The most popular names for babies born in England and Wales last year have been revealed this month.

We've had a closer look at the data to find out which names were most popular in Colchester across the last three years. 

Nationally this year Olivia topped the list for girls names followed by Amelia, Isla, Ava and Mia.

In Colchester the most chosen baby name was Isla with 17 babies given the name.

The next most popular was Olivia, which had topped the list in 2019, with 16 entries while 13 babies were named Amelia and 12 Emily.

There were 11 babies called Elsie followed by Florence, Imogen, Evelyn and Rosie with ten babies all each given those names.

Since 2018 the most popular girls names in Colchester have been Ameila, Emily, Florence, Rosei, Isla and Olivia. 

Anabelle and Amber each had four children given the name in 2018 but no babies got that name in 2019 and 2020. 

Read more >> The most popular baby names chosen by parents in Colchester last year

Iris and Olive were both new entries for 2020. 

For boys the top five names in England and Wales in 2020 were Oliver, George, Noah, Arthur and Muhammed.

In Colchester the top spot went to Leo with 19 babies being given the name.

The second most popular baby names were Archie and George with 17 babies each given the name and no doubt influenced by royal baby name choices.

There were 16 babies each given the names Harry and Noah while 15 babies had the names Jack and Oscar.

For boys over the last three years Alife, Archie, Arthur, Charlie, Freddie, George and Noah have been consistently popular. 

Leon, Ezra, Dominic, Elliott and Jesse were all names chosen in 2018 but have not returned for 2019 and 2020. 

Chester and Caleb were new entries for 2020. 

Siân Bradford, Vital Statistics Outputs Branch, Office for National Statistics, said: "Oliver and Olivia held onto the top spots as the most popular boys’ and girls’ names in 2020 but some interesting changes took place beneath them. We continue to see the age of mothers having an impact on the choice of baby name.

"Archie jumped into the top 10 boys’ names for the first time, driven by younger mothers as well as the obvious Royal link. While on the girls’ side Ivy rose to sixth place.

“Popular culture continues to provide inspiration for baby names, whether it’s characters in our favourite show or trending celebrities. Maeve and Otis, characters from the popular programme ‘Sex Education’, have seen a surge in popularity in 2020.

"While the name Margot has been rapidly climbing since actress Margot Robbie appeared in the popular film ‘The Wolf of Wall Street’."