THE MOST popular baby names in Reading from the last year have been revealed.
The Office for National Statistics (ONS) has confirmed that Olivia and Evelyn are both the most popular girls' names in the town, while Muhammad was the more popular boys' name.
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Oliver and Olivia remained the most popular name for boys and girls across England and Wales.
In the south east, Olivia was the most popular girls' name, with Amelia and Isla not far behind.
Meanwhile, Arthur won it for the boys' names in the region, followed by George and Oliver.
Nationally, Freya and Lily replaced Emily and Ella in the top 10 girls’ names, while there were no new entries in the top 10 boys’ names in 2019.
Alfred, Chester, Hudson, Ibrahim and Oakley entered the 2019 top 100 boys’ names replacing Alex, Dexter, Dominic, Kai, Sonny and Tobias.
Lara and Mabel replaced Aisha and Francesca in the top 100 girls’ names; Mabel has not been in the top 100 since 1924.
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Shortened versions of traditional boys’ names featured in half of the top 10 boys’ names chosen by mothers aged under 25 years compared with just one name chosen by mothers aged 35 years and over.
Only half of the top 10 girls’ names chosen by mothers aged under 25 years featured in the top 10 names chosen by mothers aged 35 years and over.
In 2019, 31.2 per cent of local authorities had a top girls’ name outside the top 10 compared with 24.5 per cent in 2018; in contrast, the percentage of local authorities with a top boys’ name outside the top 10 decreased to 20.2 per cent.
An ONS spokesperson said: "Oliver and Olivia continued their reign as the top boys' and girls' names in 2019, but analysis shows choices in baby names can differ depending on the mother’s age.
"We found younger mothers opted for more modern girls' names like Harper, which has seen a rise since the Beckhams named their daughter so in 2011, and shortened boys' names like Freddie.
"In contrast, older mothers chose more traditional names such as Jack and Charlotte.
"Popular culture continues to influence the baby names landscape.
"Following Dua Lipa’s first UK number one single in 2017, the number of girls named Dua has doubled from 63 to 126 in 2019."
Oliver has been the top boys’ name since 2013, while Olivia has been the top girls’ name since 2016.
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