Most popular baby names of 2023 revealed, and Taylor Swift had a big influence
The most popular baby names of 2023 have been released and there has been something of a shake-up in the monikers mums and dads are choosing.
BabyCentre has released its data charting the top parenting picks this last year and according to the research, there has been some of the shifts in name trends this year.
Because the parenting site has changed how it ranks the names to include all spellings, this affects falls and rises for many of the top 100 names.
As Sophia is no longer combined with different spellings, it has toppled from its number one spot and tumbled several places to number eight. Instead, Olivia has regained its crown as most the popular pick for girls.
A number of classic names continue to dominate the very top of the chart, however, including Muhammad, Isla, Theo, Amelia and Noah, which have all stayed firm favourites with parents, just with some place shuffling.
When it comes to emerging baby naming trends celebrities have clearly an influence on monikers this year, with parents turning to Taylor Swift back catalogue for naming inspiration.
August, from the album Folklore, not only went up for boys but appeared for the first time in the girls’ registrations while Willow, from Evermore, appeared for the first time for boys and soared into the girls’ top 10.
"Whether a casual fan or die-hard Swiftie, parents are turning to their favourite songs for a name that will never go out of style," Mingo adds.
"Whether casual fan or die-hard Swiftie, parents are turning to their favourite songs for a name that will never go out of style," Mingo adds.
Mums and dads have also gone back to the noughties naming their babies after their Y2K crushes, while witchcore also cast its magic and parents took inspo from the big screen.
2023's top baby name trends
1. Unusual spellings
Turns out unusually spelt names are on the rise. Among the monikers with lots of different spellings, Aiden has an incredible 17 variations in 2023 registrations while Eliana had 10. A recent survey, revealed the spelling of their baby’s name is important to parents in order to mark it out either as classic or as an unusual version of the traditional spelling.
"Parents spend a lot of time thinking not only about their baby’s name but how it’s spelt," explains Faye Mingo, spokesperson for BabyCentre. "They may be small, but these differences are important to parents so we will now be including all individual baby name spellings in our charts."
2. Naming and shaming
2023 was the year for explosive memoirs, including Prince Harry’s Spare, Jada Pinkett-Smith’s Worthy and The Woman in Me by Britney Spears. The biographies may have flown off the shelves but parents-to-be showed where their sympathies lay when it came to baby names.
Britney saw its first appearance in registrations in 2023 and Jayden, the name of Britney’s son also climbed up the top 100 to 35. Meanwhile, the singer's ex-boyfriend Justin (Timberlake) had double the number of registrations compared to last year.
No names did well out of the royal fall-out amid the revelations in Spare. Harry plummeted down the top 100 to number 31 while Meghan also dropped in registrations and Charles and William also fell.
3. Back to the noughties
Y2K fashion is back, and so are the names of heartthrobs from the early noughties – or at least the male ones.
Names from film and TV posters that decorated bedroom walls two decades ago are also now influencing baby names. Jude (Law) rose to number 15 while his 2004 film character Alfie went up to number 16. One Tree Hill characters Lucas and Nathan both broke into the top 20 and top 40 respectively. Elijah (Wood) climbed to number 22, James (Marsden) went up to number 23.
The same uptick didn’t translate to Y2K pin-up girls however, with Mena (Suvari), Carmen (Electra), Jessica (Simpson and Alba), Shannon (Elizabeth) and Anna (Friel) not showing much of a change.
4. Witchcore
Celebrating all things dark, powerful and supernatural with a dash of feminism, witchcore cast a spell on baby names this year, with a rise in monikers with magical connections.
The number of Sages doubled for boys and went up for girls and Lyra (From His Dark Materials) was a new entry to the girls’ top 100. Meanwhile, Matilda almost broke into the top 40 and Luna edged into the top 20.
Other magical monikers having an influence include Morgan for boys and Minerva and Ursula, which appeared for the first time in the girls list. Gwendolyn – and Gwen – saw three times more registrations than last year while the number of babies named Agnes and Sabrina doubled.
5. Big screen inspiration
The biggest films of the year, Barbie and Oppenheimer, are still yet to make their mark on the baby name charts, with only Ken and Robert (Oppenheimer) rising in registrations.
"It may just be too early to tell yet whether these two very different films have had an influence," Mingo explains. "We’ll be on the lookout for sure though next year to see if we get more Barbies, Cillians, Margots and Ryans."
The Little Mermaid made more of a splash as the moniker of lead actor, Halle Bailey, saw a surge in registrations. Fellow actor Jacob Tremblay saw his name nearly break into the top 20, while Sienna (King who played Tamika) also rose and character Sebastian smashed into the top 40.
Superhero actor names also rose in the ranks as Marvel continued to dominate the big screen. Florence and Scarlett (Pugh and Johansson, both in Black Widow) soared up the top 100, Henry (Cavill, Captain America) also rose and MCU characters Tommy (Young) and Logan (Wolverine) broke into the top 30 and top 50 respectively.
The Mario Bros film had an influence too. Mario doubled in registrations, while girlfriend Peaches also rose. The actors who play them Chris (Pratt) and Anya (Taylor-Joy) also enjoyed a rise in popularity.
Most popular girls names of 2023
Olivia
Amelia
Isla
Lily
Ava
Freya
Ivy
Sophia
Grace
Willow
Mia
Isabella
Daisy
Elsie
Evie
Florence
Ella
Emily
Evelyn
Luna
Most popular boys names of 2023
Muhammad
Noah
Theo
Leo
Oliver
Arthur
George
Luca
Freddie
Jack
Ethan
Charlie
Henry
Oscar
Jude
Alfie
Archie
Lucas
Liam
Arlo
For the full list see BabyCentre UK
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