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Olivia becomes number one name for girls
Sophie Goodchild, Health and Social Affairs Correspondent8 Sep 2009
Olivia is now the number one name for girls and Jack for a boy, it was revealed today.
Official rankings show Jack has retained its top position while Olivia has climbed two places.
Other names gaining popularity include Riley and Lexi in the top 100 list for England and Wales.
The number of parents choosing Riley for their sons has pushed the name up 24 places to occupy the number 33 slot.
Lexi, a nickname for Alexandra, is also soaring up the rankings.
The girl's name rose 40 places to reach number 73 in the list.
Young royal Prince Harry also appears to be influencing parents- his name is now the fourth most popular choice for naming boys.
The ONS popularity rankings are based on data from birth registrations for 2008.
Seasonal variations include the name Holly which averaged 22 for the year as a whole but was the most popular girls' name during December 2008.
Olivia was first used by Shakespeare for the rich heiress wooed by the duke in Twelfth Night.
It is a feminine form of the boy's name Oliver and is derived from the Latin for olive.'
Famous Olivias include Australian singer Olivia Newton-John who starred in the film Grease and the actress Olivia Williams.
Since the 1990s, it has steadily increased dominance in the UK and around the world.
Jack is a pet form of the name John and is derived from the Middle English Jankin' or Jackin.'
It has been the most popular boys' name in England and Wales since 1995.
The full top 10 boys' names for last year in order of popularity were Jack, Oliver, Thomas, Harry, Joshua, Alfie, Charlie, Daniel, James and William.
For girls, the top ten is now Olivia, Ruby, Emily, Grace, Jessica, Choloe, Sophie, Lily, Amelia and Evie.
There were 708,711 live births in England and Wales during 2008.
The total of different boys' names registered was 26,815 and 34,043 for girls.
