Most Popular Baby Names, England vs. U.S.

It’s famously been said that England and America are two nations divided by a common language. But, when it comes to baby names, it’s hard to see if the aphorism is true. Do the two countries have more in common when it comes to name trends, or do the semantic divisions run so deep they trickle down into baby names?

The only thing to do is a comparison of the top names. The Office for National Statistics (ONS) in the United Kingdom just put out its list of the most popular baby boy names and baby girl names in England (which includes Wales). This can be cross-referenced with the list of the most popular baby names in the United States put out in May by the Social Security Administration (SSA).

When the two lists are laid out side-by-side, the old quote seems truer than ever. There’s great overlap in the most popular names in both countries, with some names rocketing to the top of both lists. But then again, about half the names are popular in one country and not in the other, so the same trends don’t always match up in both places. Here’s how the most popular baby names in the two countries stack up against each other.

Baby girl names in the top 50 in both the U.S. and England

When it comes to the top 50 girls’ names, it’s almost amazing how evenly the lists are split between names that the countries have in common, and names they don’t. Yet even within the list of names in common, there are mini-trends: Names like Isla and Ivy rank much higher overseas than in the United States, while Charlotte and Violet are more favored here. And Ava? That wound up in the exact same spot—No. 11—in both countries. Here are other names that overlap.

Olivia: No. 1 in England; No. 1 in the U.S.
Lily: No. 2 in England; No. 18 in the U.S.
Amelia: No. 3 in England; No. 4 in the U.S.
Isla: No. 4 in England; No. 28 in the U.S.
Ivy: No. 8 in England; No. 39 in the U.S.
Isabella: No. 10 in England; No. 7 in the U.S.
Ava: No. 11 in England; No. 11 in the U.S.
Evelyn: No. 12 in England; No. 8 in the U.S.
Sophia: No. 13 in England; No. 5 in the U.S.
Sofia: No. 17 in England; No. 9 in the U.S.
Willow: No. 20 in England; No. 44 in the U.S.
Mia: No. 21 in England; No. 6 in the U.S.
Harper: No. 23 in England; No. 16 in the U.S.
Charlotte: No. 25 in England; No. 2 in the U.S.
Grace: No. 27 in England; No. 38 in the U.S.
Penelope: No. 33 in England; No. 22 in the U.S.
Aria: No. 34 in England; No. 26 in the U.S.
Violet: No. 37 in England; No. 13 in the U.S.
Aurora: No. 39 in England; No. 15 in the U.S.
Mila: No. 40 in England; No. 43 in the U.S.
Emily: No. 44 in England; No. 34 in the U.S.
Ella: No. 46 in England; No. 29 in the U.S.
Layla: No. 50 in England; No. 36 in the U.S.

Baby girl names in the top 50 in one country, but not the other

It’s almost more instructive, trend-wise, to see where the two lists diverge. England seems to favor cuter vintage names, like Poppy, Mabel, Daisy, and Maeve. The United States, on the other hand, is going for longer, more elegant-sounding names like Ailany, Eleanor, Elizabeth, and Valentina.

Names that ranked in the top 50 in England but not in the United States

Florence: No. 5 in England
Freya: No. 6 in England
Poppy: No. 7 in England
Elsie: No. 8 in England
Phoebe: No. 14 in England
Sienna: No. 15 in England
Mabel: No. 16 in England
Daisy: No. 18 in England
Matilda: No. 19 in England
Arabella: No. 22 in England
Rosie: No. 24 in England
Maeve: No. 26 in England
Maya: No. 28 in England
Hallie: No. 29 in England
Margot: No. 30 in England
Lottie: No. 31 in England
Delilah: No. 32 in England
Evie: No. 35 in England
Millie: No. 36 in England
Ruby: No. 38 in England
Ada: No. 40 in England
Ayla: No. 42 in England
Maisie: No. 43 in England
Esme: No. 45 in England
Olive: No. 47 in England
Bonnie: No. 48 in England
Elodie: No. 49 in England

Names that ranked in the top 50 in the United States but not in England

Emma: No. 3 in the U.S.
Eliana: No. 10 in the U.S.
Eleanor: No. 12 in the U.S.
Ailany: No. 14 in the U.S.
Elizabeth: No. 17 in the U.S.
Camila: No. 19 in the U.S.
Nora: No. 20 in the U.S.
Hazel: No. 21 in the U.S.
Chloe: No. 23 in the U.S.
Ellie: No. 24 in the U.S.
Lucy: No. 25 in the U.S.
Luna: No. 27 in the U.S.
Lainey: No. 30 in the U.S.
Zoe: No. 31 in the U.S.
Scarlett: No. 32 in the U.S.
Gianna: No. 33 in the U.S.
Valentina: No. 35 in the U.S.
Avery: No. 37 in the U.S.
Madison: No. 40 in the U.S.
Abigail: No. 41 in the U.S.
Elena: No. 42 in the U.S.
Emilia: No. 45 in the U.S.
Nova: No. 46 in the U.S.
Naomi: No. 47 in the U.S.
Riley: No. 48 in the U.S.
Eloise: No. 49 in the U.S.
Sadie: No. 50 in the U.S.

Baby boy names in the top 50 in both the U.S. and England

The list of boys’ names in the two countries diverges a little more than the girls’ names. What’s most interesting is that England and the United States do not overlap on each other’s No. 1 name, which is Muhammad in England and Liam in the U.S. Noah, on the other hand, is No. 2 on both lists.

After that, it seems like more of the top rankers in the United States have found a home somewhere in England’s top 50, but nine of the top 15 names in England did not make it to the top of the list in the U.S. Here are the names that ranked in the top 50 in both countries.

Noah: No. 2 in England; No. 2 in the U.S.
Leo: No. 3 in England; No. 19 in the U.S.
Luca: No. 4 in England; No. 14 in the U.S.
Oliver: No. 6 in England; No. 3 in the U.S.
Theodore: No. 9 in England; No. 4 in the U.S.
Henry: No. 13 in England; No. 5 in the U.S.
Elijah: No. 23 in England; No. 7 in the U.S.
Jack: No. 24 in England; No. 15 in the U.S.
William: No. 25 in England; No. 9 in the U.S.
Roman: No. 27 in England; No. 42 in the U.S.
Lucas: No. 32 in England; No. 10 in the U.S.
Thomas: No. 35 in England; No. 34 in the U.S.
Isaac: No. 36 in England; No. 47 in the U.S.
Ezra: No. 38 in England; No. 20 in the U.S.
Alexander: No. 40 in England; No. 30 in the U.S.
Jacob: No. 41 in England; No. 43 in the U.S.
James: No. 42 in England; No. 6 in the U.S.
Hudson: No. 43 in England; No. 17 in the U.S.
Sebastian: No. 47 in England; No. 16 in the U.S.

Baby boy names in the top 50 in one country, but not the other

Just like with the girls’ names, the top-ranking names in England seem to be of the cuter, nickname variety, like Archie, Freddie, Alfie, Reggie, Tommy, and Sonny, as well as so-called “old-man” names like Arthur, George, Oscar, and Harry. The United States, on the other hand, has more names with Hispanic origins like Mateo, Santiago, and Thiago, and more surnames-as-first-names like Cooper, Jackson, and Wyatt (which might also fall under cowboy names, an extremely American trend).