Most popular baby names for 2021 in Birmingham, Solihull and Sandwell, according to ONS data

Birmingham is bucking the national trend when it comes to baby names this year, new data from the ONS shows.

Noah was the most popular name for newborn boys last year, replacing Oliver from 2020 - but in Birmingham Muhammad is the most popular name choice for parents with 407 mums and dads choosing this moniker in the city.

Birmingham parents of newborn girls also went against the national trend for the most popular name choice, which was Olivia - for the sixth year in a row.

Instead mums and dads in Birmingham preferred to call their baby daughters Amelia - with 68 babies now having that name.

But when it comes to the West Midlands region as a whole, it seems mum’s and dads fit in more with the national trend as Olivia tops the charts - with 356 babies now bearing this name, while 345 were called Amelia, the second most popular West Midlands name choice for baby girls in 2021..

For boys, Muhammad remained the most popular name choice across the whole region, with Noah coming second with 447 babies receiving that name in 2021.

Here’s a look at the most popular names for 2021 in more detail.

Top ten most popular names for baby girls in the West Midlands

1. Olivia
2. Amelia
3. Isla
4. Freya
5. Ava
6. Ivy
7. Willow
8. Rosie
9. Lily
10. Grace

Most popular baby girls name in Birmingham: Ameila

Most popular baby girls name in Solihull: Olivia

Most popular baby girls name in Sandwell: Amelia

Ten most popular baby boys names in the West Midlands

1. Muhammad
2. Noah
3. Oliver
4. Arthur
5. George
6. Muhammed
7. Leo
8. Archie
9. Oscar
10. Charlie

Most popular boys name in Birmingham: Muhammad

Most popular boys name in Solihull: Noah

Most popular boys name in Sandwell: Muhammad

What have the statisticians said about the latest name choices for British Babies?

James Tucker, Head of Health and Life Events Analysis, Office for National Statistics said: "Noah has replaced Oliver as the most popular name for boys in 2021, moving Oliver into second place and ending an eight-year reign at the top. Olivia remained the most popular girls name in 2021, having held the top spot since 2016. Interestingly, Noah was not top in any of the English regions, but has risen up the ranks in most regions since last year to take first place overall.

“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 ten 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 continues to influence parents’ baby name choices. Today we have also published analysis exploring cultural influences that could be inspiring baby name trends, from hit TV shows to musical icons."

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