Who wins name game?

PARENTS WOULD much rather give a Jewish name to their son than their daughter, according to the newlypublished figures.

Data released by the Office of National Statistics this week showed that 12 of the top 50 boys’ names in England and Wales were Jewish last year, compared to just two of the top 50 girls’ names.

Emma, Sarah and Leah continued to fall from favour, and Abigail is out of the top 50 for the first time in more than 20 years.

Jacob retained its place as the most popular Jewish male name, with 4,850 babies given the name in 2015. Noah rose four places to seventh, while Joshua, Ethan and Isaac were also in the top 20.

Ava and Jessica were the two most popular Jewish girls’ names in fifth and seventh places respectively.

Joseph, Samuel, Daniel and Benjamin remain in the top 30, while Judah, Eden, Solomon and Abraham were all at a 20-year-high. Elijah and Gabriel also continued to rise up the popularity table.

The name Shalom was more popular for girls than boys, while a total of 72 babies were called Israel — including three girls.

Moshe and Saul dropped down the list, with just 75 newborns being given either of the names.

Delilah was one of the biggest risers, moving from being the 1,406th most popular girls’ name two years ago to 166th last year ahead of old favourites including Miriam and Talia.