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Charles drops out of top 100 baby names for boys

Getty Images A stock image showing a young boy in the foreground playing with large stackable lego-type bricks. A young girl and a woman can be seen in the background also on the playmat.Getty Images

Charles - the name of Britain's ruling monarch - has dropped out of the top 100 most popular names for baby boys, new official figures show.

Olivia and Noah remain England and Wales' most popular baby names.

There has also been a flurry of European-style entries surging up the list, which covers 2022.

French names Ottilie and Elodie, the Greek Ophelia and Irish Maeve, have steeply increased in popularity as names for girls.

While Charles has dropped off the list across England and Wales, it still clings on to the 100th spot in a count of only England.

In a count of both nations the name's popularity has been on the slide in recent years.

In 2021, there were 639 babies named Charles meaning it ranked 91st.

It is worth noting the newest figures cover 2022, so would not take into account any possible surge in popularity linked to the Coronation of King Charles III in May 2023.

PA King Charles III meets with the cast of a special Gala performance at the Royal Opera House in London in tribute to out-going music director Sir Antonio Pappano.PA
The list of baby names is from 2022 - and misses any bump in popularity the name Charles may have received from the 2023 Coronation

Among his children, William was down three places to 24th, while Harry dropped out of the top 10 - down eight places to 15th.

King Charles' grandchildren on the list include George (third), Louis (48th), Charlotte (26th) and Archie (11th) - with Lilibet, the name of Prince Harry's daughter, not featuring in the top 100.

Elizabeth placed 60th on the list of names for girls, while Victoria, which last featured in the top 100 in 2017, missed out again this time.

Top 10 names for girls in England and Wales

  1. Olivia
  2. Amelia
  3. Isla
  4. Ava
  5. Lily
  6. Ivy
  7. Freya
  8. Florence
  9. Isabella
  10. Mia

Top 10 names for boys in England and Wales

  1. Noah
  2. Muhammad
  3. George
  4. Oliver
  5. Leo
  6. Arthur
  7. Oscar
  8. Theodore
  9. Theo
  10. Freddie

The data from the Office of National Statistics shows 4,586 babies called Noah, marking its second year in top spot, with 3,289 Olivias - making it the most popular name for girls for the seventh year in a row.

Amelia, Isla, Ava and Lily made up the rest of the top five for girls - with Isabella rising four places to ninth, pushing Willow to 11th.

Names leaving the top 100 most popular names for girls were Beatrice, Anna, Holly, Heidi and Amber.

In the decade since 2012, girls names to have made big climbs include Margot (up 565 places), Ottilie (up 791 places) and Maeve (up 642 places).

The biggest climber in that time has been Nova - up a staggering 1,629 places.

Muhammad, George, Oliver and Leo complete the top five for boys - with Leon, Elias, Musa, Axel and Ibrahim all new entries in the top 100.

Taking the joint-100th spot alongside Ibrahim, Axel has climbed 534 places in the decade up to 2022.

Scotland's most recent baby names cover 2023 and were released in March - with Luca and Isla the most popular names. Charles placed joint 182nd.

Northern Ireland's most popular names last year were Noah as a boy's name and Isla as a girl's name. Charles placed joint 200th.