Revealed: The most popular baby names of the year and who's been a big influence

Parents may well have been inspired by popular Netflix shows, as ITV News Correspondent Ben Chapman reports


The results are in, and the most popular names given to newborn babies over the past year have been revealed.

Netflix, and the Royal family have had an influence on name choices this year, according to Office for National Statistics (ONS) data released this morning.

The data also showed trends in how baby names were chosen.

2020 was the first time Archie has been in the top ten boys' names, a change driven by younger mothers choosing the name after a year where Harry and Meghan (whose is called Archie) made headlines.

Archie is one of the ten most popular boys' names for the first time. Prince Harry and Meghan Markle's son has that name.

Younger mothers tended to choose more modern and shortened names too, whereas mothers aged 35 and over went for more traditional names.

Popular culture has a big influence on name choice.

The names Maeve and Otis surged in popularity in 2020, after characters in the Netflix series Sex Education.

The name Margot has also seen a resurgence since actor Margot Robbie's appearance in 2013 film The Wolf of Wall Street.


Top ten: most popular girls' names for 2020

1) Olivia

2) Amelia

3) Isla

4) Ava

5) Mia

6) Ivy

7) Lily

8) Isabella

9) Rosie

10) Sophia


Top ten: most popular boys' names for 2020

1) Oliver

2) George

3) Arthur

4) Noah

5) Muhammad

6) Leo

7) Oscar

8) Harry

9) Archie

10) Jack


The most popular boys' name for 2020 was Oliver, and the most popular girls' name was Olivia.

It's the eighth year in a row that Oliver has taken the top spot, and the fifth consecutive year Olivia has been the most popular girls' name.