A LIST of the most popular baby names in England and Wales has been released this week, with St Helens differing from the national favourite for both boys and girls.

The data from the Office For National Statistics, released on October 18, shows that Oliver and Olivia remained the most popular names for boys and girls for the fifth consecutive year.

However, in St Helens the top spots were tied with George and Thomas for boys, and Amelia, Rosie and Sophia for girls.

See the the top ten baby boy and girl names in England and Wales for 2020 below:

 

 

While not the most popular across England and Wales, George was the second and Thomas the fifteenth most common name across England and Wales last year.

For girls, Amelia was similarly the second most common name while Rosie and Sophia were ninth and tenth respectively.

See what names are the most popular across the country below:

In the North West as a whole, Muhammad was the most popular baby boys name, while Olivia took the top spot for the girls.

Looking at other trends, mothers aged 35 years and over continued to choose more traditional names, while younger mothers opted for more modern and shortened names.

Despite Oliver being the top boys’ name for England and Wales, regionally it was only top in the North East.

Take a look at the top baby names over the past 25 years below:

A statiscian for the Office for National Statistics commented: “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.

“Popular culture continues to provide inspiration for baby names, whether it’s characters in our favourite show or trending celebrities. Maeve and Otis, characters from the popular programme ‘Sex Education’, have seen a surge in popularity in 2020. While the name Margot has been rapidly climbing since actress Margot Robbie appeared in the popular film ‘The Wolf of Wall Street’."

To see how unique your name is, use the infographic below: