Top five girl names
Olivia, Amelia, Isla, Ava, and Ivy.
GB ranking · 2021
Most popular baby names in England and Wales in 2021.
Olivia and Noah lead the 2021 list. Explore every reviewed rank through 50, recorded counts, ties, and the exact scope behind the numbers.
Girls OliviaBoys Noah100 ranked names191,632 recorded usesSource checked 6 August 2026
The short answer
Olivia and Noah were the most popular girl and boy names in England and Wales in 2021.
Top five
The 2021 leaders.
Top five boy names
Noah, Oliver, George, Arthur, and Muhammad.
Compared with 2020
What changed in 2021?
Names are matched by publisher spelling and category. A rise means a better source-derived rank than in the previous annual release.
Girl-name risers
- Daisy#24 to #15
- Mila#47 to #39
- Hallie#49 to #42
- Freya#12 to #6
New to this top 50: Imogen, Delilah.
Boy-name risers
- Luca#45 to #28
- Reuben#44 to #36
- Arlo#27 to #20
- Roman#28 to #23
New to this top 50: Jude, Hugo, Ronnie, Louis.
Top girl names in 2021
Source-derived rank and recorded count for England and Wales. Tied positions are preserved.
| Rank | Name | Recorded |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Olivia | 3,649 |
| 2 | Amelia | 3,164 |
| 3 | Isla | 2,683 |
| 4 | Ava | 2,576 |
| 5 | Ivy | 2,245 |
| 6 | Freya | 2,187 |
| 7 | Lily | 2,182 |
| 8 | Florence | 2,180 |
| 9 | Mia | 2,168 |
| 10 | Willow | 2,067 |
| 11 | Rosie | 2,028 |
| 12 | Sophia | 2,019 |
| 13 | Isabella | 2,010 |
| 14 | Grace | 1,992 |
| 15 | Daisy | 1,873 |
| 16 | Sienna | 1,869 |
| 17 | Poppy | 1,841 |
| 18 | Elsie | 1,840 |
| 19 | Emily | 1,797 |
| 20 | Ella | 1,756 |
| 21 | Evelyn | 1,729 |
| 22 | Phoebe | 1,678 |
| 23 | Sofia | 1,671 |
| 24 | Evie | 1,670 |
| 25 | Charlotte | 1,654 |
| 26 | Harper | 1,480 |
| 27 | Millie | 1,472 |
| 28 | Matilda | 1,437 |
| 29 | Maya | 1,433 |
| 30 | Sophie | 1,375 |
| 31 | Alice | 1,359 |
| 32 | Emilia | 1,353 |
| 33 | Isabelle | 1,304 |
| 34 | Ruby | 1,300 |
| 35 | Luna | 1,261 |
| 36 | Maisie | 1,229 |
| 37 | Aria | 1,202 |
| 38 | Penelope | 1,194 |
| 39 | Mila | 1,133 |
| 40 | Bonnie | 1,121 |
| 41 | Eva | 1,091 |
| 42 | Hallie | 1,070 |
| 43 | Eliza | 1,064 |
| 44 | Ada | 1,058 |
| 45 | Violet | 1,057 |
| 46 | Esme | 1,013 |
| 47 | Arabella | 1,012 |
| 48 | Imogen | 998 |
| 49 | Jessica | 997 |
| 50 | Delilah | 981 |
Top boy names in 2021
Source-derived rank and recorded count for England and Wales. Tied positions are preserved.
| Rank | Name | Recorded |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Noah | 4,525 |
| 2 | Oliver | 4,167 |
| 3 | George | 4,141 |
| 4 | Arthur | 3,766 |
| 5 | Muhammad | 3,722 |
| 6 | Leo | 3,465 |
| 7 | Harry | 3,089 |
| 8 | Oscar | 3,071 |
| 9 | Archie | 2,928 |
| 10 | Henry | 2,912 |
| 11 | Theodore | 2,889 |
| 12 | Freddie | 2,873 |
| 13 | Jack | 2,847 |
| 14 | Charlie | 2,674 |
| 15 | Theo | 2,514 |
| 16 | Alfie | 2,338 |
| 17 | Jacob | 2,319 |
| 18 | Thomas | 2,302 |
| 19 | Finley | 2,283 |
| 20 | Arlo | 2,154 |
| 21 | William | 2,093 |
| 22 | Lucas | 1,965 |
| 23 | Roman | 1,923 |
| 24 | Tommy | 1,901 |
| 25 | Isaac | 1,888 |
| 26 | Teddy | 1,875 |
| 27 | Alexander | 1,830 |
| 28 | Luca | 1,807 |
| 29 | Edward | 1,806 |
| 30 | James | 1,772 |
| 31 | Joshua | 1,737 |
| 32 | Albie | 1,729 |
| 33 | Elijah | 1,657 |
| 34 | Max | 1,650 |
| 35 | Mohammed | 1,619 |
| 36 | Reuben | 1,534 |
| 37 | Mason | 1,517 |
| 38 | Sebastian | 1,516 |
| 39 | Rory | 1,483 |
| 40 | Jude | 1,482 |
| 41 | Louie | 1,461 |
| 42 | Benjamin | 1,423 |
| 43 | Ethan | 1,398 |
| 44 | Adam | 1,367 |
| 45 | Hugo | 1,325 |
| 46 | Joseph | 1,307 |
| 47 | Reggie | 1,287 |
| 48 | Ronnie | 1,285 |
| 49 | Harrison | 1,254 |
| 50 | Louis | 1,240 |
Method
What this ranking measures.
- Publisher
- Office for National Statistics
- Reviewed data
- Publisher artifact
- Geographic scope
- England and Wales
- Release
- Final reviewed release for 2021
- Coverage
- 50 girl names and 50 boy names
- Reviewed data licence
- Open Government Licence v3.0
- Source review
- Checked 6 August 2026
- Source methodology
- Live births registered in England and Wales in 2021. Exact spellings are separate and accents are removed by ONS. Counts of two or fewer are redacted. Official competition ranks and counts are preserved for every rank through 50, including ties.
Questions about the list
Read the ranking without losing the context.
- What are the most popular baby names in England and Wales?
- Olivia is the number-one girl name and Noah is the number-one boy name in the reviewed 2021 release.
- What area does this list cover?
- It covers England and Wales exactly. It should not be read as a ranking for a broader geography.
- How are tied names shown?
- The reviewed data does not contain a tied position within the ranks shown on this page.
- How complete is the page?
- The page includes every reviewed row through rank 50 for both categories: 50 girl names and 50 boy names. Counts are retained from the source; display-casing normalization is documented in the methodology.