Kent's most popular baby names revealed

by Jenna Dobbs

The county's favourite baby names have been revealed - and you can find out what were the most popular names where you live last year.

It's a monumental decision for any new parent to make and the latest findings from the Office for National Statistics suggest Kent's parents tend to play it safe rather than go for something unique.

Click on the intereactive map below to find out what were the most popular baby names in the district where you live last year.

The top names in England and Wales were Oliver and Olivia, which also proved popular in the county.

There were 249 boys in Kent named Oliver and 190 girls called Olivia last year - making up nearly 3% of all babies born in the county.

Medway had the highest number of boys and girls with the names, with 35 and 32 respectively.

Shepway and Dover had the highest proportion of Olivers, with 3.2% of baby boys in each area given the name.

Dover and Gravesham had the highest proportion of Olivias, at 2.9%.

Which names were popular where you live?
Which names were popular where you live?

Going against national trends, the favourite boys' names in Tunbridge Wells last year were Arthur and Oscar.

Florence or Lily were the most common girls' names in the district.

Thanet favoured the names Amelia and Poppy, alongside George and Logan.

Poppy was also the top girls' name in Sevenoaks, with Isabella topping the chart in Ashford.

Musical Bumps teacher Helen Daniels, who runs classes in North West Kent, said she has seen a resurgence of more traditional names.

She said: "Oliver and Olivia are quite popular names, and I've been surprised how popular Leo has been lately.

"Traditional names, or things we might consider our grandparents to be called, have been making a comeback."

Babies and Toddlers learning through play at Musical Bumps Medway
Babies and Toddlers learning through play at Musical Bumps Medway

Helen, 40, from Kings Hill, said she has seen names like Florence, Isobel, Arthur and Ronnie becoming more common, alongside Sebastian and Eric.

She added: "People take inspiration from their own interests and family members.

"People have used part of the name from each grandparent, but they're more commonly used as middle names."

The figures, collated by the Office for National Statistics, found that there was a wider variety of girls' names when compared with boys.

Helen suggested this could be because, while there are a lot of girls names, a lot of them are relatively similar - for example Eve and Evie, or Isabella and Isobel.

Have you heard any great baby names recently? Tweet us at Kent_Online, or email news@thekmgroup.co.uk

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