Top 100 British Names in 2014

I’m glad you’ve done this! I always struggle to find the latest top 100 for England (and Wales, in this case). I’m surprised to see Nancy and Robyn in the top 100. I’ve always liked Nancy but I didn’t see either of these ever being back in the top 100, especially Robyn as Nancy is a classic. I’m also really surprised to see Aiden, Paige and Isobel leave the top 100! I know loads of Paiges!

Not at all surprised to see Amelia and Oliver as #1. They’re both beautiful names but they’re typical names seen in England, and I think the nickname options make it favourable (Mia/Amy/Millie/Lia etc for Amelia and Ollie/Olly/Oli for Oliver).

I have to say— British people seem to have much better (or at least generally traditional) name taste than us Americans. I don’t really like Oliver, but Amelia is a nice name!

Britain never fails to disappoint when it comes to baby naming. Such classy choices!

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I think the alignment of change in position column (on the girl’s side) is out of sync, as Sarah went up one place, it didn’t fall 10 places!

So many of my favourites are rising, which is sad, but also shows the great name taste out there!

Combining all spellings of Darcy, I wouldn’t be surprised if she was the real #1 — which is, itself, quite surprising! When and why did Darcy get so popular?! I would love to see a Nameberry blog post on this!

Another big difference from the US top 100: very few boy’s names on the girl’s side. If only that were true across the water as well…

I see quite a few of my all-time favorites on this list — Thea’s appearance was quite unexpected! I know she’s rising in the US as well, and for once, I’m actually glad that a loved name is getting more popular. Thea is too chic and rare to become trendy (knock on wood).

Of course I love the handsome classics (some popular here, too): Oliver, Jack, Charles/Charlie, Thomas, Oscar, James, William, Henry, Leo, Mohammed, Benjamin, Theo/Theodore, Sebastian, Arthur, Toby, Hugo, Elliott, Gabriel, Rory. I think Harrison, Finley, Lewis/Louis/Louie, Harvey, Reuben, Dexter, Kai, Callum, Jamie, Ellis (on the right gender!), and Felix could become modern classics — dashing names with weight and history, with a twist of something special. I do prefer Albie to Alfie, and Archer to Archie. And speaking of Albie: whither Albie? What a fabulous, forgotten name! I’d love to see a Berry blog on Albie, too.

As for girls, I of course adore Thea. And as with the boys, it’s always good to see classic names standing strong, especially those that have become rare in the US: Phoebe, Charlotte, Grace, Ruby, Alice, Florence, Millie, Eva, Lucy, Evelyn, Elsie, Imogen, Matilda (another personal Top 10 favorite), Maisie, Eliza, Georgia, Ivy (love!), Eleanor, Harriet, Rose, Violet, Martha, Francesca, Beatrice, Lydia, Julia. Modern classics include Isla, Poppy, Scarlett, Daisy, Lola, Esme (adore!), Willow, Amelie, Maryam, Aisha (beautiful), and Heidi. Holly, Molly, and Jasmine are names I quite like, but seem to be in style limbo, both there and here. It’s shocking to see Elizabeth rank so low — and Nancy so high!

One Brit trend I can’t get behind: the nickname-name. Charlie higher than Charles?! Theo higher than Theodore?! Put a full name on the birth certificate, please!

I suppose the + and – numbers are in comparison with last year’s list but they seem to be a bit off. Elliott, for example, rose 12 spots (now the most popular spelling) while Elliot (this spelling) dropped 7 spots. Hugo also rose 4 spots and not 6, other than that, I really like this list.

I find it very interesting that Emily is #4 in the UK, but Emma is #57. Any thoughts?

I love the England and Wales Top 100 way more than the US Top 100…so many prettier, classier names.

So many loves on this list, what a good one!

For boys, my favorites are James, Toby, Liam, Leon, and Ellis – and probably a few more I forgot. Far fewer surname and occupational names (although I do love these, especially my top boy name: Archer) than the U.S., making Blake and Jenson in particularly stand out as offbeat to me. I don’t personally love the nickname trend for boys (Archie, Charlie), but it’s not so bad.

For girls, too many to even list! Poppy, Thea, Freya, Phoebe, Ivy, Eliza, Charlotte, all so lovely. I agree that Emily higher than Emma is a bit strange to me, although Emily is every bit as classic and considering the other “older” names on this list, maybe the UK trends that way? By older, I slightly reference what feel a bit outdated by my US standards: Jessica, Bethany (where is that coming from in the UK?!), even Maya, and absolutely Robyn and Nancy. Interesting additions, there.

@augusta_lee – I have a suspicion that the Darcy/Darcie/Darcey phenomenon is due to ex-ballerina Darcey Bussell. She’s been a judge on “Strictly Come Dancing” show for years now. Just a guess.

Love that Frederick & Freddie are on the list but that they aren’t in the U.S. It’s my youngest’s name but it really isn’t popular here….its in the high 400’s.

I agree with @augusta_lee, I’m surprised the nicknames are higher than the full names, including Freddie vs Frederick. Most people will assume that Freddie is really Frederick, Theo is actually Theodore, etc.

Love that Frederick & Freddie are on the list but that they aren’t in the U.S. It’s my youngest’s name but it really isn’t popular here….it’s in the high 400’s.

I agree with @augusta_lee, I’m surprised the nicknames are higher than the full names, including Freddie vs Frederick. Most people will assume that Freddie is really Frederick, Theo is actually Theodore, etc.

I don’t understand why this is titled top 100 BRITISH names when it only includes names from England and Wales, meaning that two countries aren’t involved (Scotland and Northern Ireland)

So really it should just be Top 100 English and Welsh names.

Isabella is down 2, but Isabelle is up 2. Interesting.

I’m a little sad that Amy, Martha and Zara are on this list. All are names I love, and have been hoping they don’t get too popular. 😉