It's been a good year for Jack, again. The name retained its top spot as the most popular boy's moniker for the thirteenth year running. According to figures from the Office of National Statistics, 6,772 boys were named Jack in England and Wales in 2007, compared to 6,928 in 2006.

For girls, the most popular name was Grace. The rather rarefied Ava and the slightly more bohemian Summer popped up as new entries on the top 50 for girls. Jayden (like Will Smith's son), Isaac and Finley appeared on the boys list.

But most of all, the top ten names showed that while the bookshop shelves heave with baby name books, when it comes to the official decision, the more things change, the more they stay the same. For both girls and boys, most of the top ten names have stayed in the top ten. Ruby, Olivia and Jessica came behind Grace. For boys Thomas, Oliver, Joshua and Harry made it into the top five.

Big movers included Mohammed and Muhammad, which have continued to increase in popularity moving up five and six places to take the 17th and 38th places. Isabelle moved up nine spaces to 20th, Imogen moved up fourteen to 34th, and Sophia moved up twelve to 37th.

At the bottom of the list, Dior, Diezel, T, Lord, Denim, and Lamar appeared in the "five children or less" category for baby boys. For girls, just five were called Chanell, Queen, Cleopatra, Bailey-Rae, or Genesis.

Elsewhere, not unlike the pop charts, the popularity of some of the names seemed to mirror the public image of a celebrity namesake. After Leona Lewis’s X-factor victory in December 2006, her first name jumped 236 places to rank 198th in the list.

Likewise, the year that Britney Spears finalised her divorce with husband Kevin Federline, became embroiled in a bitter custody battle over their children and shaved her head, her first name dropped 550 places, with just 16 girls given her first name.

The name Cristiano jumped 572 places in the year that footballer Cristiano Ronaldo won the Professional Footballers' Association Player of the Year title.

Clinical psychologist Linda Blair says that a child's name can have a dramatic effect on their life: "Research has shown that if you have an unusual name in your generation, you are more likely to report to a mental health clinic with problems."

Although Blair points out that it is impossible to explain why this is, she says: "Having an usual name would mean a child would be more likely to be noticed and could be teased. On the other hand, if you are a confident person, having an unusual name could mean it helps you along in life, standing out on shortlists, for example." Those who do go for quirky, "should work on their children's self-esteem."

And it turns out that what's in a name can end up being part of a child's personality. "If someone named their child after a creative relative, for instance, they might notice everything creative the child produced. They end up reinforcing behaviour and building up the traits they expect," she says.

Top 50 boys and girls names in England and Wales in 2007

The number after the name indicates the number of spots a name has moved up or down the list from the previous year.

Boys

1. Jack
2. Thomas
3. Oliver +1
4. Joshua -1
5. Harry
6. Charlie +4
7. Daniel +2
8. William -1
9. James -3
10. Alfie +6
11. Samuel -3
12. George +2
13. Joseph -1
14. Benjamin -3
15. Ethan +4
16. Lewis +4
17. Mohammed +5
18. Jake -3
19. Dylan +4
20. Jacob +1
21. Luke -4
22. Callum -9
23. Alexander +1
24. Matthew -6
25. Ryan
26. Adam
27. Tyler
28. Liam +3
29. Harvey -1
30. Max -1
31. Harrison +5
32. Jayden new entry +36
33. Cameron -3
34. Henry +5
35. Archie +5
36. Connor -1
37. Jamie -5
38. Muhammad +6
39. Oscar +8
40. Edward +1
41. Lucas +7
42. Isaac new entry +13
43. Leo -10
44. Owen -10
45. Nathan -8
46. Michael -4
47. Finley new entry +13
48. Ben -10
49. Aaron -6
50. Noah -4

Girls

1. Grace +1
2. Ruby +2
3. Olivia -2
4. Emily +1
5. Jessica -2
6. Sophie
7. Chloe
8. Lily +1
9. Ella +2
10. Amelia +6
11. Lucy -3
12. Charlotte
13. Ellie -3
14. Mia
15. Evie +6
16. Hannah -1
17. Megan
18. Katie -5
19. Isabella
20. Isabelle +9
21. Millie -1
22. Abigail
23. Amy -5
24. Daisy +1
25. Freya -2
26. Emma +1
27. Erin +1
28. Poppy +2
29. Molly -5
30. Holly -4
31. Phoebe +3
32. Jasmine -1
33. Caitlin +2
34. Imogen +14
35. Madison +4
36. Elizabeth +5
37. Sophia +12
38. Keira -5
39. Scarlett +7
40. Leah -8
41. Ava new entry +23
42. Georgia -5
43. Alice +4
44. Summer new entry +15
45. Isabel -1
46. Rebecca -10
47. Lauren -9
48. Amber -8
49. Eleanor -7
50. Bethany -7

+/- indicates movement since last year.

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