top 10 girls' names in the north-east of England were:

  • Olivia

  • Amelia

  • Ava

  • Emily

  • Isla

  • Charlotte

  • Grace

  • Lily

  • Isabella

  • Poppy

The top 10 boys' names in the north-west of England were:

  • Oliver

  • Muhammad

  • Harry

  • George

  • Jack

  • Jacob

  • Noah

  • Thomas

  • Charlie

  • Alfie

The top 10 girls' names in the north-west of England were:

  • Olivia

  • Amelia

  • Isla

  • Ava

  • Emily

  • Isabella

  • Charlotte

  • Grace

  • Ella

  • Poppy

  • The top 10 boys' names in Yorkshire and the Humber were:

  • Muhammad

  • Oliver

  • Harry

  • George

  • Noah

  • Jacob

  • Jack

  • Charlie

  • Mohammed

  • William

The top 10 girls' names in Yorkshire and the Humber were:

  • Olivia

  • Amelia

  • Ava

  • Isla

  • Emily

  • Poppy

  • Lily

  • Daisy

  • Charlotte

  • Phoebe

The top 10 boys' names in the East Midlands were:

  • Oliver

  • Harry

  • George

  • Jack

  • Noah

  • Jacob

  • Oscar

  • Alfie

  • Leo

  • Charlie

The top 10 girls' names in the East Midlands were:

  • Olivia

  • Amelia

  • Isla

  • Ava

  • Emily

  • Poppy

  • Evie

  • Ella

  • Florence

  • Mia

The top 10 boys' names in the West Midlands were:

  • Muhammad

  • Oliver

  • Harry

  • George

  • Jacob

  • Mohammed

  • Noah

  • Charlie

  • Jack

  • Oscar

The top 10 girls' names in the West Midlands were:

  • Olivia

  • Amelia

  • Ava

  • Isla

  • Emily

  • Poppy

  • Sophia

  • Mia

  • Isabella

  • Grace

The top 10 boys' names in eastern England were:

  • Oliver

  • Harry

  • George

  • Jack

  • Leo

  • Henry

  • Oscar

  • Charlie

  • Noah

  • William

The top 10 girls' names in eastern England were:

  • Olivia

  • Amelia

  • Isla

  • Emily

  • Ava

  • Mia

  • Isabella

  • Evie

  • Poppy

  • Charlotte

The top 10 boys' names in London were:

  • Muhammad

  • Oliver

  • Alexander

  • Noah

  • David

  • Adam

  • Leo

  • Joshua

  • George

  • Daniel

The top 10 girls' names in London were:

  • Olivia

  • Amelia

  • Sophia

  • Sofia

  • Mia

  • Emily

  • Maya

  • Ava

  • Isabella

  • Maria

The top 10 boys' names in south-east England were:

  • Oliver

  • George

  • Harry

  • Oscar

  • Jack

  • Noah

  • Henry

  • Jacob

  • William

  • Charlie

The top 10 girls' names in south-east England were:

  • Olivia

  • Amelia

  • Isla

  • Emily

  • Isabella

  • Ava

  • Poppy

  • Mia

  • Lily

  • Florence

The top 10 boys' names in south-west England were:

  • Oliver

  • Harry

  • George

  • Jack

  • Oscar

  • Charlie

  • William

  • Noah

  • Leo

  • Henry

The top 10 girls' names in south-west England were:

  • Olivia

  • Isla

  • Amelia

  • Emily

  • Poppy

  • Florence

  • Ava

  • Lily

  • Ella

  • Elsie

The top 10 boys' names in Wales were:

  • Oliver

  • Noah

  • Jacob

  • George

  • Theo

  • Jack

  • Charlie

  • Leo

  • Alfie

  • Harry

The top 10 girls' names in Wales were:

  • Olivia

  • Amelia

  • Ava

  • Isla

  • Ella

  • Emily

  • Sophia

  • Evie

  • Mia

  • Poppy