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I’m one of those people that reacts with a touch of shock when I hear that people are still having babies.

I find it mind-boggling that anyone would want to sacrifice sleep and pleasant olfactory experiences for a little version of themselves, especially during these “unprecedented” times.

Anyway, you do you boo, as the new saying goes.

So yes, people are still having babies and the most popular baby names for boys and girls from the last year, in England and Wales specifically, has just been revealed.

The Independent has reported that Oliver and Olivia have taken the top spot on the list for the fifth year in a row:

According to the Office for National Statistics (ONS), Oliver has remained a favourite for boys’ names for the past eight years, while Olivia has been the top girls’ name for the past five years.

There have been some changes to the top 10 names for both boys and girls. Ivy and Rosie have replaced Grace and Freya in the top 10 girls’ names, while Archie replaced Charlie in the top 10 boys’ names.

A lot of the most popular names have been heavily influenced by the British Royal Family, and royal adjacents:

It marks the first time the name Archie has entered the top 10, and comes after the Duke and Duchess of Sussex named their son Archie Harrison Mountbatten-Windsor, born on 6 May 2019.

Consequently, Charlie was knocked off the top 10 list for the first time since 2005.

Pop culture also seems to have been lending a hand to new parents, who have been taking two names from the popular Netflix series Sex Education:

The names Milo and Otis moved up the ranks the most in 2020 for boys, with both names rising 28 places since 2019.

Meanwhile, Maeve rose 124 places since 2019, making it the largest new entry into the top 100 girls’ names in England and Wales last year.

The top 10 girls’ names in 2020 were:

The top 10 boys’ names in 2020 were:

One can clearly see where Royal loyalties lie.

Here’s Sian Bradford, a statistician from the Vital Statistics Output Branch for the ONS:

“Oliver and Olivia held onto the top spots as the most popular boys’ and girls’ names in 2020, but some interesting changes took place beneath them.

“We continue to see the age of mothers having an impact on the choice of baby name. Archie jumped into the top 10 boys’ names for the first time, driven by younger mothers as well as the obvious royal link. While on the girls’ side, Ivy rose to sixth place.

The ONS also found that mothers aged 35 and over continued to choose more traditional names, while younger mothers preferred more modern and shortened names.

I definitely approve of the fact that Muhammad remains one of the most popular names.

[source:independent]