The most popular baby names have been revealed - with one moniker taking the top spot for the sixth year in a row.

Noah and Olivia were hot favourites with new mums and dads in 2021 - with the latter remaining top of the list for more than half a decade.

Oliver, which was knocked off the top spot by Noah, fell into second place which ended his eight-year reign as the most popular boys' name in the UK.

Also among the 10 most popular names for boys was George, Muhammed, Leo, Harry and Oscar.

Henry scraped in at number 10 says the Office of National Statistics, which has sifted through mountains of information from last year's registered births in England and Wales.

Olivia, which topped the list of most popular girls' names overall, was the most chosen name in every English region and Wales - except in the East Midlands where Amelia was favourite.

Overall, Amelia made it into second place, followed by Isla with Ava, Ivy and Freya also in the mix. Making it into the top 10 this time around was Willow, which had leapt two places to take the spot.

In total, 4,525 baby boys were named Noah in 2021, and 3,649 girls were named Olivia, up from 3,640 in 2020.

New entries

New entries to the top 100 included Lara, Beatrice and Sara for girls, and Blake, Brody, Kai, Rupert, Tobias and Nathan for boys.

It is also the first time Jack, says those studying the data, has not been in the top 10 since the annual series began in 1996.

James Tucker, of the ONS, said: "While Noah and Olivia are enjoying their places at the top, some names could be in danger of falling out of favour.

"Leslie has had relatively little popularity in recent years with fewer than seven boys named each year since 2018. Others such as Clifford, Nigel and Norman have not fared much better with 10 or fewer boys being named.

"Girls’ names such as Glenda and Kerry, that were more common before, are also becoming endangered and we have seen less than five girls being named each year since 2018."

Popular culture

Among the names likely to have been influenced by popular culture, says the ONS, are Raya, Luca and Kylo.

Luca, it suggests, perhaps as a result of the popular Pixar movie with Disney adventure Raya and the Last Dragon also playing its part and Star Wars credited with Kylo climbing the charts in recent years.

There have also been 14 times the number of baby boys named Ezra in 2021, compared with a decade before, with the name rising in popularity just as the musician George Ezra achieved widespread fame.

Like Ezra, the number of baby girls named Mabel also peaked in 2021, says the ONS, which could also have been influenced by the chart-topping song writer Mabel.

Royal connections

And while it is too early to tell whether the death of the Queen last month, may influence the choice of new parents this year, and lead to an increase in popularity for Elizabeth, there is the birth of one royal baby that does appear to have had a minor influence on name choices.

The Sussexes’ second child, daughter Lilibet, was not born until June 2021 but appears to have still drawn some admiration with eight Lilibets registered in total over the year compared with fewer than three in each of the previous seven years.