Parents in the UK aren’t feeling too inspired by senior royals, according to the latest ONS data on baby names, as some royal monikers have dropped down the charts
The Office for National Statistics (ONS) has unveiled its annual figures on the most popular baby names in England and Wales, with the data looking back at the top 100 names for boys and girls throughout 2022.
The Royal Family continue to inspire new parents, as a number of monikers shared by members of The Firm appeared in the data for both boys and girls. But it’s not a joyous picture for the monarchy overall, as plenty of big royal names got snubbed.
It’s been a difficult year for the royals as King Charles was diagnosed with and began his treatment for cancer, and Princess Kate was forced to step away from public duties as she undergoes a course of chemotherapy. Harry and Meghan have recently returned to California after making a trip to Nigeria – dubbed by some an unofficial royal tour – where they worked to strengthen ties amongst the Invictus Games international community.
While some baby names veer out of fashion, royal-inspired monikers tend to stick – but some are more popular than others. Last year’s data saw a new royal contender join the ranks as Beatrice placed 99th on the list when the name hadn’t been featured at all the previous year, however this year’s data shows the name has already dropped out of fashion, as it didn’t make the top 100 choices for baby girls.
However, the name Princess Beatrice chose for her daughter, Sienna, has cinched a spot in the top 10 and the late Queen’s name has also leveled up a spot to 59th when in 2021, the classic choice of Elizabeth was 60th. In a snub to our new monarch, the name Charles has dropped out of the top 100 of boys names altogether.
While royal girls’ names Elizabeth, Zara, Sophie, Mia, Charlotte, and Sienna have remained in the top 100 of girls’ names in England and Wales for 2022, Catherine isn’t on the list. And when it comes to boys’ names there is one royal moniker that has won out in popularity: George, which has nabbed the number three spot in the charts.
Archie – the name of Prince Harry’s son – sits at 11, having dropped four spots since 2021, and Harry has fallen to 15th, from being the 7th most popular the year before.
Charles has fallen out of the top 100 altogether, however, a sweet nickname version of the more formal choice – Charlie – is the 16th most popular moniker for boys. William has dropped three spots from 21st to 24th most popular in a year, and Edward – a traditional choice used by previous monarchs and the current Duke of Edinburgh, has fallen two spots to be the 31st most popular moniker used for baby boys. Louis – the name of William and Kate’s youngest child – has crept up one place to 49th, and Charlotte has held its position as the 25th most popular girl’s name.
The ONS data looks back at the year just gone, meaning all the names collated in the newly released data are actually from 2022. The most recent data on baby names comes from BabyCentre, who unveiled their annual mid-year report in July that looks at the most popular baby names of 2023 so far.
In that data, George is the most popular royal boy’s name in ninth place, while Henry is 11th, Archie is 16th, Harry is 23rd, Louis is 30th, and William is 49th. For the girls, the BabyCentre data puts Charlotte in 25th, while Catherine, Megan, and Beatrice don’t feature in the top 100 at all.
Baby name experts note that royal and religious names have always stayed relatively evergreen. Sophie Kihm from Nameberry says: “Names like James, Thomas, Henry, George, William, and Alexander have never left the top 30 in the England and Wales.” Traditional – often royal – names tend to hold a stable position because of tradition – particularly boy’s names. “Girl names were historically more ornamental, and thus more susceptible to trends”, the pro adds.
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