Oliver and Amelia top most popular baby names in England - but Game of Thrones and Disney’s Frozen play a role

Baby names are increasingly harking back to the Middle Ages, according to the Office for National Statistics

Oliver and Amelia were the most popular names given to babies born in England and Wales for the second year running in 2014.

For the fourth year running Amelia was the most common name given to girls whilst Oliver topped the boys list in 2013.

Lily replaced Mia in the top 10 girls’ names, climbing from 12th to ninth since last year, the Office for National Statistics said.

Oliver Cheshire and Amelia Lily. Oliver and Amelia were the most popular names given to babies born in England and Wales for the second year running in 2014. Photo credit should read: PA/PA Wire

The figures, released by the ONS, show that in England, Amelia was the most popular name in eight of the nine regions, whereas Oliver topped the list in seven of the nine areas of the country.

In the boys’ list, Jackson, Joey and Ellis entered the top 100 but the biggest increase was Kian, which climbed 41 places to number 53 from last year.

New entrants in the girls’ top 100 included Robyn, Nancy and Lottie and David Beckham’s choice of name for his daughter is still seeming to influence parents with Harper climbing 71 places since last year.

Pop-culture references also dominate decision making, with the names of Game Of Thrones characters continuing to be popular.

Some 53 parents chose ‘Khaleesi’ for their newly born daughters and 244 babies were named Arya as house Stark gained popularity. Brienne also joined the list with four girls being named after the character.

Names that were popular at the turn of the last century (1904) have increased in popularity since around 2004, and Downton Abbey may be having an effect on this since it first aired in 2010. Edith, Violet and Rose were all in the top 30 names in 1904, and are rising in influence once again in the 21st century.

Other pop culture references include Disney musical, Frozen which continues to popularise Elsa - a traditional turn-of-the-century name - with 534 babies taking the name, meaning it just missed out on a place in the top 100.

Out of all the One Direction band members, Harry, with 5,379, and Louis (999) are the top choices for parents, while Niall lags way behind with just 155.

GIRLS - top 20:

Rank. Name, Number; Change since 2013

1. Amelia, 5,327; =

2. Olivia, 4,724; =

3. Isla, 4,012; + 2

4. Emily, 3,991; -1

5. Poppy, 3,273; +2

6. Ava, 3,171; -2

7. Isabella, 3,022; +1

8. Jessica, 2,995; -2

9. Lily, 2,965; +3

10. Sophie, 2,905; -1

11. Grace, 2,785; +2

12. Sophia, 2,752; +3

13. Mia,2,727; -3

14. Evie, 2,664; =

15. Ruby, 2,595; -4

16. Ella, 2,465; =

17. Scarlett, 2,359; =

18. Isabelle, 2,241; +1

19. Chloe, 2,215; -1

20. Sienna, 2,174; +2

BOYS - top 20:

1. Oliver, 6,649; =

2. Jack, 5,804; =

3. Harry, 5,379; =

4. Jacob, 5,050; =

5. Charlie, 4,642; =

6. Thomas, 4,405; =

7. George, 4,320; +3

8. Oscar, 4,269; -1

9. James, 4,167; =

10. William, 4,134; -2

11. Noah, 4,085; +2

12. Alfie, 3,868; -1

13. Joshua, 3,812; -1

14. Muhammad, 3,588; +1

15. Henry, 3,572; +3

16. Leo, 3,414; +1

17. Archie, 3,099; -1

18. Ethan, 3,061; -4

19. Joseph, 3,041; =

20. Freddie, 3,023; +15