The most popular baby names in each Essex area

Matt Lee

18 May 2024 at 6:51 am·3-min read

The Office for National Statistics has released top baby names for 2022 — The Office for National Statistics has released the top baby names for 2022 -Credit:Getty Images

Teddy, George, Arthur and Olivia are the most popular names for newborn babies in Essex according to official figures. Noah and Olivia were also the most popular names for children in the East of England region.

There were a total of 405 baby girls given the name Olivia in 2022, according to new figures from the Office for National Statistics (ONS). Amelia was the next most popular girl’s name, with 334 newborns. That’s followed by Ava with 297, Isla with 285, and Lily with 284.

ONS figures found Olivia as being the most popular girls' name in seven local authority areas in 2022. Teddy was the most popular boys' name in three areas.

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Nationally, the most popular names are still Noah and Olivia. There were a total of 3,289 baby girls given the name Olivia in 2022 - making it the most popular name for newborn girls for the seventh year in a row.

Amelia was the next most popular name, with 2,884 newborns. That’s followed by Isla with 2,613, Ava with 2,293, and Lily with 2,281. Noah is the most popular name for newborn boys, with 4,586 babies receiving that name in 2022. It’s the second year in a row that Noah has held the top spot in the baby name charts.

Local authority	Most popular boys' name	Most popular girls' name
Basildon	Archie & Teddy	Amelia
Braintree	Freddie	Mia
Brentwood	Teddy	Olivia
Castle Point	George & Teddy	Olivia
Chelmsford	Oliver	Olivia
Colchester	Arthur, Jude & Theodore	Olivia
Epping Forest	George	Florence
Harlow	Noah	Olivia
Maldon	Oscar	Rosie
Rochford	Thomas	Ava & Ella
Southend-on-Sea	Oscar	Olivia
Tendring	Hudson	Millie
Thurrock	Archie & Arthur	Olivia
Uttlesford	Leo	Poppy

Noah is the top boy’s name in four regions of the country - the North East, the East Midlands, the East of England, and Wales. Muhammad, meanwhile, is top in the North West, Yorkshire and the Humber, the West Midlands, and London.

George tops the list in the South East, while in the South West it’s Arthur. Olivia is the top girl’s name in every region of the country except London where it’s Amelia. Amelia is second in every region with the exceptions of London (Olivia), the South East (Isla), the South West (Florence) and Wales (Isla).

The ONS says popular culture is having an impact on the names being given to children. There has been an increase in the number of boys being named Luca and girls Raya since a popular Pixar fantasy was released. There has also been an increase in the number of children being named Ezra to align around the same time that musician George Ezra achieved widespread fame.

There was mixed news for Prince Harry and Meghan Markle as their son's name, Archie, dropped from being the ninth most popular name in 2021 to 11th but there were 29 children named Lilibet in 2022. There was, however, some good news for some of Essex's celebs with a slight increase in the number of Gemma's and Rylan's - perhaps a positive for TOWIE's iconic Gemma Collins and TV star Rylan Clark.

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