‘It’s the lower back tattoo of names’ mums cry as ‘weird & pretentious’ moniker enters top 100 list for the first time

THE most popular baby names in England were revealed earlier this week, and the list featured loads of familiar favourites as well a few that left people scratching their heads.

Olivia took the top spot for girls names for the third year in the row, closely follower by Amelia, Isla, Lily and Freya.

And Muhammad is now the most popular boys name in England and Wales, jumping up one place from the previous year, swapping places with Noah.

But it was a name that barely made it onto the list that left mums on Reddit stunned.

Number 99 on the list is Neveah, which is ‘heaven’ spelt backwards.

The moniker was slammed as both “weird” and “pretentious” by Reddit users, and one person even dubbed “the lower back tattoo of names.”

Some thought it was ironic the name featured on the list, since many parents choose it to be “unique or clever.”

And some even pointed out that the backwards spelling is now more popular than the name Heaven itself.

One wrote: “Heaven would be a better name at this point too, why bother spelling it backwards?”

A nurse even chimed in and said: “I have not once ever taken care of a Nevaeh whose mother did not say ‘it’s heaven backwards!’ to me.”

Meanwhile a teacher pointed out that all the Nevaeh’s she’s known have been pretty naughty, at least in the classroom.

And another wrote: “There are twins at my kid’s school named Heaven and Nevaeh. Why, why, why?!”

But others defended the name as being “pretty sounding” and some said they didn’t understand why so many people hate it so much.

Some of the other new additions on the list include Raya, which is also the name of the lead character in Disney’s 2021 of the same name, as well as The Last Dragon.

Bhodi soared up the table from 637th in 2022 to number 100 in the space of a year.

And Jax, Enzo, an Bhodi are all new names on the list for baby boys.

Seasonal names were spotted becoming increasingly popular with Summer and Autumn both appearing in the top 100, especially during their respective time of year.

However Winter remains at number 297, with only 147 baby Winters being born in 2023.

During the cold months, subtle seasonal names like Holly, Robyn and Joseph were more likely to become favourites.

These rankings were compiled using the precise spellings of names as recorded at birth registration, so similar names with different spellings were counted separately.

Three different versions of Muhammed made the top 100 list and included variations like Mohammed at number 28 and Mohammad at 68.

The name with the exact spelling o Muhammed is the top of the trio and first entered the rankings in the mid-90s.

It was the top boys name in four of nine regions in England, and Olivia was the most popular in five out of nine regions.

Both Muhammed and Olivia were the top names for tots in Wales.