Greater Manchester’s most popular baby names for boys and girls revealed

The top baby names for Greater Manchester have been revealed.

The Office for National Statistics has released data on the top boys’ and girls’ names in England and Wales based on births registered in 2021, the most recent set of data available.

Girls’ names

When it comes to girls’ names, Ivy was the most popular in both Tameside and Stockport, and Ava topped the ranks in Wigan and Manchester, where it was joint top with Fatima.

Amelia appears twice as the top name in Salford and joint top in Bury with Lily.

The top names for the boroughs correlate with the most popular names in both the North West, and in England and Wales.

Ivy was fifth both in the North West and England and Wales, while Ava was third in the North West and fourth in England and Wales. Amelia also ranks in the top five in the North West and nationally.

For the sixth consecutive year, Olivia was the most popular name overall nationally. It also ranked highly in Manchester – particularly in Trafford, where it was the most popular girls’ name in 2021.

Olivia was the top in all but one of the nine regions, the East Midlands, where the top name was Amelia.

Isla came in on top in Bolton and third nationally, and Mia, the top name in Rochdale, was ninth nationally.

Oldham’s top girls’ name Maya, and Fatima, the joint top name in Manchester, are the only ones that do not appear on either the North West or national lists.

Boys’ names

The most popular boys’ name, however, is much more clear cut. Muhammad came out on top in Bolton, Bury, Manchester, Oldham, Rochdale and Tameside.

Noah appeared twice in the Manchester boroughs list, topping the ranks in both Salford and Wigan.

In the two remaining boroughs, Harry was the top name in Stockport and George in Trafford.

All of these names made the top ten lists for both the North West and England and Wales.

Mohammad is fifth nationally and number one in the NorthWest, while Noah is second in the North West and first nationally – overtaking Oliver for the first time in eight consecutive years.

Out of the nine UK regions, Mohammad was the most popular name in four.

Harry and George, the two Royal names among Manchester top picks, are seventh and third respectively on the England and Wales rankings.

What are the trends in baby names?

James Tucker, head of Health and Life Events Analysis, Office for National Statistics, said: “While Noah and Olivia are enjoying their places at the top, some names could be in danger of falling out of favour.

“Leslie has had relatively little popularity in recent years with fewer than seven boys named each year since 2018. Others such as Clifford, Nigel and Norman have not fared much better with 10 or fewer boys being named.

“Girls’ names such as Glenda and Kerry, that were more common before, are also becoming endangered and we have seen less than five girls being named each year since 2018.”

The ONS has also noted that mothers aged 35 and over are more likely to choose more traditional names, such as Thomas, while younger mothers are more likely to use shortened versions, such as Tommy.

Names that have their origins in popular culture also continue to be popular in 2021.

For example, the boys’ name Luca is on the rise, possibly thanks to the Pixar film of the same name that was released in 2021. Similarly with the girls’ name Raya, the title character in another 2021 Pixar film, Raya and the Last Dragon.

Other influences on baby name choices noted on the 2021 ONS data include the Royal family – George, Harry, Charlotte and Archie are all increasing in popularity – as well as Star Wars – the name Kylo began rising in 2019, after the character renounced the dark side in the films.

The top ten girls’ names in England and Wales in 2021 were:

Olivia (3,649 babies)

Amelia (3,164)

Isla (2,683)

Ava (2,576)

Ivy (2,245)

Freya (2,187)

Lily (2,182)

Florence (2,180)

Mia (2,168)

Willow (2,067)

The top ten boys’ names were:

Noah (4,525)

Oliver (4,167)

George (4,141)

Arthur (3,766)

Muhammed (3,722)

Leo (3,465)

Harry (3,089)

Oscar (3,071)

Archie (2,928)

Henry (2,912)