Naming your baby suddenly feels like a huge responsibility when it comes to actually making that decision.

Your little one will have their name FOREVER!...No pressure.

Sometimes people just know what their baby will be called before they have even met them, others find themselves still deciding on the day they register the birth - after much debate and many lists. It's really hard to know if your baby will suit their name and hopefully they will like it.

It is very interesting to see how the trends in baby names change over the years. Each generation has popular names and some parents are now adding an extra twist to names by adding or replacing letters with X, Y or Z. For example, Roze is replacing Rose, Liyam instead of Liam and Maizie for Maisie.

Names which would be considered old fashioned have also made a huge comeback in recent years, such as Arthur and Edith. Royal names have always been a firm favourite, especially with the increasing popularity of the young royals such as Harry and William. The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge have increased the popularity of George and Charlotte and I'm sure Louis will become more common as the year goes on, as will the name Meghan. Celebrities also have a huge influence on baby name trends, such as Harper for girls and Brooklyn for boys. Parents are more commonly naming their babies after places, such as, Aspen, Paris, Adelaide, Camden.

According to the Baby Center half year survey the most popular girls name for 2018 is Olivia, closely followed by Sophia. With regards to boys names, the most popular is Mohammed, then Oliver and Noah.

Boys Names:

  1. Mohammed
  2. Oliver
  3. Noah
  4. George
  5. Harry
  6. Leo
  7. Charlie
  8. Jack
  9. Freddie
  10. Alfie

Girls Names:

  1. Olivia
  2. Sophia
  3. Amelia
  4. Lily
  5. Emily
  6. Ava
  7. Isla
  8. Aria
  9. Mia
  10. Isabella

Recent discussions on Mumsnet have highlighted the problem of friends and family using your chosen baby name before you have chance to use it and whether it's acceptable to go head anyway. One such example is two sisters became pregnant within a year of each other, would it be disrespectful to name your baby the same as your sisters baby? Some are of the opinion that there are hundreds of names so chose something different. Others sympathise and suggest go for the name you want even if it is the same. 

Also things to consider when naming your baby are nick names, can it be shortened and do you like the short version? Is there a chance of being bullied at school? and how does it sound with your surname. The lists are endless and more often than not you know someone with the chosen name!