The Office for National Statistics (ONS) has revealed that TV drama Peaky Blinders might have inspired some of England and Wales' most popular baby names. This year marks the first time that Arthur has entered the top ten since 1920, and Ada is now in the top 100 girls' names, which hasn't happened for an entire century. Statistician Nick Stripe explained: "Arthur surged into the top 10 boys' names for the first time since the 1920s, and Ada jumped into the girls' top 100 for the first time in a century too, both perhaps inspired by characters in the BBC TV drama Peaky Blinders."
Hilariously, ONS added that the number of children named Alexa has halved in a year - could this be because of Amazon's Echo? The smart speaker is known for picking up on people's conversations, so perhaps the device has been getting confused when people call their children's names. Nick confirmed that this might be the reason behind the name's dip in popularity, explaining that there has been a significant "growth in the use of technology assistants in our homes" and that "communicating with young children can be hard enough at the best of times".
© Photo: Getty ImagesThe name Arthur has jumped in popularity
Olivia and Oliver are still in the top spot with 4,598 and 5,390 respectively. The second most popular girls' name is Amelia, and George is the second most popular boys' name. Last year the name Meghan doubled in popularity which was no doubt due to the royal wedding, and when Game of Thrones' popularity was at its height in 2017 the name Khaleesi was given to 76 little girls.
© Photo: Getty ImagesLots of little girls were named after Meghan
MORE: The ONE thing Cillian Murphy hates about Peaky Blinders
We can't imagine Khaleesi was a particularly popular name this year after all of Daenerys' bad behaviour!
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