As with the boys, there are three sets of figures for these UK baby girl names:
- England and Wales
- Scotland
- and Northern Ireland.
Which means there are three winners!
Grace is the new English and Welsh winner.
Sophie keeps top spot in Scotland - yet again...
...and Katie enjoys her fourth year at number one in Northern Ireland.
Sophie still features in all top ten lists - and is number 1 in Scotland; Grace finds herself in 2nd spot in Northern Ireland as well as the Queen for England and Wales; Katie appears in the Scotland and Northern Ireland top ten and still ranks 13 for England and Wales; and Olivia ranks 10th in Scotland but is not in Northern Ireland's top ten.
Top ten girls' names in England and Wales
This year's verdict - a quiet but interesting year! Yes, there is a new number one, with Grace replacing Olivia, who moves down to 3rd place in the rankings. Ruby does well, moving up from fourth to second place - a possible number one spot next time round, perhaps?
Sophie, Chloe and Lily all stay where they are - and there are two new entries to the top ten - Lucy and Lily bow out, making room for Amelia and Ella.
A rose - or is that Rosie? - by any other name... Check out five of these top ten names:
Ruby
Emily
Sophie
Chloe
Lily
... and note how popular that "-ee" sound is at the end of a name right now in the whole of the UK.
This continues further down the rankings with Lucy, Ellie, Evie, Katie, Millie, Amy, Daisy, Poppy, Molly and Holly - all within the top 30!
And if you're into these kinds of names, here are some more: Libby, Amelie, Maisie, Rosie, Gracie, Courtney, Lacey, Abbie, Lexie, Hollie, and just in the rankings at number 100 - Tilly!
Let's take a look at the top ten girls' names from last year, with their rank shown in 2003 and comments regarding the name's trend.
Rank
Name
2003
Trend
1
Grace
13
This was my grandmother's name - and what a lovely name it is, although yes, I am biased! Grace has moved confidently up the rankings and is a worthy winner this year.
2
Ruby
50
Ruby's meteoric rise looks set to push her into first place next year. We can only wait with baited breath...
3
Olivia
8
Down to third place from her top spot last year, it looks as though Olivia's claim to the throne has been short lived.
4
Emily
1
Still a classic name, Emily has actually gone up one place this year.
5
Jessica
4
Jessica managed one year at the top in 2005, and has fallen two places each year since then.
6
Sophie
5
I thought Sophie would head down the rankings this year, but she's hung on to 6th place for a second year.
7
Chloe
3
Chloe also stays put in 7th place.
8
Lily
24
Good progress by Lily over the last few years. She only moves up one place, but it's enough to get her into the coveted top ten.
9
Ella
12
Ella moves into the top ten, having wanted a place there for a few years now - so one happy lady!
10
Amelia
22
A patient and attractive name, Amelia finally finds herself in the top ten and looks to go higher next time.
Rankings - Source: National Statistics website: www.statistics.gov.uk Crown copyright material is reproduced with the permission of the Controller of HMSO
Scotland and Northern Ireland top 10 girls' names
Sophie, Emma, Lucy, Erin, and Ellie appear in both top tens.
Rank
Scotland
Northern Ireland
1
Sophie
Katie
2
Emma
Grace
3
Lucy
Sophie
4
Katie
Lucy
5
Erin
Emma
6
Ellie
Ellie
7
Amy
Sarah
8
Emily
Erin
9
Chloe
Hannah
10
Olivia
Anna
Rankings - Sources: Data supplied by General Register Office for Scotland www.gro-scotland.gov.uk and Northern Ireland Statistics and Research Agency www.nisra.gov.uk Crown copyright material is reproduced with the permission of the Controller of HMSO
What about Wales?
You'll notice that England and Wales' results are combined. But... I've found the top 20 listings for Wales! See the most popular Welsh names from 2007.
