Top baby names of 2022
What are the most popular baby names this year? Our baby name experts have been scouring the name lists and crunching the data so we can give you a full report on the ups and down of this year’s chart. We’ve got the top 100 girls’ names, top 100 boys’ names and the top naming trends of 2022 for you. Will parents’ favourite names have changed this year? Is there an unexpected source of naming inspiration? You’ve come to the right place! Read on for everything you need to know about the top baby names of 2022.
Most popular baby names for 2022
There’s been a change at the top spot in the top baby girl name rankings. Last year’s first place name Olivia has fallen down to third and Sophia has risen up from second place to take the most popular girls’ name crown for 2022. There’s no change at the top of the baby boy names list as Muhammad took the pole position for another year.
The baby names trends of 2022
In 2022 naming inspiration came from England’s amazing Lionesses, the reality TV sensation Love Island and the 90s revival!
We predicted big things for royal names this year, especially with the nation mourning the loss of the Queen and crowning a new king. But, despite Elizabeth climbing up the charts in our half year data, we haven’t seen an increase in the full year results. And other royal names including Lilibet, Charlie, William, Kate, Harry and Meghan didn’t see an increase in registrations this year either. Regal names have enjoyed a surge in popularity in recent years though and remain firm favourites for parents.
Women’s football baby names
As England’s triumphant lionesses ended years of hurt for footy fans, parents made sure their names came home! The national squad took the lead not only to win the 2022 UEFA European Women's Football Championship but also in the name charts.
And it wasn’t just the players who provided naming inspiration. Football fever meant the presenters and pundits who were there to guide us through the lionesses’ journey to victory also scored with parents. Gabby (Logan), Alexandra (Alex Scott), Susan (Sue Smith) and Isobel (Izzy Christiansen) have all surged in popularity.
Love Island baby names
Tonight! On Love Island! Islander names have been parents’ type on paper. And BabyCentre parents haven’t been putting all their eggs in the 2022 Love Island basket either. Contestants from Love Island past and present have made a big impact on the chart.
2021 winners Millie (Court) and Liam (Reardon) flew 14 and 10 places respectively while another fan favourite from that year Teddy (Soares) proved true to his surname, going up a whopping 18 places.
Maura (Higgins) saw registrations for the first time this year while the name of fellow season 5 islander Ovie (Soko) was registered for the first time since finding fame in 2019. Could their ongoing social media popularity be causing a new trend?
Other Love Island contestants turned social media stars Dr Alex (George) went up seven places to number 66 and Zara (Mcdermott) climbed eight places to break into the top 20 at number 16. Theo (Campbell), controversial season 3 islander and face of many Love Island memes, went up three places to number three in the charts.
And the Love Island inspiration didn’t stop there. Maya leapt up 10 places to break into the top 10 at number nine after Maya Jama was announced as the new Love Island host for 2023.
Will you choose to couple up with a Love Island name in 2023?
90s baby names
We’re taking it back to the 90s! As the decade sees a fashion and music revival, parents have also been dusting off their bucket hats and naming their little ones after 90s favourites, as well as resurrecting the most popular names from back in the day too. Could this trend be taking the chart by storm because 90s babies are having their own babies?
Top 90s names are seeing a resurgence with Thomas, Jack, Daniel, Matthew, Samuel, Charlotte and Emily all making a comeback in our registrations.
90s music had an influence too with Liam rocking up 10 places – although that Mr Gallagher will probably be pleased to know that brother, rival and former Oasis bandmate Noel went down in registrations! Blur’s Damon (Albarn) saw an increase in registrations outside the top 100 while Alex (James) stepped up the chart. Mani (Mounfield) bassist of The Stone Roses and Primal Scream and Justine (Frischmann) lead singer of Elastica and founding member of Suede both saw more registrations than last year. Outside of Britpop, Jason (Donovan) and singers Gabrielle and Aaliyah all had an uptick in registrations.
Popular TV names in 2022
TV is always a top influence for parents when they’re choosing names. And with loads of great TV this year, 2022 was no exception.
Children’s TV baby names
We’ve seen influences from children’s TV in 2022 with characters from Ninjango taking the lead as Kai, Jayden, Maya and Cole flew up the chats. Much-loved classic character Thomas (the Tank Engine) went steaming up to number 19 and the title character from Ada Twist, Scientist saw the name rise seven places to number 30.
