For the third year running Amelia, bolstered by homonym Emilia, took the number one spot in 2014 when spellings are combined, followed again by Lily.
Muhammad claimed the top spot again for fifth time in the last six years for the boys, followed by Oliver. This is not surprising, given that many Muslim parents give their sons the name (in various spellings) as a first name, often honourifically and symbolically, even if they are most often known by their middle name.
With spellings combined, the following names all move into the Top 100:
Aiden, Zac, Rhys, Leighton, Ayaan, Yusuf, Rowan, Dominic, Zain, Cody
Anaya, Aaliyah, Niamh, Lyla, Keira, Maddison, Caitlin, Skyla, Fatima, Alicia, Tilly, Aria, Alyssa, Amina
Most notably, Arabic names perform well in the combined spellings rankings, as their are many different ways of transliterating Arabic script into English. Similarly, Irish names Aiden, Keira, Caitlin and Niamh benefitted from the combining of the native Irish forms with the anglicised spellings.
Kayden, Louie, Elliot, Darcey, Maya, Esme, Sarah and Lexi are the highest movers into the Top 50.
Notable names which made big leaps into the top 200 include Caelan, Coby, Eesa, Aryan, Casey, Emmie, Amaya, Hallie, Katherine, Aiza, Imaan, Tiana, Sumayyah, Safiya and Ria.
Here is a brief rundown of the combined spellings Top 30 (the second number denotes the name's original, individual, ONS rank):
| |
| 1 |
| 2 |
| 3 |
| 4 |
| 5 |
| 6 |
| 7 |
| 8 |
| 9 |
| 10 |
| 11 |
| 12 |
| 13 |
| 14 |
| 15 |
| 16 |
| 17 |
| 18 |
| 19 |
| 20 |
| 21 |
| 22 |
| 23 |
| 24 |
| 25 |
| 26 |
| 27 |
| 28 |
| 29 |
| 30 |
|
| MUHAMMAD |
| OLIVER |
| JACK |
| HARRY |
| JACOB |
| CHARLIE |
| THOMAS |
| OSCAR |
| GEORGE |
| JAMES |
| WILLIAM |
| NOAH |
| ALFIE |
| JOSHUA |
| HENRY |
| LEO |
| FREDDIE |
| ALEXANDER |
| ARCHIE |
| ETHAN |
| JOSEPH |
| SAMUEL |
| FINLEY |
| DANIEL |
| LOGAN |
| LUCAS |
| ISAAC |
| MAX |
| MASON |
| BENJAMIN |
|
| 14 |
| 1 |
| 2 |
| 3 |
| 4 |
| 5 |
| 6 |
| 8 |
| 7 |
| 9 |
| 10 |
| 11 |
| 12 |
| 13 |
| 15 |
| 16 |
| 20 |
| 22 |
| 17 |
| 18 |
| 19 |
| 21 |
| 36 |
| 24 |
| 23 |
| 30 |
| 25 |
| 26 |
| 29 |
| 28 |
|
|
| 1 |
| 2 |
| 3 |
| 4 |
| 5 |
| 6 |
| 7 |
| 8 |
| 9 |
| 10 |
| 11 |
| 12 |
| 13 |
| 14 |
| 15 |
| 16 |
| 17 |
| 18 |
| 19 |
| 20 |
| 21 |
| 22 |
| 23 |
| 24 |
| 25 |
| 26 |
| 27 |
| 28 |
| 29 |
| 30 |
|
| AMELIA |
| LILY |
| OLIVIA |
| SOPHIA |
| ISLA |
| EMILY |
| AVA |
| POPPY |
| ISABELLA |
| EVIE |
| ELLA |
| JESSICA |
| RUBY |
| SOPHIE |
| ISABELLE |
| MIA |
| GRACE |
| SCARLETT |
| LAYLA |
| SIENNA |
| MAYA |
| CHLOE |
| FREYA |
| DAISY |
| DARCEY |
| PHOEBE |
| HOLLY |
| MOLLY |
| MILLIE |
| CHARLOTTE |
|
| 1 |
| 9 |
| 2 |
| 12 |
| 3 |
| 4 |
| 6 |
| 5 |
| 7 |
| 14 |
| 16 |
| 8 |
| 15 |
| 10 |
| 18 |
| 13 |
| 11 |
| 17 |
| 38 |
| 20 |
| 45 |
| 19 |
| 21 |
| 24 |
| 72 |
| 22 |
| 39 |
| 41 |
| 29 |
| 23 |
|
Grouping Methodology:
There is a fine line between the pronunciation and spellings of many names, which cause problems when combining spellings. Is Masie a Macy or a Maisie? Should Emma-Leigh be counted among the Emmas, or the Emilys? Realistically, the pronunciation of many names are very subjective and it's almost always the vowels that cause problems.
