Revealed: Jersey's most popular baby names

Monday 11 March 2019

933 babies were born in Jersey last year, and with the top names Sienna and Leo... But what else made the top 10?

Ava, Amelia, Oliver and Jacob also proved popular among new parents, according to data released by the Superintendent Registrar.

While Olivia was the most popular name for girls for two consecutive years, it completely disappeared the top 10 in 2018, while Sienna, which had never been ranked in 2016 and 2017, took the top spot. 

Sophia (5), Luna (6), Lilly (7), Charlotte (8) and Freya (9) are also ranked for the first time in two years.

Pictured: The 10 most popular baby names for girls and boys registered in Jersey between 2016 and 2018.

Leo, which ranked fifth in 2016 but then fell out of the top 10, made a big comeback in 2018. Oliver has consistently been in the top 10, taking the second spot in 2016 and the fourth in 2017. Meanwhile, Jacob is gaining popularity and climbed from the eighth spot in 2017 to third place last year. 

Last year’s most popular baby name – Charlie – dropped to seventh place. William, Noah and Logan were all newcomers in the top.  

The number of births went down last year with 16 less babies being born than in 2017. According to the Annual Statement published by Jersey’s Superintendent Registrar, 933 babies were born in 2018, the lowest number since 2002.

Figures show that 831 deaths were registered in the island last year, 15 more than in 2017 and the highest number since 2002.

Pictured: 38 couples jumped on the opportunity to get married outdoors.

Claire Follain, the Superintendent Registrar said this year’s figures were particularly interesting, as they showed that changes to the Marriage and Civil Status Law had been “welcomed by so many islanders".

On the whole, the number of marriages was slightly down – there were 438, nine fewer than 2017, but while religious marriages went down by 22, civil marriages went up by 13.

Following the introduction of changes to the marriage law, nine couples chose to convert their civil partnership to a marriage during the last six months of the year, while 38 couples took advantage of the possibility to get hitched outdoors.