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, external (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 wasn’t 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, “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 saw 2,386 baby girls get called it 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”.
