At long last, the official list of the most popular names for baby girls and boys born  in England and Wales in 2009 has been released.  And, to cut to the chase, here are the Top 10 for each gender–all of which were there last year, with several remaining in the same spot:

　　GIRLS

　　Olivia

　　Ruby

　　Chloe (up 3 places)

　　Emily (down 1)

　　Sophie (up 2)

　　Jessica (down 1)

　　Grace (down 3)

　　Lily

　　Amelia

　　Evie

　　BOYS

　　Oliver (up 1)

　　Jack (down 1)

　　Harry (up 1)

　　Alfie (up 2)

　　Joshua

　　Thomas (down 3)

　　Charlie

　　William (up 2)

　　James

　　Daniel (down 2)

　　So Jack hit the road, after reigning as #1 for 14 years–though he was still on top in Wales and some areas of England.  But it’s interesting to note that if the 12 different spellings of Mohammed that were listed separately had counted as one name, it would have topped Oliver.

　　The biggest climbers in the Top 100 were Maisie for the girls and Austin for the boys.  There were also regional differences (Isabella in London‘s Top Ten, Seren #3 in Wales) and seasonal (Holly was the favorite name for the month of December).

　　The Royalist spirit was reflected in the naming of 16 Kings, 68 Princes, eight Dukes, 11 Earls, four Barons and four Lords, as well as 12 Queenies, seven Queens, 109 Princesses and five Ladys.

　　There were only six new boys’ names in the Top 100:

　　Aiden

　　Arthur

　　Frederick

　　Jude

　　Stanley

　　Austin

　　…replacing Blake, Jay, Billy, Corey, Zak and Sean.  Showing the greatest rise within the Top 100: Lucas, Sebastian, Aidan, and Noah.

　　New entries in the girls’ Top 100 were Heidi, Sara and Mya, replacing Maryam, Alicia, Courtney and Abbie.  Maisie was the highest climber within the Top 100, followed by Lexi, Layla and Aimee.