The most popular names for babies born in 2025 in England and Wales have been revealed - with Lily moving up the charts into second place for girls.

Olivia held the top spot for the 10th year in a row for girls' names and Muhammad topped the list for boys' names for the third year running.

Amelia, which had been the second most popular girls' name previously, has dropped down to third, while Noah sits in second for boys. Leo has become the third most popular name for boys.

The list is released by the Office for National Statistics (ONS) and used birth registration data from the last full calendar year.

Clare Green, an expert who writes for baby-naming website Nameberry, said in a way she was not surprised to see Olivia and Muhammad top the chart once again.

"Change happens so slowly at the top and once a name becomes popular it normally stays there for quite a long time," she told the BBC.

“[Names] can build momentum - the more people give their child a name, the more other parents hear it and like the sound of it, so it snowballs.”

But US-based baby name consultant Colleen Slagen said she could not believe Olivia had retained the top spot and "that there isn't this reverse effect of people wanting something less popular".

She conceded that while baby names come and go "like other pop culture trends", families tend to be risk averse.

"Parents get anxious about making a choice that they like, but that is also going to suit their child for the rest of their life," she told the BBC.

In Scotland, Freya replaced Olivia as the most popular name for girls, according to data from National Records of Scotland, while Noah held the top spot for boys.

Other names making up the top 10 for girls include Isla in fourth, followed by Florence, Freya, Poppy, Elsie, Ivy and new entry Isabella.

Luca is the fourth most popular name for boys, with Arthur, Oliver, George, Oscar, Theodore and Freddie.

The most popular girls' name Olivia was given to 2,386 baby girls in England and Wales during 2025.

Lily and Amelia, the next most frequently picked, appeared 2,249 and 2,153 times.

"The top 10 girls' names are very nicknameable," Slagen observed, "which parents find very appealing".

“People will say, 'I want them to have a CEO name, but be able to give them a more playful name while they're younger'.”

She also noted that most were "very feminine, elegant names... many have a very similar makeup, with a tonne of vowels and soft consonants".

She said "unisex names" appeared to be having a moment in the US, but on the whole "people are just going to be more comfortable giving their girl a definitively feminine name".

There were 5,957 baby boys called Muhammad, as well as other spellings of the name proving popular.

Mohammed was in 20th place with 1,712 names and Mohammad in 55th position with 895.

The other boys' names in the top three, Noah and Leo, were used 4,075 and 3,278 times respectively.

Eliana, Gracie, Alba and Lilah are among new entries into the top 100 for the first time for girls.

Carter, Ruben, Stanley and Vincent are new names featuring in the boys' list.

Green said Ruben may have come in because an alternative spelling of it ''Reuben" was already pretty popular and in the top 50.

Stanley meanwhile has "hovered in and out of the top 100 for quite a long time" -while the popularity of the nickname "Vinny" could be linked to the appearance of Vincent.

The ONS says names like Ellie, Amelie and Jessica have fallen out of the top 100 girls' names.

And Grayson, Brody and Bodhi are no longer featured in the 100 most popular names for boys.

The data shows a huge surge in popularity for the girls' name Eliana, which was up 54 places. Roman saw the biggest increase in popularity for boys and hit the 27th spot after rising 33 places.

Meanwhile, Findlay and Felipe were among the boys' names to have been picked fewer than three times last year, alongside Beth, Venus and Ikra for girls.

The data also breaks down the most popular names by month, which shows the most common one for girls fluctuating.

Olivia topped the list for January, February, March, April, May, June, October and November but Isla claimed the top spot in July.

Lily was the highest in August, Amelia in September and Florence in December.

Muhammad topped the list for names of boys for every single month in 2025.

Asked whether she had any thoughts on future trends, Green said: "I think even more of what people like now - more nicknames, looking at the news today maybe 'Bonnie' is going to go up even more than it already is [and] more vintage names coming back like they always do - people looking to the past for fresh ideas.

"I think a lot of parents want a balance, they want [their child] to stand out just the right amount but not too much - so a big driver of trends is names that are similar to popular ones but not exactly the same," she said giving the example of Eliana.

Slagen similarly pointed to "more vintage revivals", with parents opting for names that feel fresh but are still familiar.

Source: BBC

--Agencies