The ONS finally provided us with the 2022 [name_f]England[/name_f] & [name_m]Wales[/name_m] popularity list!
The Top 1000 can be found here. I’m intrigued by many of the new additions to the list, and I’d love to hear anyone’s thoughts on them! I no longer live in the UK, so I’m out of the loop and particularly wondering if there are any pop culture influences in the new additions
Here are the names:
BOYS
[name_m]Abdulaziz[/name_m], [name_m]Acer[/name_m], Achim, [name_m]Affan[/name_m], [name_m]Akim[/name_m], Alyaan, [name_m]Ambrose[/name_m], [name_m]Ameer[/name_m], [name_m]Aneurin[/name_m], [name_m]Aran[/name_m], [name_m]Ash[/name_m], [name_m]Aslan[/name_m], [name_m]Azan[/name_m], [name_m]Azariah[/name_m], [name_m]Aziah[/name_m], [name_m]Aziel[/name_m], [name_m]Azlaan[/name_m], [name_m]Bohdi[/name_m], [name_m]Brady[/name_m], [name_m]Caio[/name_m], [name_m]Cedric[/name_m], [name_m]Chris[/name_m], [name_m]Cree[/name_m], [name_f]Dara[/name_f], [name_m]Darragh[/name_m], [name_m]Darren[/name_m], [name_m]Denzel[/name_m], [name_f]Devon[/name_f], [name_m]Elvis[/name_m], [name_m]Enoch[/name_m], [name_m]Eren[/name_m], [name_m]Etienne[/name_m], [name_m]Griff[/name_m], [name_m]Hamdan[/name_m], [name_m]Hasnain[/name_m], Hunter-Lee, [name_m]Hussein[/name_m], [name_m]Jacques[/name_m], [name_m]Juan[/name_m], [name_m]Kaison[/name_m], [name_m]Kayan[/name_m], [name_m]Kenan[/name_m], [name_m]Khari[/name_m], [name_m]Knox[/name_m], [name_m]Kodi[/name_m], [name_m]Krishiv[/name_m], [name_m]Leif[/name_m], [name_m]Luciano[/name_m], [name_m]Mack[/name_m], [name_m]Mahir[/name_m], [name_m]Manraj[/name_m], [name_m]Mateusz[/name_m], [name_m]Mehmet[/name_m], [name_m]Moise[/name_m], [name_m]Musab[/name_m], [name_f]Nana[/name_f], [name_m]Nathanael[/name_m], [name_m]Nayel[/name_m], Noah-James, [name_m]Nuh[/name_m], [name_m]Oaklen[/name_m], [name_m]Owain[/name_m], [name_m]Pedro[/name_m], [name_m]Percival[/name_m], [name_m]Raffi[/name_m], [name_m]Raja[/name_m], [name_m]Rehan[/name_m], [name_m]Reyansh[/name_m], [name_m]Rodrigo[/name_m], [name_m]Rowen[/name_m], [name_m]Rudra[/name_m], [name_m]Saleh[/name_m], [name_m]Saxon[/name_m], [name_m]Shaun[/name_m], [name_m]Simeon[/name_m], [name_m]Sol[/name_m], [name_m]Sully[/name_m], [name_f]Sydney[/name_f], Theo-James, [name_m]Torin[/name_m], [name_m]Viraj[/name_m], [name_m]Wali[/name_m], [name_m]Wolf[/name_m], [name_m]Yanis[/name_m], [name_m]Younes[/name_m], [name_m]Younis[/name_m], [name_m]Zakariyah[/name_m], [name_m]Zaki[/name_m], [name_m]Zavier[/name_m], [name_m]Zaydan[/name_m], [name_m]Zephaniah[/name_m], [name_m]Ziyad[/name_m]
GIRLS
[name_f]Aaira[/name_f], [name_f]Adela[/name_f], [name_f]Afiyah[/name_f], [name_f]Aira[/name_f], Airah, [name_f]Aleeza[/name_f], [name_f]Alyana[/name_f], [name_f]Amaira[/name_f], [name_f]Amalie[/name_f], [name_f]Andrea[/name_f], [name_f]Angelica[/name_f], [name_f]Annika[/name_f], [name_f]Ariadne[/name_f], [name_f]Asia[/name_f], Avaani, [name_f]Birdie[/name_f], Bonnie-Rae, Bonnie-Rose, [name_f]Caitlyn[/name_f], [name_f]Calliope[/name_f], [name_f]Cassia[/name_f], [name_f]Chimamanda[/name_f], [name_f]Daisie[/name_f], [name_f]Davina[/name_f], [name_f]Eileen[/name_f], [name_f]Elaia[/name_f], [name_f]Elaina[/name_f], [name_f]Elowyn[/name_f], [name_f]Eshal[/name_f], [name_f]Esmai[/name_f], [name_f]Esmay[/name_f], [name_f]Esmeralda[/name_f], Gracie-May, [name_f]Ilinca[/name_f], Isla-Rae, Ivy-Grace, [name_f]Janelle[/name_f], [name_f]June[/name_f], Larosa, [name_f]Leen[/name_f], Lilah-Rose, [name_f]Loretta[/name_f], [name_f]Madelyn[/name_f], [name_f]Maha[/name_f], [name_f]Mahi[/name_f], [name_f]Mallory[/name_f], [name_f]Mannat[/name_f], [name_f]Marni[/name_f], [name_f]Marta[/name_f], [name_f]Matilde[/name_f], [name_f]Mavis[/name_f], [name_f]Medeea[/name_f], [name_f]Meera[/name_f], [name_f]Milani[/name_f], Millie-Rose, [name_f]Miraal[/name_f], [name_f]Muntaha[/name_f], Myla-Mae, Nevaeh-Rose, [name_f]Nila[/name_f], [name_f]Nura[/name_f], [name_f]Nyah[/name_f], Olivia-Grace, [name_f]Olympia[/name_f], [name_f]Opal[/name_f], [name_f]Posie[/name_f], [name_f]Princess[/name_f], [name_f]Renesmee[/name_f], [name_f]Roxy[/name_f], [name_f]Rumaisa[/name_f], [name_f]Ryleigh[/name_f], [name_f]Safiyya[/name_f], [name_f]Sianna[/name_f], [name_f]Sloane[/name_f], [name_f]Star[/name_f], [name_f]Sumaya[/name_f], [name_f]Talia[/name_f], [name_f]Taya[/name_f], Tayah, [name_f]Tiara[/name_f], [name_f]Tiaraoluwa[/name_f], [name_f]Trixie[/name_f], [name_f]Valeria[/name_f], [name_f]Willa[/name_f], [name_f]Zaira[/name_f], [name_f]Zaya[/name_f], [name_f]Zenaya[/name_f], [name_f]Zunairah[/name_f], Zunaisha
