From MadeForMums · · 1m 40s
Ottilie jumped 357 places in ten years
Heritage baby names are climbing fast in England and Wales, and the girls' list is moving far quicker than the boys'.
In brief
Heritage baby names are climbing fast in England and Wales, and the girls' list is moving far quicker than the boys'. Names that felt unusual a decade ago, like Ottilie, Margot and Otis, are now mainstream picks, so a 'rare' heritage name may be more common than you think. Originally reported by MadeForMums.
Period drama names are back
Traditional picks like Margot and Mabel have returned to nursery registers in England and Wales, and new ranking data shows how far they have travelled.
Where the numbers come from
Retailer Kiddies Kingdom took ONS names in the 2025 top 100 with aristocratic or heritage associations, then compared each one against its 2015 ranking.
Girls climbed nearly three times faster
The girls' names in the selection rose an average of 88 places over the decade. The boys' names managed 31.
Ottilie leads the girls
Ottilie shot up 357 places to number 55. Margot rose 241 places to 30th, and Mabel climbed 200 to sit at 16th.
Otis leads the boys
Otis rose 188 places to 71st, ahead of Rupert at 79th and Vincent at 93rd. Arthur is now fifth and Theodore ninth.
Quiet luxury, applied to babies
Parenting expert Kirsty Carroll links the trend to the same taste for heritage driving fashion and interiors, with Bridgerton keeping the aristocratic look in view.
“characters such as Penelope Featherington giving traditional names a more modern relevance”
The label is not official
'Old money' is the retailer's own reading of ONS data, not an ONS category. The real lesson: your unexpected pick may have more competition than you planned for.
The one thing
Names that felt unusual a decade ago, like Ottilie, Margot and Otis, are now mainstream picks, so a 'rare' heritage name may be more common than you think.
