More on KentOnline
More on KentOnline
Additional reporting by Patrick Jack, RADAR AI
The most popular boys names in Kent last year are largely quite traditional, according to the Office for National Statistics (ONS) data.
However, in England and Wales there was a noticeable rise in names influenced by a popular Star Wars character and famous pop star.
Canterbury 's favourite baby names were the Scottish girl's name Isla, of which 10 newborns were named, and Freddie, which 13 newborns were named.
In Maidstone , 24 newborns were named George, making it the most popular boy's name last year. Meanwhile, Amelia remained the most popular for girl's for the second year running, with 15 newborns given the name.
Both names derive from variations of the word "work". Ge (γῆ) and ergon (ἔργον) mean "earth worker" in Greek and "amal" is a Germanic word for "work."
Dartford 's most popular boys name is also George, with 22 named this last year.
The 12 girls named Olivia in 2019 also share Dartford's most popular girl's name with Tonbridge and Malling , where 15 girls were named the same. Meanwhile, 19 boys were named Tonbridge and Malling's most popular boy's name - Oscar.
Ava and Arthur became the most popular baby names in Swale , with 16 girls newborns named Ava and 19 newborn boys named Arthur.
With many associating the name with the legendary British King, a majority of 15 boys were also named Arthur in Dover and 17 in Thanet .
Although Dover's most popular girl's name was Matilda, with 10 newborns, and Thanet's was Sophia, with nine.
Folkestone and Hythe had four boys names taking the number one spot, as there are now nine new Freddie, Isaac, Leo and Theodores in the area. The most popular girl's name was Willow, as nine newborn girls were named this.
Gravesham's most popular boys names were Harry and Oliver, where 12 were named each. Despite being on opposite ends of the county, Ashford shares a similar pattern with Henry and Oliver taking first place after 19 boys for each were named last year.
However, Gravesham's most popular girl's name was Amelia, with 13 newborns named, and Ashford's was Florence, from the Latin word for "blossoming" after which 11 were named.
George was immensely popular in Medway , with 40 newborns being named after England's patron saint last year. Isla and Grace were the area's number one picks for girls, as each name was given to 23 newborns.
Nationally, Oliver remained the most popular name for boys for the seventh year in a row and Olivia topped the girls' list for the fourth year in succession.
There were no new entries in the top 10 boys' names, though the ONS noted some trends are being influenced by popular culture.
The number of boys named Kylo has risen from just 10 to 67 between 2015 and 2019, a period of time which saw the release of a new Star Wars trilogy, featuring the leading character of Kylo Ren.
Freya entered the top 10 girls' names for the first time, while Mabel returned to the top 100 for the first time since 1924. But some previously popular names were almost completely absent, with just two or fewer baby girls named Brittany or Kerry last year.
David Corps, from the ONS, added: "We found younger mothers opted for more modern girls' names like Harper, which has seen a rise since the Beckhams named their daughter so in 2011, and shortened boys' names like Freddie. In contrast, older mothers chose more traditional names such as Jack and Charlotte.
“Popular culture continues to influence the baby names landscape. Following Dua Lipa’s first UK number one single in 2017, the number of girls named Dua has doubled from 63 to 126 in 2019.”
