Harry remains most popular boys' name for second year - and Muhammad takes the number two spot



Muhammad is most popular boys' name in London

Ranked second in England and Wales once different spellings included

Amelia tops the list of favourite girls' names



Other popular boys' names included Riley, Jacob and Jack

Traditional names like Violet, Ivy and Tilly making a comeback



Bookmakers say George is odds-on to be in the top 10 next year



Harry and Amelia have been revealed as the most popular names for babies born in England and Wales for the second year in a row.

Amelia was the top girls' name in 2011 and 2012 for parents from all regions of England and Wales, according to the Office of National Statistics, while Harry topped the bill in all but three areas .

Muhammad was the second most popular name for boys across England and Wales, once variations in spelling are taken into account.



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Popular princes: Harry topped the list of boys' names but William also made it into the top 10

Famous: One Direction's Harry Styles and actor Harry Connick Jr (right) are also notable people with the name

Three different spellings of the name are listed in the top 100 names for boys from the Office for National Statistics. The most common is Muhammad, which is in 19th place on the table. Mohammed comes 26th and Mohammad is in 60th place.



Overall the name was given 7,139 times in 2012, just 29 behind Harry – which took the top spot.

Muhammad was the most popular name for boys in London, Jack was picked by most in the north east while most Welsh parents went for Jacob.

Riley has replaced Joshua in the boys' list of names, climbing from number 13 to number eight, and also made the top one hundred girls' names.

Other boys' names to make the top 10 include traditional monikers such as William, James and Thomas, as well as the more unusual Alfie.



On the girls' chart, Mia and Isla replaced Ruby and Grace in the top 10 by climbing six and seven places from numbers 13 and 15 respectively to fill the seventh and eighth slots.

Pretty: The most popular girls' name is shared by actress Amelia Warner (left) and pop star Amelia Lily (right)

Newcomer: Riley has made it onto the boys' list and is also popular for girls such as model Riley Keough ( left)

Actress Kate Winslet has a daughter named Mia, while Australian Isla Fisher made a string of successful films in 2012.

Other famous parents to name their daughter Isla include Peter Phillips and his Canadian wife, Autumn.

Also proving popular among parents of newborn girls were Olivia, Sophie, Isabella, Ava and Jessica.

Another significant baby naming trend was the reappearance of vintage names such as Hugo, Sonny, Seth and Theodore for boys, and Ivy, Darcey, Tilly and Violet for girls, in the top 100.

Names to fall out of favour and out of the top 100 included Lexie, Lauren, Tia and Kayla, and Joel, Hayden, Reece, Ben, John and Ashton.



Reaction on the Mumsnet website pointed out that some names may have been even higher in the rankings if different spellings were taken into account.

One reader called KittenofDoom, who noted that Mollie could be spelt in different ways, wrote: 'I have to say that the whole business of spelling variations makes a lot of these statistics somewhat misleading.



'I don't think you can make a convincing case for Mollie being a different name from Molly, which has been very popular for a while.'

Another response posted from someone calling themselves meditrina added: 'I think the "true" top name for girls is Sophie/Sophia/Sofia - if you add them together, they are a few hundred more than Amelia (I rounded as was adding in head)

'Boys' top name is Harry, but Mohammed and variants is the true second place.'

Lisa Penney, of the UK parenting club Bounty.com, believes that, while celebrity-styled or unusual names may be fun, parents know their children will 'probably have an easier ride in the playground if they choose a more traditional name - which is why more conservative names such as Harry and Amelia win out overall'.

Noting that some 'vintage-style' names like Elsie, Frankie and Arthur have become popular again, she said: 'We are now seeing a growing trend for old man and old lady names.

'Many are given a contemporary spin by using the nickname for the traditional variation like Alfie, Archie, Bobby, Charlie, Frankie and Freddy.

'Today's baby trends change quickly and names that first seem unusual can quickly become common in the classroom. Just a few years ago Ava and Isla were relatively unheard of as a baby girl's name, yet now they are in the top 20.'

Netmums founder Siobhan Freegard said: 'Baby names are a fascinating snapshot of the country's culture and, while we're still wild about Harry and Amelia, this year's two biggest baby name trends are retro Edwardian-style names and posh becoming common.

'Many mums are looking back into their family tree and selecting great- grandparents' names, while others are seeking names which would have seemed stuffy a decade ago but fit with the current retro vibe across the UK.'

Hit television shows such as Strictly Come Dancing, which counts former ballerina Darcey Bussell as one of its judges, could also be responsible for boosting the popularity of the name Darcey, it was suggested.

Odds on: George is likely to be a contender for top spot next year, as will Catherine and William

And Ms Freegard felt that reality television show Made In Chelsea, starring Hugo Taylor, has 'made posh names popular again'.

She said: 'Hugo, Theodore and Tilly have leapt into the top 100 and will soon be just as likely to be heard on inner-city estates as the Kings Road.



'The Middletons have shown it's possible to move from pit to palace with the right type of name and behaviour, so thousands of parents will be hoping choosing an upmarket name helps their child do the same.'

Names with a royal connection may be ones to watch out for in the future, it was suggested. This comes on the back of the popularity of the Duchess of Cambridge (the former Kate Middleton), the birth of Prince George and Zara Phillips' baby, which is due in the new year.

Ladbrokes have revealed that George is now long odds-on to feature in the Top 10 baby names for 2013 after being given to the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge's new arrival last month.



Prince George's father's name, William, currently occupies the ninth slot on the list, and the bookmaker says it's odds-on to remain in the top 10, while Kate or Catherine has been given odds of one to four to reappear on the girls' list.



Jessica Bridge of Ladbrokes said: 'The country has fallen in love with the Cambridges, and as far as the odds are concerned all of their names are set to inspire parents-to-be in the next year.'



'Prince Harry's already been demoted by George in the line to the throne and it looks like he could face another second finish to his nephew thanks to his name.'