Most popular baby names in Oxfordshire revealed

Oliver and Olivia were the favourites among the 7,745 births registered last year, according to Oxfordshire County Council’s Registration Service.

Oliver has now been the boys’ favourite for two years running, while Olivia climbs from second in 2017.

Superintendent Registrar Alicja Gilroy said: “Oliver and Olivia have been popular for a few years now. There are no particular trends to suggest a reason why, but they are both lovely names.”

Alicja said there had been no new names rising up the list in 2018, although there had been an increase in hyphenated forenames.

“We’ve been collating the names for a number of years now and there’s always a lot of interest in them,” said Alicja.

“When parents come in to register their babies they always look to find if they are in the top ten.

“We are noticing a real variance in the way some of the more popular names are spelt, which is perhaps a reason why they’re no longer in the top ten. Names like Jamie and Kayleigh can be spelt so many different ways.”

Royal baby names can sometimes have a bearing on the list, but while George remains the second most popular boy’s name, Charlotte has dropped out of the top 20 and there’s no place for Louis.

It remains to be seen whether the name chosen by the Duke and Duchess of Sussex will make more of an impression in 2019 than those picked by the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge in the past few years.

Top girls names of 2018 in Oxfordshire:

1. Olivia

2. Isabella

3. Amelia

4. Florence

5. Lily

6. Evelyn

7. Isla

8. Emilia

9. Sophie

10. Ava

Top boys names of 2018 in Oxfordshire:

1. Oliver

2. George

3. Oscar

4. Jacob

5. William

6. Jack

7. Benjamin

8. Joshua

9. Charlie

10. Henry