Trends I’m noticing:
- Boys - underused Biblical names: This intrigues me… Achim, [name_m]Azariah[/name_m] and [name_m]Aziel[/name_m] appear in the top 1000 for the first time. Other less common Biblical names such as [name_m]Enoch[/name_m], [name_m]Nathanael[/name_m], [name_m]Simeon[/name_m] & [name_m]Zephaniah[/name_m] make a return to the top 1000 in 2022!
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Boys - [name_m]French[/name_m] names: As a lover of all things [name_m]French[/name_m], it’s so exciting to see [name_m]Etienne[/name_m] and [name_m]Jacques[/name_m] make a return
Also, [name_m]Yanis[/name_m] is a Greek name that is particularly popular in [name_f]France[/name_f]!
- Boys - Welsh names: [name_m]Aneurin[/name_m] and Owain?!?! I’m in love.
- Cultural influences: These generally reflect the demographics of the UK. The most prominent of these are names of Arabic origin (e.g. [name_m]Abdulaziz[/name_m], [name_f]Eshal[/name_f], [name_m]Hussein[/name_m], [name_f]Maha[/name_f], [name_m]Musab[/name_m], [name_f]Sumaya[/name_f], [name_m]Younis[/name_m], Ziyad). Other notable representations include [name_f]Indian[/name_f] (e.g. [name_m]Krishiv[/name_m], [name_f]Meera[/name_f], [name_f]Nila[/name_f], Viraj), Romanian (Ilinca & Medeea) and Turkish (Eren, [name_m]Mehmet[/name_m], Nuh). There also seems to be some sort of Spanish or Portuguese influence (Caio, [name_f]Esmeralda[/name_f], [name_m]Juan[/name_m], [name_m]Luciano[/name_m], [name_m]Pedro[/name_m], [name_m]Rodrigo[/name_m], [name_f]Valeria[/name_f], Zaira).
- Girls - cutesy nicknames: [name_f]Birdie[/name_f], [name_f]Daisie[/name_f], [name_f]Posie[/name_f], Trixie… cottage core and sweet. I wonder how these names will age though.
- Girls - yn ending: [name_f]Caitlyn[/name_f], [name_f]Elowyn[/name_f] and [name_f]Madelyn[/name_f]. This was a common trend in the US a decade or so ago, and now it seems to be catching on to the UK?
- Hyphenated names: These seem to be making a comeback in the UK. In the 2022 Top 1000 we have Bonnie-Rae, Hunter-Lee, Lilah-Rose, Myla-Mae and Noah-James, just to name a few.
- Influences from across the pond: [name_m]Knox[/name_m], [name_f]Mallory[/name_f] and [name_f]Sloane[/name_f] entered the Top 1000 for the first time in 2022 but have been widely used in the US for quite a while!
- “Mum” and “dad” names: Some notable examples include [name_m]Darren[/name_m] and [name_m]Shaun[/name_m] for boys, and [name_f]Andrea[/name_f], [name_f]Davina[/name_f] and [name_f]Janelle[/name_f] for girls. Also for girls, “grandma” names seem to be appearing in the Top 100 (Eileen, [name_f]June[/name_f], Mavis).
- Mythological influences: A couple of Arthurian romance names appear on the boys list (Owain, Percival). For girls, Greek mythology appears to be the main influence (Ariadne, Calliope).
- Notable figures: Some examples include [name_f]Chimamanda[/name_f] (Ngozi Adichie), [name_m]Elvis[/name_m] (Presley) and [name_m]Leif[/name_m] (Eriksson).
- Word names: These are becoming increasingly common! [name_m]New[/name_m] additions include [name_m]Ash[/name_m] and [name_m]Wolf[/name_m] for boys, and [name_f]Opal[/name_f], [name_f]Princess[/name_f], [name_f]Star[/name_f] and [name_f]Tiara[/name_f] for girls.
Now, I pose you a challenge… what would you name one boy and one girl from the above lists? [name_m]Feel[/name_m] free to choose one or two middles as per your preference!
[name_f]My[/name_f] choices… [name_m]Percival[/name_m] [name_m]Ambrose[/name_m] “Percy” & [name_f]Ariadne[/name_f] [name_f]June[/name_f]