The most popular baby names in Crawley, Horsham and Mid Sussex - and England and Wales - revealed

Noah and Olivia were the most popular baby names nationally in 2021, according to new data from the Office for National Statistics (ONS).

Noah claimed top spot from last year’s most popular name, Oliver. George was the third-most common boys’ name.

But this trend wasn’t reflected in boys’ names in Crawley, Horsham or Mid Sussex. Leo was 2021’s most popular boys’ name in Crawley, while Arthur and Theodore came out on top in Horsham and Mid Sussex respectively.

There was no change in the ranking of popularity of girls’ names in England and Wales. Olivia topped the list again, ahead of Amelia and Isla.

Olivia was also the most common name for a baby girl in Mid Sussex, while Amelia was the most popular girls’ name in Crawley in 2021.

Sienna was the top name for baby girls’ in Horsham.

Within the South East, George was the top name for boys, followed by Arthur and Oliver. Olivia topped girls' names for births in the South East, followed by Amelia and Isla.

An ONS spokesperson said: "Although Noah was the most popular boys' name in England and Wales overall in 2021, this was not the case regionally.

"Across England's nine regions, Muhammad was the most popular boys' name in four regions, George was the most popular in three, and Arthur and Oliver were the most popular in one region each.

"In 2021, one-fifth (19.9 per cent) of local authorities had at least one top boys' name that was not in the top ten for England and Wales."

Here are the most popular names across the South East last year, along with the number of babies given the names.

The top boys' names in the South East in 2021

George – 729 Arthur – 701 Oliver – 693 Noah – 651 Henry – 609 Theodore – 585 Oscar – 564 Leo – 563 Freddie – 487 Jack – 486

The top girls' names in the South East in 2021

Olivia – 615 Amelia – 546 Isla – 465 Ava – 454 Florence – 447 Lily – 418 Ivy – 395 Sienna – 376 Mia – 359 Freya – 356