Derry Girls baby names
Other TV-inspired names this year came from Derry Girls, after the much-anticipated third and final series hit our screens in May 2022. Parents have been loving main character names Erin, which jumped up 15 places this year to number 49, and Orla which edged up one place to number 87. Now that season one and two are available on Netflix, could we see the other Derry Girls names Clare, Michelle, and James grow in 2023?
A plus for baby girls’ names
A whopping 12 girls’ names in the top 100 this year start and end in A. This makes up around one in eight baby girl names in the top 100 this year. It seems we have a trend on our hands!
Of the 12 names in the chart four of them were newcomers with Anaya at number 68, Aisha at 85 and Amira at 93. Aaliyah also includes the alternative spelling Aaliya and came in at number 53.
The most popular of the A plus names was Ava, a top five favourite, closely followed by Amelia at number 6 and Aria up 3 places to number 8. These names have been taking the top 10 by storm.
Elsewhere in the chart, Ada and Ayla both climbed seven places to numbers 30 and 40 respectively. Aurora flew up 16 places to number 52, making it one of our biggest climbers, Anna rose 11 to number 61 and Arabella was at number 70.
Top 100 baby boys’ names of 2022
There’s no change at the top this year with Muhammad and Noah holding steady to first and second place respectively. Theo made its way into the top three as it crept further up the top 10 this year, jumping three places to third position. Elsewhere in the top 10, Oliver continued its fall from grace as it slipped down two places to number five this year.
High climber Luca leapt up 21 places to number eight and was joined in the top 10 by Ethan, rising up four places to secure a place at number nine.
The biggest climber in the 2022 boys’ chart was Zayn who’s one and only direction was up, storming 25 places to number 35! After being the highest new entry in 2021, we’re expecting big things from Zayn. Caleb rose 21 places and Toby and Hudson both went up 20 places.
Which names were new to the 2022 boys’ names chart? Our highest charting newbie was Elliot at number 59, followed by Kian at number 64, Brodie at number 82, Oakley at number 84, Aaron at number 94, Zion at number 97, Abdullah at number 99 and Syed at number 100.
At the other end of the chart news, we saw some big tumbles this year. Two names fell down a huge 27 places each with Joseph down to number 88 and Hugo down to number 90. Other names falling out of favour were Reggie down 25 places to number 91, Edward down 20 places to number 92 and Ollie down 22 places to number 76.
Boys' names
Top 100 baby girls’ names of 2022
In a year where we’ve become familiar with a reshuffle there’s been a fitting change at the top of the girls’ chart! Sophia took the top spot and last year’s most popular name Olivia fell to third place. Also overtaking Olivia was Lily, which climbed one place to number two. There were more changes at the top as Isla climbed three places to number four and Maya leapt up 10 places into the top 10 at number nine. It wasn’t all ups and downs in the top 10 though as Ava held steady at number five.
This year’s highest climbing girls’ name was Bella which scaled an impressive 26 places to number 57. Other names ascending the charts this year were Isabelle, Mirha, Harper, Eliana, Erin and Aurora which all sailed up 15 places or more.
The highest new entry in the girls’ chart this year was Aaliyah at number 53. Newcomers names were in vogue in the girls’ chart this year, with 12 new names in the chart. These newbies to watch are Nora, Darcie, Anaya, Maddison, Talia, Nova, Aisha, Gabriella, Amira, Mabel and Harriet.
Tumbling down the charts however was Scarlett with our biggest drop in the girls’ chart, falling 42 places to number 92. What has caused this slump for Scarlett which was on the up last year? Other big falls were from Jessica down 35 places to number 91, and Mila and Eliza which both fell 24 places down to number 41 and number 81 respectively.
Girls' names
Still looking for inspiration?
- Give your baby’s name international flair with the most popular baby names around the world in 2022.
- See the top 20 names of the decade so far for boys and girls.
- Create your own baby names list and use our baby names finder.
To capture true popularity, our exclusive baby name data combines names where the pronunciation is the same, but the spelling is different. Using the BabyCentre ‘how does it sound in the playground’ rule, we help you know exactly how popular each name is, even if parents choose to go with a creative spelling. For example, Aria, Aarya, Ariya and Arya, Sophia and Sofia, or Chloe, Khloe and Kloey.
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