The most popular baby names of the last 20 years have been revealed.
Picking a name for your newborn bundle of joy that will see them through life is no doubt an important and tricky task, but data recently released by the Office of National Statistics (ONS) between 1996 to 2019 shows that some names have really stood the test of time.
Some names on the top 50 list are so classic, they’ve remained popular for the last two decades – but there’s also a few curveballs that’ve snuck into the top ten too.
Emily and Jack took the crown as the most popular names of the last 20 years.
Olivia has proved to be a popular name, topping the charts for girls’ names since 2016, but Emily took the title over the last two decades as it’s featured in the top five every year between 1996 and 2018, and spent several years in the number one spot.
Jessica, Sophie, and Chloe round out the top five spots for girls, and for boys, Jack, Thomas, Harry, Oliver, and Joshua top the charts.
Top 50 Names of the Last 20 Years
Girls
- Emily
- Olivia
- Jessica
- Sophie
- Chloe
- Charlotte
- Grace
- Amelia
- Ella
- Lucy
- Lily
- Mia
- Ellie
- Hannah
- Holly
- Alice
- Isabella
- Phoebe
- Molly
- Daisy
- Emma
- Abigail
- Ruby
- Megan
- Elizabeth
- Isabelle
- Georgia
- Millie
- Poppy
- Freya
- Eleanor
- Jasmine
- Sophia
- Erin
- Imogen
- Amber
- Rosie
- Katie
- Leah
- Amy
- Anna
- Maisie
- Bethany
- Evie
- Harriet
- Sarah
- Zoe
- Rebecca
- Paige
- Scarlett
Boys
- Jack
- Thomas
- Harry
- Oliver
- Joshua
- James
- William
- George
- Daniel
- Samuel
- Joseph
- Charlie
- Jacob
- Benjamin
- Alexander
- Mohammed
- Ethan
- Adam
- Alfie
- Jake
- Matthew
- Max
- Dylan
- Luke
- Henry
- Lewis
- Ryan
- Edward
- Liam
- Muhammad
- Harrison
- Michael
- Oscar
- Callum
- Nathan
- Isaac
- Archie
- Tyler
- David
- Connor
- Jamie
- Harvey
- Charles
- Lucas
- Toby
- Louis
- Aaron
- Alex
- Mason
- Noah
Name expert Pamela Redmond Satran says some names will always be popular, and therefore rarely fall out of favour.
Speaking to The Sun, Pamela said: “With boy names especially, you see some of the classics holding steady over the whole generation, a trend you’d see if you stretched the chart back a hundred years.
“Names like Thomas, James, William, and Daniel are never really in or out of style [and] they command a top place on baby name popularity lists generation after generation.
“You see more movement with girls’ names, even the classics you might think would be immune to fashion swings.
“Elizabeth barely sneaks onto the top 25 and Sarah has nearly fallen off the top 50.”
