Most Popular British Names A to Z

Most Popular British Names A to Z

The most popular British names from A–Z might seem like a straightforward list, but not so fast.

Are Amelia and Arthur the most popular British A names? Yes, in England and Wales, but parents in Scotland would say Archie is the top A name for boys, and in Northern Ireland it's Aoife for girls.

There are some names all the British regions agree on. Bonnie, Charlotte, Daisy, Grace, Isla, Jessica, Lily, Olivia, Quinn, Rosie, Thea, Una, Violet, and Willow; and George, Isaac, Noah, William, and Xander are unanimously the most popular name for their letter across the United Kingdom.

Even if their ranking is very different — like George, which is in the Top 10 in England and Wales, but #25 in Northern Ireland and #58 in Scotland!

Notable regional differences include names from Celtic languages — like Dylan and Macsen in Wales, Niamh and Finlay in Scotland, Fiadh and Cillian in Northern Ireland — and from Islam, with names like Muhammad, Yusuf and Khadija representing their letter in England and Scotland, which have larger Muslim communities.

One fun note is that the top H name for boys is a different variant of Henry in each region: Henry in England, Harri (the Welsh form) in Wales, Harris (a local island) in Scotland, and Harry in Northern Ireland.

Here are the most popular names from A–Z in England, Wales, Scotland, and Northern Ireland, using the most recent data available. (2022 for England and Wales, 2023 for Scotland and NI.)

The numbers in brackets are name rankings.

Most Popular Names in England A–Z

Amelia (2) & Arthur (6)

Bonnie (37) & Benjamin (51)

Charlotte (25) & Charlie (16)

Daisy (21) & Daniel (53)

Elsie (15) & Edward (29)

Freya (7) & Freddie (9)

Grace (16) & George (3)

Harper (27) & Henry (11)

Isla (3) & Isaac (27)

Jessica (69) & Jack (14)

Khadija (179 in E&W combined) & Kai (70)

Lily (5) & Leo (5)

Mia (11) & Muhammad (2)

Nancy (68) & Noah (1)

Olivia (1) & Oliver (4)

Poppy (13) & Parker (121 in E&W combined)

Quinn (217 for girls and 287 for boys in E&W combined)

Rosie (17) & Roman (32)

Sienna (10) & Sebastian (39)

Thea (67) & Theodore (8)

Una (591 in E&W combined) & Umar (305 in E&W combined)

Violet (44) & Vinnie (129 in E&W combined)

Willow (12) & William (23)

Xanthe (982 in E&W combined) & Xander (184 in E&W combined)

Yusra (250 in E&W combined) & Yusuf (89)

Zara (70) & Zachary (58)

Top Names in Wales A–Z

Amelia (3) & Arthur (4)

Bonnie (27) & Brody (70)

Charlotte (36) & Charlie (12)

Daisy (19) & Dylan (34)

Elsie (5) & Elijah (16)

Freya (9) & Freddie (9)

Grace (25) & George (7)

Hallie (20) & Harri (23)

Isla (2) & Isaac (26)

Jessica (116) & Jacob (13)

Lily (4) & Luca (5)

Millie (8) & Macsen (36)

Nancy (51) & Noah (1)

Olivia (1) & Oliver (3)

Poppy (17) & Parker (92)

Rosie (12) & Roman (22)

Sofia (24) & Sonny (41)

Thea (43) & Theo (2)

Violet (39), no data for boys

Willow (11) & William (33)

No data for girls, Zachary (69)

No data available for names beginning with K, Q, U, X, or Y in Wales.

Most Popular Baby Names in Scotland A–Z

Amelia (5) & Archie (9)

Bonnie (24) & Brodie (13)

Charlotte (7) & Charlie (24)

Daisy (30) & Daniel (46)

Emily (4) & Ethan (40)

Freya (3) & Finlay (10)

Grace (9) & George (58)

Harper (22) & Harris (5)

Isla (1) & Isaac (57)

Jessica (25) & Jack (4)

Katie (95) & Kai (32)

Lily (11) & Luca (1)

Millie (8) & Muhammad (11)

Niamh (59) & Noah (2)

Olivia (2) & Oliver (7)

Poppy (32) & Patrick (114)

Quinn (88 for girls, 278 for boys)

Rosie (17) & Rory (6)

Sophie (13) & Sonny (31)

Thea (80) & Theo (8)

Una (304) & Umar (614)

Violet (72) & Vinnie (241)

Willow (23) & William (53)

Xander (185), 10 girl names starting with X were used once each!

Yasmin (342) & Yusuf (227)

Zara (34) & Zander (145)

Top Baby Names in Northern Ireland A–Z

Aoife (8) & Arthur (14)

Bonnie (38) & Brodie (62)

Charlotte (11) & Cillian (4)

Daisy (48) & Daniel (16)

Emily (4) & Ethan (19)

Fiadh (2) & Finn (21)

Grace (3) & George (25)

Hannah (35) & Harry (18)

Isla (1) & Isaac (28)

Jessica (61) & Jack (2)

Katie (40) & Kai (53)

Lily (6) & Leo (6)

Maisie (19) & Max (47)

Niamh (44) & Noah (1)

Olivia (5) & Oisin (7)

Phoebe (40) & Patrick (40)

Quinn (175 for girls), no data for boys

Rosie (24) & Ronan (29)

Sophie (13) & Shea (31)

Thea (73) & Theo (10)

Una (147) & Ultan (272)

Violet (152) & Vincent (312)

Willow (46) & William (57)

No data for girls, Xander (264)

Yara (354), no data for boys

Zara (32) & Zach (73)

Read more:

Search for names by letter on our Baby Names A-Z page, and for popular names in countries across the world.

About the Author

Clare Green

Clare Green

Clare Green has been writing for Nameberry since 2015, covering everything from names peaking right now to feminist baby names, and keeping up-to-date with international baby name rankings. Her work has featured in publications such as The Independent and HuffPost. Clare has a background in linguistics and librarianship, and recently completed an MA dissertation researching names in multilingual families. She lives in England with her husband and son. You can reach her at clare@nameberry.com