End of an era for Sarah

It disappears from top 100 girls’ names for first time since 1904

NOT so long ago, any teacher who called the name ‘Sarah’ in a classroom would have had at least half a dozen little girls turning to look at them.

But not any more. The name – which has been among Britain’s favourites for more than a century – has fallen out of the top 100.

The Office for National Statistics has revealed there were only 530 Sarahs among the 331,035 newborn girls last year, leaving it 103rd on the list of the most popular choices for parents.

The name figured among our favourites when the charts were first published in 1904, and was in first place in both the mid-1970s and the mid-1980s. But the leading role once held by Sarah has now passed to Olivia, which in 2017 was the favourite girls’ name in England and Wales for the second year running.

According to the ONS breakdown of the most popular baby names last year, Oliver remains top of the boys’ list, where it has been for five years. Names with royal connections are also still popular, with Harry and George second and third for the second year in a row. Leo entered the top ten the first time. Another fixture for boys is Muhammad, which was the top name in London, the West Midlands and Yorkshire.

For girls, Poppy appeared in the top ten in place of Jessica, and other new names in the top 100 included Aurora, Orla, Edith, Bonnie, Lyla and Hallie.

There were 28,222 different boys’ names and 35,475 girls’ names registered, with the least popular chosen three times. These included Ajax, Reese and Ripley among boys, and October, Success and Zamora for the girls.