The Department for Education today released a list of the 1,000 most popular names of school pupils according to the autumn census 2014.
Despite well-worn tales about pop stars dominating name choices, the list is resolutely traditional with Jack and Chloe topping the first name chart.
At the bottom of the list are more surprising findings including 786 Aadam’s – note the double A.
The chart is one of the few places this week where Ed beat David (89th and 92nd respectively). Nick didn’t even make the top 1000.
Top 10 first names – overall
1. Jack – 98,007
2. Thomas – 80,419
3. Joshua – 78,830
4. James – 70,512
5. Daniel – 67,277
6. Chloe – 64,487
7. Harry – 63,296
8. Oliver – 63,136
9. Emily – 61,204
10. Samuel – 57,959
At the bottom of the list of the 1,000 names are Piotr (759), Jonathon (761), Asher (763), Mario (763) and Honor (764).
Mohammed, a name commonly described as the most popular, because of its many spelling variants. The most common spelling – Mohammed – appears at position 63 on the list.
Top 10 boys’ first names
With Thomas a close second, and today’s 70th anniversary of popular children’s series Thomas the Tank Engine, we wonder if parents have been drawing inspiration from the blue engine.
1. Jack – 98,007
2. Thomas – 80,419
3. Joshua – 78,830
4. James – 70,512
5. Daniel – 67,277
6. Harry – 63,296
7. Oliver 63136
8. Samuel – 57,959
9. William – 53,642
10. Joseph – 53,617
Top 10 girls’ first names
Princess Charlotte may be the most famous baby in the world at present, but there are already more than 43,000 other Charlottes at schools across the country.
1. Chloe – 64,487
2. Emily – 61,204
3. Jessica – 56,939
4. Sophie – 52,938
5. Olivia – 51,332
6. Megan – 45,176
7. Charlotte – 43,371
8. Lucy – 41,360
9. Hannah – 38,777
10. Ellie – 38,741
Top 10 surnames
Traditional British names top the list, but are also joined by four traditional Asian names.
1. Smith – 75,888
2. Jones – 45,917
3. Ahmed – 36,879
4. Khan – 36,874
5. Taylor – 36,386
6. Williams – 36,308
7. Hussain – 35,683
8. Ali – 34,165
9. Brown – 34,151
10. Johnson – 24,831
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