The Office of National Statistics (ONS) has released its latest analysis of baby names in the UK – and one of the most interesting features of the data is the continued rise of unique, gender-agnostic monikers.
Each year, the ONS publishes the rank and count of the top names for baby girls and boys, as well as changes in the rank since the previous year.
A look at the names with the lowest count or frequency of occurrence highlighted some of the most unusual picks in 2023 – after it was revealed that Muhammad was crowned the most popular name for baby boys in England and Wales.
Meanwhile, Zoe emerged as one of the least common boy names in the country, with a total of three toddlers being given what has historically been a girl’s name.
Likewise, three baby boys each were named Xayvion, Zimchikachim, Woodie, Tyga, and Trim in 2023.
Other rare male names included Jupiter, Jack-Junior, as well as Jin, with nine infants each receiving these monikers.
Data from the ONS also revealed nine boy Peytons were registered last year.
There were multiple instances of everyday words – such as Blessing and Wisdom – being turned into boy baby names.
Each year, the ONS publishes the rank and count of the top names for baby girls and boys, as well as changes in the rank since the previous year
A look at the names with the lowest count or frequency of occurrence highlighted some of the most unusual picks in 2023 – after it was revealed that Muhammad was crowned the most popular name for baby boys in England and Wales
Among the slightly more unconventional picks were Hershy – a twist on Hershey which has multiple meanings and origins – and King-David, a hyphenated name that was given to eight boys born in England and Wales last year.
Six boys each were named Beckham, presumably after former England football superstar David Beckham, and Lazer.
Meanwhile, seven infants received the rather confusing ‘Papa’ as their identity.
When it came to girl names, Zenayda was among the most unusual – with three babies being given what at first could be misconstrued as a play on the American actress Zendaya’s name.
According to American parenting website The Bump, however, Zenayda or Zenaida is a girl’s name with French and Greek origins that means ‘the life of Zeus’ or ‘born of Zeus’.
Like Zenayda, there were three registrations apiece for Zoella, Honour, Gift, Fox, and Deja – in a continuing trend of turning words used to describe feelings into quirky and individualistic names.
Dan, Skai, Teal, Winner, and Awesome also cropped up three times each in the ONS’ list of girl’s names for 2023.
Other offbeat choices included the hyphenated names Skylah-Rae and Skylar-Mae, appearing five times each, as well as Kit and Lamar.
Names seemingly inspired by luxury fashion brands like Dolce and Dior appeared nine times each in the ONS’ comprehensive database, while seven newborn girls received the names Onyx and Rebel respectively.
The list of baby names in 2023 also revealed that Olivia remains the most popular girl’s name, retaining the top spot on the list for the eighth year in a row.
Analysts spotted a rise in the number of parents choosing names like Margot and Cilian, in a trend thought to be inspired by the ‘Barbenheimer’ phenomenom which saw fans flock to cinemas to watch Margot Robbie in Barbie and Cilian Murphy in Oppenheimer.
The ONS also pointed to a ‘continued increase’ in parents opting for names of the reality TV Kardashian-Jenner family such as Reign, Saint and Stormi in favour of traditional Royal monikers.
There was also a surge in hyphenated girls’ names.
Elsewhere in the world of celebrity, the ONS data showed Hollywood still holds a massive sway over Brits’ naming habits.
With the releases of box office smash hits Oppenheimer and Barbie last summer, Robbie in particular saw a major boost to namesakes in England and Wales, nearly doubling between February and July 2023.
Cillian also saw a bump from just 12 namings in April to 31 in October – three months after the release of Christopher Nolan’s atomic bomb epic.
Musicians also have a proven track record of influencing the names of our children.
Last year was the year of Rita and Dua in certain parts of the UK.
This time around, nine-time Grammy award winner Billie Eilish saw her biggest gain in years, following on from writing the title song for Margot Robbie’s Barbie flick, a major US tour and collaboration with Apple Films and a starring role in her first TV project.
Though the name choices for A-list celebrities such as Kim Kardashian rank relatively low on the frequency scale, their popularity appears to still be growing.
