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You can tell a lot about a person from on their name. Did they have hippyish parents who named them after something in the natural world, like Rain, or Apple? Are they following a long family tradition of being named after their great-great-great grandfather? Or perhaps, does their name reveal which London borough were they born in?
Each year the Office of National Statistics (ONS) releases the data on the country’s most popular baby names from the previous year. The results from 2024 have just been unveiled – here’s what parents in London were naming their sprogs in 2024.
Last year, parents in Camden, Kensington, Lambeth, Lewisham, Kingston and Wandsworth were all naming their little girls Olivia, while in Barking & Dagenham, Croydon, Ealing, Enfield, Greenwich, Southwark and more, the most common girls’ name was Amelia. Fourteen London boroughs were topped by Amelias in 2024, double from seven the year before.
For boys, the most popular boys name across the city was Muhammad, with that name taking the top spot in Barking & Dagenham, Croydon, Ealing, Hounslow, Newham, Redbridge and Waltham Forest. But parents in Barnet, Enfield, Greenwich, Hammersmith & Fulham, Haringey, Kensington & Chelsea, Wandsworth and more were most likely to call their boys Alexander. Alexanders climbed the ranks in 2024 after only topping one London borough in 2023, now growing to eight.
In Hackney Sarah made a comeback for girls, while the most common boys’ name was Moshe. For Islington, the number one name was Emily for girls, and Henry or Oliver for boys. Leo was the most popular name for baby boys in Camden, while most of the girls in Barnet were named Maya.
Meanwhile Noah seems to have fallen out of trend: in 2022 Noah was the most popular boys’ name in 13 London boroughs, dropping to nine in 2023. However in 2024 Noah didn’t top any locations, though it did come second overall.
Most popular baby names for each London borough
- Barking & Dagenham – Amelia / Muhammad
- Barnet – Maya / Alexander
- Bexley – Grace / Harry
- Brent – Maria / Adam
- Bromley – Emily / Oliver
- Camden – Olivia / Leo
- Croydon – Amelia / Muhammad
- Ealing – Amelia / Muhammad
- Enfield – Amelia / Alexander
- Greenwich – Amelia / Alexander
- Hackney – Sarah / Moshe
- Hammersmith & Fulham – Isabella / Alexander
- Haringey – Amelia / Alexander
- Harrow – Sofia / David
- Havering – Olivia / Oliver
- Hillingdon – Amelia / Harry
- Hounslow – Amelia / Muhammad
- Islington – Emily / Henry or Oliver
- Kensington & Chelsea – Olivia / Alexander
- Kingston – Olivia / Oliver
- Lambeth – Olivia / Daniel
- Lewisham – Olivia / Daniel
- Merton – Amelia / Oliver
- Newham – Amelia / Muhammad
- Redbridge – Amelia / Muhammad
- Richmond – Sophie / Oliver
- Southwark – Amelia / David
- Sutton – Amelia / Joshua
- Tower Hamlets – Maryam / Mohammed
- Waltham Forest – Amelia or Sophia / Muhammad
- Wandsworth – Olivia / Alexander
- Westminster – Sophia / Alexander
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