For the first time on record, no one named their baby Keir in 2024 – the same year Starmer became prime minister.
No babies were named ‘Keir’ in 2024. (Image: Getty)
For the first time on record, no babies were named ‘Keir’ in 2024, the same year the prime minister took office. On Thursday morning (July 31), the Office for National Statistics (ONS) released its annual baby-name report. The most popular baby names in England and Wales are listed, yet one notable name was left off it for the first time. In 2023, there were four babies named Keir, yet none were given the name last year.
Muhammad has taken the number one spot for a second year in a row, with over 5,721 boys given the name, specifically spelt Muhammad, in 2024. Noah took second place, with 4,139 babies sharing the name, whilst Oliver, Arthur, and Leo rounded out the top five.
2024 marks the first time on record that no babies were named Keir. (Image: Getty)
Sir Keir Starmer’s parents named him after Keir Hardie, the founder and first parliamentary leader of the Labour Party.
Despite saying that he liked his name, the Prime Minister admitted in his biography that as a teenager, he often wondered why his parents “couldn’t have called me Dave or Pete?”
Another political name that made it onto the ONS list is Nigel. Last year, five babies were named the same as the Reform UK leader – technically making Farage’s name five times more popular, despite only just avoiding extinction.
However, other names shared with prominent Labour figures have proved to be more popular than the leader. 114 babies were named Rachel last year, like the Chancellor, and 28 shared their names with the Deputy Prime Minister, Angela.
The ONS list also showed that 16 babies were named Boris in 2024 – a name which increased in popularity after Johnson became prime minister in 2019. In 2020, the name was chosen 43 times, the data shows.
Similarly, the name Rishi also slightly jumped under Sunak’s premiership, increasing from 36 in 2022 to 37 in 2023.
On the list of most popular girls’ names in England and Wales last year, Olivia took the top spot, closely followed by Amelia, Lily, Isla, and Ivy.
