Gary makes spectacular comeback as most popular baby names for 2022 revealed

In news that no one expected to be reading today, Gary is making a dazzling come back, according to the most popular baby names list for 2022.

While the humble name boomed in popularity amongst new parents in the 1950s and 1960s, in more recent years its numbers have been dwindling, with less and less people opting to christen their new addition as baby Gary.

A graph by website UK Baby Names shows that Gary’s demise began in 1997 and, despite having a brief spike in popularity in 2009, has continued to decline ever since, with its sharpest drop being between 2019 and 2020.

Yet despite fears of extinction for the name, Gary is seemingly making a comeback.

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In addition to listing the top 100 baby names for this year, UK Baby Names also revealed which names are trending, with Gary unexpectedly in the mix.

A number of other traditional boy baby names are also trending in 2022, including James, David, John, Ian, Oliver, Jack, Andrew, Peter, William, Thomas, Matthew and Paul.

Only three girls’ names are trending this year; Sarah, Olivia and Emma.

While Gary didn’t make the top 100 most popular baby names list, the very fact it is trending has sparked fresh hope that the name could live on for generations to come.

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The most popular baby boy names for 2022 include the likes of Oliver, George, Arthur and Noah, as well as some more unusual monikers such as Jaxon, Felix, Oakley and Ibrahim.

A number of traditional names made the most popular list for girls, however, including Olivia, Isla, Mia and Amelia.

More unusual entries include Orla, Margot, Elodie, Eden, Evelyn, and Luna.

The top 10 names for girls:

Olivia

Amelia

Isla

Ava

Mia

Ivy

Lily

Isabella

Rosie

Sophia

The top 10 names for boys:

Oliver

George

Arthur

Noah

Muhammad

Leo

Oscar

Harry

Archie

Jack

Visit the UK Baby Names website to see the lists in full.