Most popular baby names in Wales during 2016 are revealed

Olivia has overtaken Amelia to become the most popular girls’ name in Wales, but Euro 2016 doesn’t appear to have inspired parents when naming their newborn sons, according to new figures.

After four years on top, Olivia has overtaken Amelia as the top girls’ name, while Oliver takes its fourth year as the most popular boys’ name.

There are no new entries in either the boys’ or girls’ top 10, with Ella up from sixth to third and Evie up from 10th to joint sixth.

For boys, Noah was up from fifth to third and Harry was up from 10th to sixth, with Charlie down from third to seventh.

Fast climbers in the Welsh top 50 boys’ names were Louie, up 36 places to 42nd, Eli, up 32 to joint 50th, and Carter, up 24 to 35th.

The highest new entry to the top 100 was Tobias, up 86 places to 78th, with Mohammed, Ezra, Connor, Louis, Aiden, Zac, Finn, Jaxon, Cole and Jonah all new entries in the top 100.

Names that are much more popular for boys in Wales than in England include, Osian, ranked 27th in Wales but 1,004th in England, Tomos, 39th in Wales, 2,252nd in England, and Jac, 47th in Wales, and 1,626th in England.

Was there a Euro 2016 baby-naming craze?

The Wales players salute the fans at full-time after bowing out of Euro 2016

And despite Wales powering to the semi-final of Euro 2016 last summer, it doesn’t seem to have inspired a baby-naming craze.

Names like Gareth, Hal, Robson, Ashley, Joe or Aaron don’t make the top 100 boys names in Wales, while Samuel is a non-mover at 32nd.

Across England and Wales, Ashley, up from 120 babies given the name in 2015 to 146 in 2016, and Chris, up from 40 to 41, were the only names which saw increases from 2015 to 2016 – the rest all saw drops.

What names rose in the rankings?

Is your child's name included in the list of 2016 — Is your child's name included in the list?

Fast climbers in the Welsh top 50 girls’ names were Aria, up 27 places to 39th, Willow, up 25 to 23rd, and Harper and Alys, both up 22 to 19th and 44th respectively.

The highest new entry to the top 100 girls’ names was Aurora, up 58 places to 67th, with Maddison, Hallie, Penelope, Luna, Cerys, Lillie, Esmae, Marnie and Autumn all new entries in the top 100.

For girls, names that are much more popular in Wales than in England include, Seren, ranked 16th in Wales but 194th in England, Ffion, 25th in Wales, 614th in England, and Alys, 44th in Wales, and 1,161st in England.

Lily replaced Poppy in the top 10 girls’ names for England and Wales in 2016, compared with 2015, according to figures from the Office for National Statistics (ONS) released on Wednesday.

Muhammad replaced William in the top 10 boys’ names for England and Wales in 2016.

Did Royals or politicians make the list?

The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge have released a photo of Princess Charlotte, taken by her mother, at Anmer Hall in Norfolk in April ahead of her second birthday on May 2 (Image: The Duchess of Cambridge/PA Wire)

After Princess Charlotte’s birth in May 2015, the name has jumped from 25th most popular name in 2015, given to 1,951 babies, to 12th in 2016, with 2,596 girls given the name.

Despite reports Labour party leader Jeremy Corbyn was inspiring parents to name their baby Corbyn, just 18 babies were given the name in 2016, up slightly from 15 in 2015. It was the 1,431st most popular name in 2016.

Jeremy fares even worse, dropping from 497th, with 78 babies named in 2015, to 647th, with 54.

Hillary managed to beat Donald at least when it comes to baby name popularity in the UK, with 11 girls named Hillary, up from 10 in 2015, versus, nine babies named Donald, down from 22 in 2015.

How about Game of Thrones character names?

Iwan Rheon as Ramsay Bolton, and Art Parkinson as Rickon Stark

Arya is still gaining in popularity, but other Game of Thrones baby names may be losing momentum.

With 323 girls across England and Wales given the name in 2016, up from 270 in 2012, Arya was the 180th most popular name in 2016.

A possible alternative spelling of Aria was 67th most popular in 2016, with 930 babies given the name, up from 565 in 2015.

The number of babies named Khaleesi rose slightly 68 to 69, with 270 baby girls given the name since the TV series started in 2011. There were also four girls named Daenerys born in 2016, a total of 23 since 2011.

Sansa was down from 11 in 2015 to five in 2016, and there were three Briennes and four Catelyns.

For boys, there were 34 Theons born in 2016, up from 30 in 2015, and 11 Tyrions, down from 14 in 2015.

There were also eight babies named Ramsay in 2016, up from five in 2015.

Did Star Wars have an impact?

John Boyega attending the EE British Academy Film Awards at the Royal Opera House, Bow Street, London

The latest Star Wars films seem to be inspiring some parents, with the number of baby boys sharing their name with John Boyega’s character Finn rising from 512 in 2015 to 650 in 2016, with the name entering the top 100.

Leia has been on an upwards trend since 2014, when 75 girls were given the name, rising to 93 in 2015 and 123 in 2016.

There were six boys named Han in 2016, up from five in 2015, as well as 17 girls named Rey.

Nick Stripe, ONS Vital Statistics Outputs Branch, said: “With over 696,000 babies born in England and Wales in 2016, and nearly 64,000 different names chosen for them, it’s interesting how relatively stable the top 10 names have been over recent years.

“It is as you move down the rankings that you begin to notice social and cultural changes being reflected in name choices.

“Harper was the girls’ name in the top 100 in 2016 with the biggest rise in popularity over the previous 10 years, whilst for boys it was Jaxon.”