Old names are back in vogue

A WHOLE new generation of little Peaky Blinders is on the way.

For the most popular baby names for 2019 have been revealed – and it appears parents are taking inspiration from the hit TV show.

Ada has made a return to the top 100 girls names for the first time since 1924 as the BBC drama returns to our screens.

Arthur the only new entry for the boys’ top ten, replacing Jacob.

Oliver and Olivia remain the top picks for baby names – but parent’s age, TV and technology all have an impact on our increasingly diverse picks.

The latest figures from the

Office for National Statistics show Oliver was the most popular name for boys in England and Wales for the sixth year in a row.

Olivia was the most popular name for girls for the third year in a row. For girls, Sophia and Grace replaced Poppy and Lily in the top ten names.

Nick Stripe, Vital Statistics Outputs Branch, Office for

National Statistics, said: “Oliver and Olivia remained the most popular baby names in 2018, although there are the first signs that

Oliver’s six-year reign as the number one name for boys is under threat.

“Arthur surged into the top ten boys’ names for the first time since the 1920s, and Ada jumped into the girls’ top 100 for the first time in a century too, both perhaps inspired by characters in the BBC TV drama Peaky Blinders.”

Mothers aged 35 years and over tended to prefer more “traditional” names, such as Alexander, Joshua, William, Thomas, Charlotte, Jessica and Sophie.

Those aged under 25 years who were more likely to choose more “non-traditional”, shortened or hyphenated names, such as Hunter, Logan, Harper and

Nevaeh.

Shortened names for boys such as Archie, Alfie and Freddie were all in the top ten for mothers aged under 25 years but were less popular among mothers aged over 35 years, whereas the full spellings, such as Alfred and Frederick were more popular with older mothers.