The most popular names of the last 20 years have been revealed – did yours make the list?
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.
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.
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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
Some names on the top 50 list are so classic that they’ve remained popular for the last two decades / Credit: Flickr
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.
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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.”
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Question Time audience stunned as first-time buyer says mortgage quote DOUBLED
Danny Jones
Thursday night’s Question Time audience could be heard audibly gasping after a fellow crowd member revealed that her mortgage quote had doubled followed the recent mini-budget.
Taping in Manchester on 29 September, the current events and politics programme was discussing property when would-be first-time buyer Rabia revealed that her mortgage offer had jumped from an initial amount of 4.5% interest to a shocking 10.5% in just a matter of days.
As you can see in the incredible clip, both the audience and the panel are taken aback at the revelation.
The gasps from the audience as this woman reveals she’s received a revised mortgage offer of 10.5%. pic.twitter.com/a5Nb1co8al
The Greater Manchester resident said she is desperate to know what the government’s plan for mortgages is as following the latest revision, she says she simply cannot afford to put the money down on her first home.
Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer weighed in on the social media reaction, quote tweeting the clip from his party’s own account and stating that “the Tories must get back to Parliament and reverse their kamikaze budget” as the current economic mess is being “paid for by working people”.
The government’s economic chaos is already clobbering those like Rabia who're trying to get a mortgage or to re-mortgage.
This crisis was made in Downing Street but it’s being paid for by working people.
The Tories must get back to Parliament and reverse their kamikaze budget. https://t.co/bw8B2TOUgl
To make matters worse, Rabia was given no clarification from her lenders, only that they were pulling her offers. Conservative MP and Minister for Local Government, Faith and Communities, Paul Scully had little information to offer her either, simply stating it is a short-term effect and that the market will stabilise.
Scully was subject to an entirely different reaction from the audience as well after his blind attempts to defend Prime Minister Liz Truss and Chancellor Kwasi Kwarteng were met with laughter. Conversely, Richard Bacon was met with applause after he labelled the mini-budget “absurd”.
As if the anti-Tory sentiment wasn’t already at a high, the chancellor’s mini-budget – which saw the corporations, bankers and the generally wealthy benefit ahead of the working class – has seen fresh calls for a general election to be held as soon as possible.
Beyond declaring a so-called £2,500 limit on energy bills (which many have warned isn’t a guaranteed cap), there was seemingly very little in the way of policy that
For those still unclear as to what was announced in the divisive mini-budget, here is a quick summary:
Speaking in a speech at the Labour conference in Liverpool on Tuesday, Starmer said that the government “haven’t just failed to fix the roof, they’ve ripped out the foundations, smashed the windows and now they’ve blown the doors off for good measure.
First images of King Charles III on new coins revealed
Danny Jones
The first images of King Charles III‘s likeness on the next 50p coin have been unveiled by the Royal Mint as the nation prepares to transition into a new form of currency.
Revealed on Friday, 30 September, the UK’s official coin maker unveiled the first piece of legal tender. The incoming 50p features Charles’ face in the classic profile position and a new design on the reverse that harks back to the design featured on Queen Elizabeth II‘s 1953 coronation coin.
As you can see, the new coin includes the four quarters of the Royal Arms depicted within a shield and in between each shield is an emblem of the home nations; a rose, a thistle, a shamrock and a leek.
Credit: Royal Mint
Martin Jennings, Designer of His Majesty King Charles III’s effigy, said in a press release: “It is a privilege to sculpt the first official effigy of His Majesty and to receive his personal approval for the design.
“The portrait was sculpted from a photograph of The King, and was inspired by the iconic effigies that have graced Britain’s coins over the centuries. It is the smallest work I have created, but it is humbling to know it will be seen and held by people around the world for centuries to come.”
Jennings is also responsible for designing the new commemorative £5 coin, customary for marked occasions such as the change over of monarchs.
Credit: Royal Mint
The limited edition £5 coin will form part of a wider memorial coin collection following the passing of Britain’s longest-reigning monarch.
There is an estimated £4.5 billion worth of existing currency – approximately 27 billion coins of various denominations alone – thought to be in circulation, not to mention things like stamps, meaning that we will likely have to get used to carrying both old and new coins.
This isn’t the only significant change Britons can expect either, as earlier this week the Royal Family revealed the new King’s new cypher which will replace the Queen’s ‘EIIR’ seal across the UK, such as on the gates of Buckingham Palace and on postboxes.
Emily Sergeant -
14th September 2021 
