Top 100 Baby Names of 2016 Revealed! | Baby Name News

Looks like popular culture once again had a big influence on the top 100 baby names this year!

Babycentre.co.uk has released their annual list of top baby names and there have been some every interesting findings on it, including “Star Wars,” superhero, nature and A-list celebrity influences.

While the top ten names on the list more or less correspond to those on the Office of National Statistcs list, lets take a look at the more unique names that made the list.

With the release of the new “Star Wars” movie earlier this year, Finn – the protagonist in the film – is number 67 on the boys’ list, while Leia and Kylo also saw a rise. Ezra, a character from the “Star Wars Rebel” spinoff, entered the top 100. The force is certainly strong with parents who love the franchise!

Speaking of stars, mother nature had a hand in this year’s baby name ideas. Nova, Orion and Luna have all climbed the lists – the appearance of the super moon and Tim Peake’s return to Earth after his long space journey may have had something to do with these names.

In the world of superheroes, the movie “Suicide Squad,” was very influential, with one character in particular making a big impact. Many critics raved about Margot Robbie’s portrayal of Harley Quinn, and both Harley and Quinn have since become popular name choices.

As always, celebrity-inspired names will always be fashionable. The royal names, such as Charlotte and George, have seen a significant boost. Charlotte went up ten places and George made the top ten for the first time in four years.

The Beckham family continue to set trends and their daughter’s name, Harper, is now at number 56 after jumping 31 places. She was named after the famous “To Kill a Mockingbird” author, Harper Lee, who died in February, so there is a double influence there. Rolling Stones legend Ronnie Woods called his twin girls Gracie and Alice and many parents decided to follow in their footsteps. Even Jamie Oliver, known for his strange baby name choices, has swayed some parents – there was a small surge in the name River after he picked it as the name for his new son.

The list is very much in keeping with Babynames.co.uk’s own predictions for popular names of 2017, which you can read more about HERE.

Check out the top 100 boys and girls names below! To see the rest of the list, click HERE.

Top 50 Boys Names

1. Oliver

2. Muhammad

3. Noah

4. Harry

5. Jack

6. Charlie

7. Jacob

8. George

9. Ethan