The most popular baby names of the last 20 years - including Emily and Joshua

14 September 2021, 14:07

The most populat baby names from the last 20 years have been revealed. Picture: Alamy

A new study has looked at the most popular baby names of the last two decades.

If you've got a little one on the way and are looking for some name inspiration, a new study has found the most popular monikers of the last 20 years.

It found that classic names like Emily, Olivia, Jack and Joshua were among the most popular for girls and boys over the last two decades.

Emily took the top spot for girls, after featuring in the top five every year between 1996 and 2018, and Jack was most popular for boys.

As reported by The Sun, baby name expert and co-creator of Nameberry, Pamela Redmond Satran, said: "With boy names especially, you see some of the classics holding steady over the whole generation, a trend you'd see if you stretched the chart back a hundred years.

The most popular baby names from the last two decades have been revealed. Picture: Alamy

"Names like Thomas, James, William, and Daniel are never really in or out of style.

"They command a top place on baby name popularity lists generation after generation.

"You see more movement with girls' names, even the classics you might think would be immune to fashion swings.

"Elizabeth barely sneaks onto the top 25 and Sarah has nearly fallen off the top 50."

The study looked at data from the Office of National Statistics from 1996 to 2019 to find out which names rose and fell in popularity over time.

Pamela added: "You can see some names that are on the upswing taking over for similar names that are losing their fashion edge.

"Sophia is the new Sophie, for instance, Amelia has taken over for Emily, Freya is the new Leah.

"For boys, Archie is moving up while Alfie is trending down. Leo is heading up while Liam is on the way down.

"Seeing these names together on the generational popularity list spotlights how connected many baby name trends are."

The most popular girls' names of the last 20 years

1 - Emily
2 - Olivia
3 - Jessica
4 - Sophie
5 - Chloe
6 - Charlotte
7 - Grace
8 - Amelia
9 - Ella
10 - Lucy
11 - Lily
12 - Mia
13 - Ellie
14 - Hannah
15 - Holly
16 - Alice
17 - Isabella
18 - Phoebe
19 - Molly
20 - Daisy
21 - Emma
22 - Abigail
23 - Ruby
24 - Megan
25 - Elizabeth
26 - Isabelle
27 - Georgia
28 - Millie
29 - Poppy
30 - Freya
31 - Eleanor
32 - Jasmine
33 - Sophia
34 - Erin
35 - Imogen
36 - Amber
37 - Rosie
38 - Katie
39 - Leah
40 - Amy
41 - Anna
42 - Maisie
43 - Bethany
44 - Evie
45 - Harriet
46 - Sarah
47 - Zoe
48 - Rebecca
49 - Paige
50 - Scarlett

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The most popular boys' names of the last 20 years

1 - Jack
2 - Thomas
3 - Harry
4 - Oliver
5 - Joshua
6 - James
7 - William
8 - George
9 - Daniel
10 - Samuel
11 - Joseph
12 - Charlie
13 - Jacob
14 - Benjamin
15 - Alexander
16 - Mohammed
17 - Ethan
18 - Adam
19 - Alfie
20 - Jake
21 - Matthew
22 - Max
23 - Dylan
24 - Luke
25 - Henry
26 - Lewis
27 - Ryan
28 - Edward
29 - Liam
30 - Muhammad
31 - Harrison
32 - Michael
33 - Oscar
34 - Callum
35 - Nathan
36 - Isaac
37 - Archie
38 - Tyler
39 - David
40 - Connor
41 - Jamie
42 - Harvey
43 - Charles
44 - Lucas
45 - Toby
46 - Louis
47 - Aaron
48 - Alex
49 - Mason
50 - Noah