When looking at the highest rising names in any given year, it is always more illuminating to look at the actual numbers of babies being named rather than the increase in rank.
Case in point, Lucifer has gained some media attention recently because it jumped from #2728 in 2019 to #1548 in 2020. An impressive leap of 1180 places! But in reality, this equates to seven boys increasing to fifteen. Significant in terms of the name itself and what it represents, but not particularly note-worthy in terms of a real-life upswing in popularity.
Ranks themselves can also be misleading. Both Olivia and Oliver might rank in the number one spot, but both have seen a decline in use in recent years. Both Olivia and Oliver had more babies given the names in 2000 (when they ranked at #8 and #14 respectively) than when both ranked #1 in 2020.
I have been busy crunching the data to find which names had the highest rise in birth count in 2020.
For girls, Maeve steals the show in first place but other notables are Arabic Mirha in ninth position -- perhaps inspired by Pakistani actress Sarah Razi who named her daughter Mirha in 2020 -- and other Arabic choices lower down such as Dua, Ayat, Hoorain, and Aiza to name a few. Mabel, Dua and Billie show popstar influence while literary Lyra was given a boost first by Michael Sheen (a blackboard with his daughter's name was shown in the background of most episodes of his lockdown drama Staged) and then by Ed Sheeran in September 2020.
For boys, Finley was the highest riser but slightly more news-worthy in the top ten is royal Archie and Sex Education's Otis, The highest riser outside of the top 100 was Star Wars Kylo jumping over 300 places followed by Kobe, clearly inspired by the tragic death of Kobe Bryant. His daughter's name, Gianna, also ranked in 23rd place for girls.
Axel has made a significant rise in 2020 and I expect it to rise even further in 2021 now that Little Mix's Perrie Edwards and footballer Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain named their son Axel in September this year.
Below is a run-down of the top 50 names that rose the most in birth count from 2019 to 2020 in England and Wales:
| 2019 rank | 2020 rank | Name | 2019 count | 2020 count | Birth count increase | 2019 rank | 2020 rank | Name | 2019 count | 2020 count | Birth count increase | |
| 218 | 94 | MAEVE | 547 | 225 | 322 | 27 | 16 | FINLEY | 2,613 | 1,842 | 771 | |
| 71 | 40 | ARABELLA | 1,095 | 775 | 320 | 59 | 28 | ROMAN | 1,776 | 1,115 | 661 | |
| 98 | 68 | MABEL | 768 | 531 | 237 | 19 | 9 | ARCHIE | 2,944 | 2,544 | 400 | |
| 150 | 92 | LYRA | 559 | 342 | 217 | 34 | 27 | ARLO | 1,908 | 1,678 | 230 | |
| 62 | 45 | BONNIE | 1,015 | 878 | 137 | 64 | 54 | RONNIE | 1,172 | 992 | 180 | |
| 84 | 70 | AYLA | 744 | 631 | 113 | 124 | 96 | OTIS | 612 | 455 | 157 | |
| 47 | 38 | ADA | 1,140 | 1,028 | 112 | 108 | 80 | MILO | 720 | 572 | 148 | |
| 37 | 33 | MILLIE | 1,319 | 1,208 | 111 | 92 | 69 | HUDSON | 812 | 671 | 141 | |
| 761 | 291 | MIRHA | 160 | 50 | 110 | 26 | 22 | TOMMY | 2,013 | 1,877 | 136 | |
| 76 | 62 | DELILAH | 801 | 695 | 106 | 123 | 98 | MYLES | 591 | 458 | 133 | |
| 171 | 124 | INDIE | 398 | 295 | 103 | 561 | 252 | KYLO | 189 | 67 | 122 | |