Some names are homonymous, having the same pronunciation but a different origin. Cameron is a Scottish surname, Kamran is a Persian name, however, in "the classroom test" they would both respond to "KAM-ron." Given also that the multitude of variant spellings make it impossible to know which parents are using Kamran as the Persian name, and which are using it as an alternate spelling of Cameron, the two cannot be accurately serparated.
I have grouped the spellings in a way that I felt reflect the same sound. For full disclosure, I have listed all the variations, in order of their individual rank, to give a full picture of all the spellings that have been coined. I have also included the birth count of each name so that, should you want to take certain spellings out of a category, you can adjust the rankings easily yourself.
Why isn't Charlie with Charles?:
Most frequently I'm asked why I don't put diminutives with their formal counterparts. The problem is, its a slippery slope. Tom, Tommy and Thomas may go nicely together, but would Teddy go with Edward or Theodore, given that it can be used as a nickname for both. Then there's Ellie or Ella. Would they go together? Separately? With Eleanor? Or Eloise?
Given that some children with formal names are never called by a nickname, it seems more obvious to me to keep the spellings in homonyms only.
Problematic names:
Alicia - As Alicia can be either be pronounced with a "liss" or a "leesh" sound, it is impossible to know exactly how many of the 313 parents who named their daughter Alicia in 2014 are using the former, or the latter, pronunciation. Does Alicia belong with Alisha, or should they be kept separate? And where do Elecia and Elysia fit in?
I have opted to keep the two separate, grouping "ia" variants with Alicia (putting it at #85) and "sh" variants with Alisha (putting it at #121). If, however, the two spellings were added together, Alisha/Alicia would rank #52.
Emilia - It is difficult putting Emilia in the same category as Amelia. Many feel that Amelia and Emilia have a different style, yet while that is true, they do, nonetheless, have the same (or incredibly similar) pronunciation. If you keep Emilia and Amelia separate, however, where would Emelia go? Or Amilia?
I have placed the two in the same group (as I feel the majority of Brits pronounce them both ə-MEE-lee-ə). If Emilia, Emilija, Emilia-Rose, Emilia-Rae, Emillia and Emiliya were taken out, Amelia would move down to #2, and Lily would take the top spot.
Louis - Louis always proves a problem for me as there is a disagreement over pronunciation in the UK. Some named Louis are, the traditional French, LOO-ee (Louis Walsh and Louis Tomlinson, for example). However, some are the old British pronunciation Loo-iss (like Olympian Louis Smith). Personally I have met boys called Louis pronounced both ways and this leads to the problem of whether Louis should be added to Lewis or Louie. I have opted to put it with Louie. If the spelling Louis was added to Lewis, it would bump the name up from #51 to #34.
Miah - Mia or Maya? There does not seem to be a consensus on this one. I have put it with Maya (#21), but it makes little difference as if it was added to Mia (#14), Mia would still stay at the same rank.
There are many other names which were difficult to place. If you disagree with my perception, adjust the numbers accordingly from information in the full tables (see links below).
You can see the complete Top 200 Combined Spellings tables (complete with variant spellings) on these pages:
Combined Spellings 2014 - Girls
Combined Spellings 2014 - Boys
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