Revealed: the most popular baby names in the UK’s top 10 biggest cities

Baby names are constantly going in and out of fashion. In the 1960s, David and Susan were all the rage here in the UK, in the eighties it was Chris and Sarah and at the turn of the century Jack and Emily reigned supreme. Now, new data from the Office for National Statistics (ONS) has unveiled the names that most people gave their babies in 2023. 

The ONS dug into last year’s birth registration data to find out the most commonly picked baby names. We took a look at the stats and told you the most popular names for the whole of England and Wales (Muhammad and Olivia came up trumps), we’ve broken down London’s favourite names by borough and now it’s time to reveal the most popular names in ten of the UK’s biggest cities outside of the capital.

Based on area of usual residence for the mother, Amelia was the number one girls name in three of the top ten cities, while Muhammad was the top choice for boys in five of them. Olivia and Fatima proved most popular for girls in two cities each, while Noah was the favourite for boys across four different areas. Let’s take a closer look…

The most popular baby names in the UK’s top 10 biggest cities (outside of London)

Girls’ names 

• Manchester – Fatima (32) 
• Birmingham – Fatima (47)
• Leeds – Olivia (36)
• Liverpool – Isla (24)
• Bristol – Lily (29) 
• Sheffield – Amelia (22)
• Cardiff – Florence (17)
• Newcastle – Amelia (17)
• Nottingham – Amelia (17)
• Southampton – Olivia (16)

Boys’ names

• Manchester – Muhammad (201)
• Birmingham – Muhammad (470)
• Leeds – Noah (69)
• Liverpool – Noah (44)
• Bristol – Leo (34)
• Sheffield – Muhammad (59)
• Cardiff – Noah (36)
• Newcastle – Muhammad (31)
• Nottingham – Muhammad (67)
• Southampton – Leo, Noah (18)

ICYMI: England’s 10 best primary schools in 2024 have been crowned by the Times. 

Plus: These are the UK’s top 10 grammar and selective schools for 2025. 

Stay in the loop: sign up to our free Time Out UK newsletter for the latest UK news and the best stuff happening across the country.