Star Wars revival inspires 2016 baby names as parents feel the force
Tradition is still on top but popularity of blockbuster movies begins to show
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Your support makes all the difference.Star Wars, deep space and superheroes proved some of the biggest sources of inspiration for parents naming their newborn babies this year.
Finn jumped five places in BabyCentre's top 100 boys' names of 2016, following the huge popularity of Star Wars: The Force Awakens at the very end of last year, while Harrison climbed eight spots.
For girls, Luna was one of the highest new entries. Other space-themed names like Nova, Orion and even Jupiter were spotted rising outside the top 100 charts, according to the website.
But traditional names clinched the top spots in both the girls' and boys' lists. Olivia remained the most favoured for baby girls, while Oliver overtook Muhammad at the top of the boys' chart.
BabyCentre surveyed 76,993 of its members who gave birth in 2016. The site said it combined names that sound the same but have different spellings "in order to give a true measure of baby name popularity".
It said superhero films and comic book TV programmes might have inspired the success of names like Kara, from Supergirl, and Harley and Quinn from Suicide Squad.
BabyCentre managing director Sarah Redshaw said: "With more Marvel and DC Comics films planned for next year and beyond, I suspect superhero names will increase further in popularity in 2017."
Celebrity baby name choices proved popular again with Kai, the name of Wayne and Coleen Rooney's son, entering the top 100. Harper Beckham may have gained a few namesakes this year as her parents' pick rocketed 31 places from the 2015 list.
Top 100 girls' names 2016
- Olivia
- Lily
- Sophia
- Emily
- Amelia
- Ava
- Isla
- Isabella
- Isabelle
- Sophie
- Ella
- Mia
- Poppy
- Evie
- Charlotte
- Chloe
- Grace
- Scarlett
- Alice
- Freya
- Jessica
- Phoebe
- Aria
- Eva
- Evelyn
- Daisy
- Hannah
- Emilia
- Ruby
- Lucy
- Maya
- Emma
- Thea
- Darcie
- Zara
- Matilda
- Sienna
- Florence
- Ellie
- Holly
- Abigail
- Willow
- Millie
- Layla
- Molly
- Ivy
- Maisie
- Zoe
- Imogen
- Annabelle
- Nur
- Amber
- Rosie
- Elsie
- Erin
- Harper
- Bella
- Lola
- Eleanor
- Amelie
- Esme
- Eliza
- Jasmine
- Georgia
- Mila
- Mya
- Maryam
- Anna
- Penelope
- Clara
- Rose
- Harriet
- Elizabeth
- Luna
- Violet
- Maria
- Lexi
- Summer
- Heidi
- Lyla
- Megan
- Lottie
- Nancy
- Orla
- Leah
- Gracie
- Katie
- Sarah
- Iris
- Felicity
- Robyn
- Eden
- Brooke
- Lara
- Sara
- Nina
- Martha
- Niamh
- Bethany
- Ayla
Top 100 boys' names 2016
- Oliver
- Muhammad
- Noah
- Harry
- Jack
- Charlie
- Jacob
- George
- Ethan
- Henry
- Oscar
- James
- Joshua
- Freddie
- Leo
- Alfie
- Max
- Thomas
- William
- Finley
- Isaac
- Lucas
- Theo
- Archie
- Jaxon
- Joseph
- Aiden
- Adam
- Harrison
- Daniel
- Mason
- Alexander
- Logan
- Benjamin
- Arthur
- Dylan
- Elliot
- Teddy
- Samuel
- Sebastian
- Reuben
- Lewis
- Liam
- Zachary
- Jake
- Ryan
- Jayden
- Matthew
- Toby
- Luca
- Riley
- Elijah
- Ollie
- Luke
- Nathan
- Edward
- Caleb
- Jude
- Connor
- Arlo
- David
- Jenson
- Hugo
- Alex
- Michael
- Aaron
- Finn
- Louie
- Sam
- Callum
- Rory
- Harvey
- Ezra
- Austin
- Jamie
- Dexter
- Stanley
- Kai
- Gabriel
- Jesse
- Ali
- Albie
- Tyler
- Theodore
- Frankie
- Bobby
- Carter
- Omar
- Ben
- Ellis
- Cameron
- Seth
- Eli
- Reggie
- Evan
- Ronnie
- John
- Tommy
- Blake
- Albert
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