Olivia and Muhammad remain top baby names in England and Wales

Olivia held the top spot for girls and Muhammad remained the most popular boys’ name in the Office for National Statistics’ 2025 baby-name bulletin, a result that underlined how stable the top of the rankings has become even as newer names move through the list.

The annual figures are built from birth-registration data for live births in England and Wales, collected through civil registration, which is a legal requirement. The ONS keeps a long historical frame for the trendline, with baby-name data running back to 1904 at 10-yearly intervals and a more detailed dataset covering 1996 to 2024.

That longer view shows just how entrenched the leading names have become. Olivia has been the top-ranked girls’ name since 2016 and has sat in the top three every year since 2006. Muhammad passed Noah to take the boys’ lead in 2023 and has been in the top 10 since 2016, a climb that mirrors the growing visibility of the name across the country.

The ONS data also showed that national rankings do not look the same everywhere. In 2023, Olivia was the most popular girls’ name in five of England’s nine regions and in Wales. Muhammad was the most popular boys’ name in four of England’s nine regions, but ranked only 63rd in Wales, a sharp reminder that regional identity still shapes naming choices even when the national headline looks settled.

Behind the top names, the list continued to churn. The 2023 bulletin added Hazel, Lilah, Autumn, Nevaeh and Raya to the girls’ top 100, while Jax, Enzo and Bodhi entered the boys’ top 100. The ONS said pop culture continued to influence naming trends, a factor that helps explain why some names rise fast even as classic choices keep their hold near the top.

The pattern points to a two-speed naming culture: durable favourites at the summit, and a much faster turnover lower down the list, where immigration, religion and popular culture leave their marks more quickly. Olivia and Muhammad may define the top line, but the wider rankings show how Britain’s naming choices keep absorbing new influences without dislodging the names parents trust most.