We're a long way from the 2021 England and Wales data drop. September...maybe October? Even Scotland hasn't released their provisional data like they usually do at the end of the year and we will have to see if their full stats come out in mid-March as they usually do.
But just because we are a long way off finding out what made waves in 2021, it is fun to guess.
Here are my top 10 girls' names from the 2020 England and Wales data that I will be keeping my eye on:
Alaia — Ranking at #262, Alaia was only #5707 with 3 births ten years before in 2010. Thanks to celebrity use (such as Rochelle and Marvin Humes' eldest daughter) and a fashion brand, Alaia has been on a steep upward curve since 2018.
Alaya at #288 is also swiftly rising.
Athena — Badass goddess Athena has been steadily rising through the top 500 since 2012. It now ranks #184. Similar in sound to stylish Amelia and Thea, it matches other goddess names in the top 100 like Freya, Iris, Luna and Aurora.
Callie — Adding to Britain's love of diminutive names, Callie rose 276 places in a decade and now ranks at #171. We can likely thank similar Hallie which also saw a steep rise and entered the top 100 in 2017.
Effie — Sweetly antique Effie sits beautifully alongside current trendsetting favourites like Elsie, Rosie, Bonnie and Lottie. It rose over 100 places from 2019 to 2020 and now ranks at #204.
Everly — With the super-stylish 'v' found in hot top 20 favourites Olivia, Ava, Ivy and Evie, and so similar to Evelyn at #21, it is little wonder that this US favourite (#43) is now catching on over here. In America, it debuted in 2012 and rocketed up to the top 100 by 2017. In England and Wales, Everly has risen rapidly since it debuted in 2013 (though not as stratospherically as in the US) and now ranks at #207. Alternate spelling Everleigh is also steeply rising and sits at #298.
Indie — Although India has never been in the top 100, it came close in 1999 and 2000 when it ranked #113 and #114 respectively. Diminutive form Indie is now superseding India's rank of #200 having rapidly risen through the top 1000 since 2009. It now ranks #124 jumping up nearly 50 places from the previous year.
Maeva — Mythological Maeve was on my watch list for 2020 as it had gone from consistently ranking in the lower half of the top 1000 from the 1990s onwards to suddenly jumping from #507 to #218 in 2019. But, even I didn't expect quite the meteoric jump it made to #94 in 2020, crashing into the top 100 with the highest rise in birth count for that year.
Although from a different source (Tahitian name meaning "welcome"), Maeva was also on my 2019 watchlist thanks to its cracking into the top 1000 for the first time in 2019, all the way to #698, rising at the same time Maeve did -- most likely thanks to its similarity in sound. Long stylish in France, Maeva was in the French top 100 from 1988 to 2010 (peaking at #21) and now ranks at #354 in England and Wales, rising over 300 places last year.
Nova — Like Everly, Nova is a name that has been white-hot in America and we are following over here. Nova entered the US top 1000 in 2011 and now ranks at #38. Nova entered the E&W top 1000 in 2014 and has risen steeply to #144.
Ottilie — Long a favourite in the Telegraph and Times, Ottilie ranked #878 a decade ago and has been steadily rising ever since. It now ranks #122 and I don't think it will be long until it is in the top 100.
Primrose — Primrose came into the top 1000 in 2012 and rose steadily to #213 in 2018. It actually dipped a bit to #230 in 2019, however it jumped over 70 places to #157 in 2020 showing it is on the up.
