If you want to pick a truly unusual baby name, you’ll need to rule out not only the monikers that are trending right now, but also the most popular names of the next ten years.
Lucky for you, Nick Stripe, head of life events at the Office for National Statistics (ONS), has been crunching the numbers and looking into his crystal ball to divine what will be the most popular baby names of 2026.
Some are influenced by famous babies of today - hello Harper Beckham and Princess Charlotte - but others are more traditional: George, Albie and Arthur are due a resurgence.
In a blog on HuffPost UK Stripe explores the popular baby names of the past, present and future.
These are the names that he has noticed having notable increases in popularity over recent years:
Names For Girls’ Predicted To be Popular In 2026
* Charlotte,
* Harper,
* Aria,
* Alice,
* Penelope,
* Ivy,
* Aurora,
* Luna,
* Paisley,
* Hallie
* Margot.
Names For Boys’ Predicted To be Popular In 2026
* George,
* Arlo,
* Jaxon,
* Grayson,
* Hunter,
* Ezra,
* Albie,
* Arthur,
* Reggie
* Louie,
* Wilf.
The ONS have been tracking all the names given to babies in England and Wales since 1996, and they also have data on the top 100 baby names in each decade since the 1900s.
Stripe used this data, along with the latest list of the most popular names for boys and girls born in England and Wales, to make his prediictions.