Revealed - the most popular baby names in South Tyneside and across the North East

New data from the Office for National Statistics reveals what names new parents were choosing nationally- but also at regional and local authority level.

There were 16 Olivias born in the borough during 2021, while 18 little boys were named Noah.

In total, there were 12,264 girls and 12,889 boys born in the region last year – Olivia (167) and Rosie (137) topped the North East charts too, but Oliver (208) was just pipped to the top spot by George (211).

Noah and Olivia were the most popular picks in Newcastle, Olivia and Rosie were joint top for girls in Sunderland and Oliver for boys, while Gateshead parents plumped for Oliver and Freya.

For boys, the full North East top ten is:

George 211 Oliver 208 Noah 188 Harry 186 Charlie 166 Theo 165 Jack 163 Leo 162 Arthur 157 Thomas 156

For girls, the top ten is:

Olivia 167 Rosie 137 Freya 136 Isla 135 Amelia 129 Ivy 125 Ava 124 Grace 109 Ella and Emily 106

Noah and Olivia were the most popular names for boys and girls nationwide in 2021.

Oliver dropped to second place having been the most popular boys’ name for eight years, while Olivia topped the girls’ list for the sixth year in succession.

The new data also shows Henry replaced Jack in the top 10 boys’ names, while Freya, Florence and Willow replaced Isabella, Rosie and Sophia for girls.

It is the first time Jack has not been in the top 10 since the annual series began in 1996.

Mothers over the age of 35 were more likely to give their babies traditional names such as Thomas, while younger mothers were more likely to use shortened versions, such as Tommy.

James Tucker, of the ONS, said: “While Noah and Olivia are enjoying their places at the top, some names could be in danger of falling out of favour.

“Leslie has had relatively little popularity in recent years with fewer than seven boys named each year since 2018. Others such as Clifford, Nigel and Norman have not fared much better with 10 or fewer boys being named.

“Girls’ names such as Glenda and Kerry, that were more common before, are also becoming endangered and we have seen less than five girls being named each year since 2018.”