And the most popular baby name of 2016 is...

Atticus?

baby names 2016
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Drumroll please.

There must be something in the water because we just can’t get enough baby name news at the moment.

First up we decoded the poshest baby names of all time. Then we discovered some of the most common names baby names are at risk of becoming extinct, whereas other countries are establishing lists of banned baby names. And now, not only do we have the official list of the most popular baby names of the year but we've also found out what the biggest influence behind them is.

According to data from Nameberry, the most popular baby name for girls is Olivia, knocking Charlotte off the top spot from last year. For boys, however, things have strayed a little further off piste with Ezra crowned the most popular name for 2016.

Asher, Atticus and Declan have also proved popular among the boys, while Isla, Aurora and Penelope feature in the top 10 for girls.

Whilst you might think that the influence behind the most popular baby names would come from our favourite Netflix shows, book characters and A-list celebrities, it would seem that the majority of us actually take inspiration from much closer to home.

Neil Burdess, the author of Hello, My Name Is... The Remarkable Story of Personal Names, believes that rich parents actually set the trend for what names will be in and out of fashion.

'The traditional names affluent parents give to their children are far more likely to catch on than the zany names invented by some celebrity parents,' says Neil Burdess, they author of Hello My Name Is... The Remarkable Story Of Personal Names. 

'It may be that more influential than celebrities are families who live nearby in more affluent neighbourhoods. Poorer parents may believe they can give their children a better chance of success in life by giving them names popular in richer areas,' he writes in his piece for the BBC.

'A Californian study showed that once a name catches on among high-income, highly educated parents, it starts working its way down the socioeconomic ladder.'

Burdess also points out that once a name becomes popular amongst the wider group, it is eventually 'considered so common that even lower-end parents may not want it, whereby it falls out of the rotation entirely.'

So what are the most popular baby names of 2016? Take a look below at the top 10 baby girl and baby boy names of the year.

1. Olivia 2. Amelia 3. Charlotte 4. Ava 5. Isla 6. Arabella 7. Aurora 8. Adeline 9. Isabella 10. Mia

1. Ezra 2. Asher 3. Atticus 4. Declan 5. Oliver 6. Milo 7. Silas 8. Levi 9. Wyatt 10. Henry

Nameberry’s rankings are based on the most-visited of nearly 20 million views of its individual name listings in the first three months of the year.

Make of that what you will.

Frederica Palmer
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