| 230 | 157 | PRIMROSE | 320 | 217 | 103 | 356 | 205 | KOBE | 245 | 125 | 120 | |
| 308 | 204 | EFFIE | 242 | 155 | 87 | 186 | 142 | MARLEY | 395 | 282 | 113 | |
| 258 | 182 | HARLOW | 273 | 187 | 86 | 7 | 5 | MUHAMMAD | 3,710 | 3,604 | 106 | |
| 186 | 144 | NOVA | 352 | 267 | 85 | 167 | 131 | BEAU | 419 | 321 | 98 | |
| 188 | 147 | AYDA | 344 | 262 | 82 | 228 | 168 | AXEL | 311 | 221 | 90 | |
| 349 | 227 | DUA | 204 | 126 | 78 | 146 | 119 | VINNIE | 472 | 384 | 88 | |
| 402 | 262 | ALAIA | 181 | 104 | 77 | 192 | 152 | BODHI | 357 | 271 | 86 | |
| 94 | 80 | MARGOT | 652 | 575 | 77 | 103 | 81 | SONNY | 699 | 620 | 79 | |
| 275 | 198 | AYAT | 249 | 177 | 72 | 18 | 14 | THEODORE | 2,737 | 2,663 | 74 | |
| 152 | 119 | MARNIE | 403 | 332 | 71 | 45 | 35 | ALBIE | 1,473 | 1,400 | 73 | |
| 101 | 88 | MYLA | 581 | 510 | 71 | 201 | 164 | PHOENIX | 323 | 253 | 70 | |
| 796 | 382 | GIANNA | 115 | 47 | 68 | 269 | 203 | MATEO | 247 | 180 | 67 | |
| 682 | 354 | MAEVA | 125 | 57 | 68 | 194 | 159 | RIVER | 334 | 267 | 67 | |
| 214 | 171 | CALLIE | 295 | 229 | 66 | 72 | 66 | GRAYSON | 884 | 822 | 62 | |
| 200 | 162 | ZOYA | 312 | 247 | 65 | 238 | 192 | ZION | 272 | 211 | 61 | |
| 112 | 96 | ELODIE | 527 | 464 | 63 | 441 | 303 | HENDRIX | 152 | 93 | 59 | |
| 537 | 340 | HOORAIN | 132 | 75 | 57 | 235 | 189 | REMY | 273 | 214 | 59 | |
| 1,063 | 460 | FIADH | 88 | 32 | 56 | 98 | 82 | OAKLEY | 697 | 639 | 58 | |
| 127 | 110 | HOPE | 463 | 407 | 56 | 138 | 121 | AIDEN | 466 | 409 | 57 | |
| 409 | 298 | EVERLEIGH | 156 | 103 | 53 | 372 | 269 | RAFE | 175 | 118 | 57 | |
| 263 | 211 | TALIA | 233 | 183 | 50 | 231 | 189 | ASHER | 273 | 218 | 55 | |
| 142 | 122 | OTTILIE | 399 | 351 | 48 | 88 | 77 | FELIX | 749 | 694 | 55 | |
| 328 | 248 | AIZA | 188 | 141 | 47 | 259 | 213 | BARNABY | 240 | 189 | 51 | |
| 382 | 288 | ALAYA | 162 | 115 | 47 | 86 | 73 | FINN | 757 | 707 | 50 | |
| 275 | 216 | BILLIE | 224 | 177 | 47 | 472 | 337 | MADDOX | 134 | 85 | 49 | |
| 111 | 98 | EDEN | 514 | 468 | 46 | 347 | 266 | AMIR | 176 | 128 | 48 | |
| 78 | 72 | ORLA | 733 | 687 | 46 | 129 | 115 | MUSA | 482 | 434 | 48 | |
| 141 | 125 | AALIYAH | 397 | 352 | 45 | 38 | 30 | ELIJAH | 1,668 | 1,621 | 47 | |
| 316 | 241 | ASTRID | 195 | 150 | 45 | 189 | 164 | ISAIAH | 323 | 276 | 47 | |
| 81 | 77 | IRIS | 703 | 658 | 45 | 231 | 198 | MATTEO | 262 | 218 | 44 | |
| 1,119 | 537 | ABEEHA | 74 | 30 | 44 | 157 | 143 | REX | 392 | 348 | 44 | |
| 58 | 49 | HALLIE | 954 | 910 | 44 | 306 | 235 | AYAN | 203 | 160 | 43 | |
| 229 | 186 | ARIELLA | 263 | 220 | 43 | 149 | 129 | CODY | 420 | 378 | 42 | |
| 255 | 213 | ALYSSA | 231 | 189 | 42 | 454 | 347 | LACHLAN | 129 | 89 | 40 | |
| 373 | 294 | STELLA | 159 | 117 | 42 | 82 | 71 | ROWAN | 774 | 734 | 40 | |
| 109 | 99 | OLIVE | 510 | 469 | 41 | 279 | 228 | RAYYAN | 213 | 175 | 38 | |
| 392 | 307 | SAOIRSE | 151 | 110 | 41 | 167 | 151 | YAHYA | 359 | 321 | 38 | |
| 147 | 130 | ANAYA | 384 | 344 | 40 | 435 | 342 | KIAAN | 131 | 94 | 37 | |
| 519 | 372 | BRIANNA | 118 | 78 | 40 | 366 | 297 | AMARI | 155 | 120 | 35 |
When looking at the names which decreased the most, it is interesting to note that 4/10 of the ten most decreased girls' and boys' names are names which rank in the top 10.
