Star Wars revival inspires 2016 baby names as parents feel the force

Tradition is still on top but popularity of blockbuster movies begins to show

Olivia kept its place as the favourite girls' name

Star Wars, deep space and superheroes proved some of the biggest sources of inspiration for parents naming their newborn babies this year.

Finn jumped five places in BabyCentre's top 100 boys' names of 2016, following the huge popularity of Star Wars: The Force Awakens at the very end of last year, while Harrison climbed eight spots.

For girls, Luna was one of the highest new entries. Other space-themed names like Nova, Orion and even Jupiter were spotted rising outside the top 100 charts, according to the website.

But traditional names clinched the top spots in both the girls' and boys' lists. Olivia remained the most favoured for baby girls, while Oliver overtook Muhammad at the top of the boys' chart.

BabyCentre surveyed 76,993 of its members who gave birth in 2016. The site said it combined names that sound the same but have different spellings "in order to give a true measure of baby name popularity".

It said superhero films and comic book TV programmes might have inspired the success of names like Kara, from Supergirl, and Harley and Quinn from Suicide Squad.

BabyCentre managing director Sarah Redshaw said: "With more Marvel and DC Comics films planned for next year and beyond, I suspect superhero names will increase further in popularity in 2017."

Celebrity baby name choices proved popular again with Kai, the name of Wayne and Coleen Rooney's son, entering the top 100. Harper Beckham may have gained a few namesakes this year as her parents' pick rocketed 31 places from the 2015 list.

Top 100 girls' names 2016​

1. Olivia
2. Lily
3. Sophia
4. Emily
5. Amelia
6. Ava
7. Isla
8. Isabella
9. Isabelle
10. Sophie
11. Ella
12. Mia
13. Poppy
14. Evie
15. Charlotte
16. Chloe
17. Grace
18. Scarlett
19. Alice
20. Freya
21. Jessica
22. Phoebe
23. Aria
24. Eva
25. Evelyn
26. Daisy
27. Hannah
28. Emilia
29. Ruby
30. Lucy
31. Maya
32. Emma
33. Thea
34. Darcie
35. Zara
36. Matilda
37. Sienna
38. Florence
39. Ellie
40. Holly
41. Abigail
42. Willow
43. Millie
44. Layla
45. Molly
46. Ivy
47. Maisie
48. Zoe
49. Imogen
50. Annabelle
51. Nur
52. Amber
53. Rosie
54. Elsie
55. Erin
56. Harper
57. Bella
58. Lola
59. Eleanor
60. Amelie
61. Esme
62. Eliza
63. Jasmine
64. Georgia
65. Mila
66. Mya
67. Maryam
68. Anna
69. Penelope
70. Clara
71. Rose
72. Harriet
73. Elizabeth
74. Luna
75. Violet
76. Maria
77. Lexi
78. Summer
79. Heidi
80. Lyla
81. Megan
82. Lottie
83. Nancy
84. Orla
85. Leah
86. Gracie
87. Katie
88. Sarah
89. Iris
90. Felicity
91. Robyn
92. Eden
93. Brooke
94. Lara
95. Sara
96. Nina
97. Martha
98. Niamh
99. Bethany
100. Ayla

Top 100 boys' names 2016

1. Oliver
2. Muhammad
3. Noah
4. Harry
5. Jack
6. Charlie
7. Jacob
8. George
9. Ethan
10. Henry
11. Oscar
12. James
13. Joshua
14. Freddie
15. Leo
16. Alfie
17. Max
18. Thomas
19. William
20. Finley
21. Isaac
22. Lucas
23. Theo
24. Archie
25. Jaxon
26. Joseph
27. Aiden
28. Adam
29. Harrison
30. Daniel
31. Mason
32. Alexander
33. Logan
34. Benjamin
35. Arthur
36. Dylan
37. Elliot
38. Teddy
39. Samuel
40. Sebastian
41. Reuben
42. Lewis
43. Liam
44. Zachary
45. Jake
46. Ryan
47. Jayden
48. Matthew
49. Toby
50. Luca
51. Riley
52. Elijah
53. Ollie
54. Luke
55. Nathan
56. Edward
57. Caleb
58. Jude
59. Connor
60. Arlo
61. David
62. Jenson
63. Hugo
64. Alex
65. Michael
66. Aaron
67. Finn
68. Louie
69. Sam
70. Callum
71. Rory
72. Harvey
73. Ezra
74. Austin
75. Jamie
76. Dexter
77. Stanley
78. Kai
79. Gabriel
80. Jesse
81. Ali
82. Albie
83. Tyler
84. Theodore
85. Frankie
86. Bobby
87. Carter
88. Omar
89. Ben
90. Ellis
91. Cameron
92. Seth
93. Eli
94. Reggie
95. Evan
96. Ronnie
97. John
98. Tommy
99. Blake
100. Albert