Spot the royal influence on most popular baby names

CHARLOTTE is the most popular name for baby girls among Telegraph readers, as new parents follow the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge’s lead.

Matilda tied with Charlotte as the name appearing most often in The Daily Telegraph’s birth announcements, as readers bucked the national trend of naming their daughter Olivia for the second year in a row.

Figures compiled over the course of 2017 showed that Edward held firm in the top spot for boys, while Arthur rose from 15th place in 2016 to second.

Henry slipped one place to third, followed by Alexander in fourth and Alfred, George, newly placed Oscar and William jointly coming in fifth.

Other recent arrivals in the Telegraph list included Rufus in 12th place and Theodore at number 20, while Magnus, Maximilian, Montague and Felix tied in 24th place.

Of the most popular baby boy names in England in 2017, none appeared in the Telegraph’s top 10, while the most common name for boys – Muhammed – did not break into the top 20.

Among Telegraph readers, Alice dropped from second to third alongside Isabella, followed by Beatrice, Florence, Ottilie and Henrietta. Eleanor, Iris, Annabel and Molly were among those names appearing for the first time in recent years, as were Freya, India, Sofia and Willa.

Arabella, which was fifth a year ago, dropped to number 24, while Poppy – which came second nationally the year Britain marked 100 years since the outbreak of the First World War – fell from third to 12th place.

Only Isabella appeared in both top 10 lists, though Isla (fourth in England), Poppy (12) and Freya (13) were among the 20 names most chosen by Telegraph readers.

Susan Cole, of Sutton, Surrey, who has been compiling the figures since 1969, said: “At the bottom of the list there are a few interesting new arrivals – India, Ivy, Olive – now ahead of the fashionable form, Olivia.”