| 2019 rank | 2020 rank | Name | 2019 count | 2020 count | Birth count decrease | 2019 rank | 2020 rank | Name | 2019 count | 2020 count | Birth count decrease | |
| 1 | 1 | OLIVIA | 4,082 | 3,640 | -442 | 11 | 19 | JACOB | 3,065 | 2,327 | -738 | |
| 2 | 2 | AMELIA | 3,712 | 3,319 | -393 | 1 | 1 | OLIVER | 4,932 | 4,225 | -707 | |
| 11 | 15 | EMILY | 2,262 | 1,896 | -366 | 5 | 8 | HARRY | 3,823 | 3,209 | -614 | |
| 6 | 8 | ISABELLA | 2,398 | 2,052 | -346 | 9 | 12 | CHARLIE | 3,355 | 2,810 | -545 | |
| 8 | 11 | GRACE | 2,330 | 2,010 | -320 | 8 | 10 | JACK | 3,381 | 2,900 | -481 | |
| 7 | 10 | SOPHIA | 2,332 | 2,028 | -304 | 2 | 2 | GEORGE | 4,575 | 4,100 | -475 | |
| 27 | 30 | RUBY | 1,656 | 1,359 | -297 | 20 | 23 | JOSHUA | 2,450 | 1,989 | -461 | |
| 18 | 20 | CHARLOTTE | 2,015 | 1,732 | -283 | 17 | 20 | WILLIAM | 2,667 | 2,215 | -452 | |
| 33 | 37 | JESSICA | 1,439 | 1,156 | -283 | 21 | 26 | ALEXANDER | 2,344 | 1,909 | -435 | |
| 10 | 12 | FREYA | 2,264 | 1,982 | -282 | 24 | 29 | EDWARD | 2,125 | 1,751 | -374 | |
| 28 | 34 | ISABELLE | 1,598 | 1,317 | -281 | 15 | 18 | ALFIE | 2,785 | 2,414 | -371 | |
| 4 | 4 | AVA | 2,946 | 2,679 | -267 | 22 | 24 | JAMES | 2,336 | 1,977 | -359 | |
| 25 | 27 | ALICE | 1,695 | 1,432 | -263 | 29 | 37 | LOGAN | 1,808 | 1,449 | -359 | |
| 15 | 18 | EVIE | 2,025 | 1,793 | -232 | 40 | 50 | DANIEL | 1,545 | 1,203 | -342 | |
| 3 | 3 | ISLA | 2,981 | 2,749 | -232 | 6 | 6 | LEO | 3,637 | 3,314 | -323 | |
| 13 | 16 | ELLA | 2,105 | 1,887 | -218 | 30 | 36 | ETHAN | 1,770 | 1,454 | -316 | |
| 22 | 25 | PHOEBE | 1,753 | 1,543 | -210 | 13 | 15 | THOMAS | 2,957 | 2,646 | -311 | |
| 39 | 46 | CHLOE | 1,183 | 980 | -203 | 41 | 47 | SAMUEL | 1,540 | 1,261 | -279 | |
| 23 | 26 | SOPHIE | 1,727 | 1,525 | -202 | 33 | 40 | BENJAMIN | 1,701 | 1,426 | -275 | |
| 5 | 5 | MIA | 2,500 | 2,303 | -197 | 37 | 41 | HARRISON | 1,663 | 1,401 | -262 |
