Traditional British surnames are becoming less common among newborns, according to data obtained exclusively by Our News Outlet.
In 1996, the most common surnames for babies born in England and Wales were Smith, Jones and Williams. Taylor, Brown, Davies, Evans, Thomas, Johnson and Wilson completed the top 10.
Three decades later, the top 10 has changed significantly. Smith remains first, followed by Khan, Ahmed, Ali, Jones, Hussain, Singh, Williams, Patel and Kaur.
Jones is still among the 10 most common surnames but has fallen in popularity by 43 per cent. Williams, now ranked eighth, has declined by a similar proportion, while several names that were widespread in the 1990s now sit between 11th and 17th place.
Figures from the Office for National Statistics (ONS) show that Khan, Ahmed and Ali have each doubled in popularity.
Singh and Kaur, surnames traditionally used by Sikh men and women respectively, have increased at least five-fold.
Rob Bates, from the Centre for Migration Control think tank, said the figures highlighted what he described as Britain’s “rapid demographic change”.
He told Our News Outlet: “We are at risk of our country being completely unmoored from its heritage, and our society becoming increasingly atomised as a result.”
The figures cover births registered in England and Wales and exclude surnames recorded two times or fewer.
The data, commissioned and paid for by Our News Outlet, treats each spelling separately, so different versions of the same surname are listed as distinct names.
The analysis also points to a wider spread of surnames among babies born in Britain.
Just 23 surnames were given to at least 1,000 babies in 2025, compared with 57 three decades earlier.
More than 23,400 surnames were recorded among babies in 2025, up from 21,600.
Smith remained the most common surname, although the number of babies given the name fell from 7,276 to 4,102.
The findings follow ONS figures published this summer showing that Muhammad was the most popular boys’ name in England and Wales for the third consecutive year.
A total of 5,957 boys were registered with the exact spelling Muhammad in 2025, according to the ONS.
Olivia retained the top position for girls for a fourth year, while Lily climbed to second place.
Amelia, which ranked second among girls’ names in 2024, fell to third. Noah was the second most popular boys’ name, followed by Leo.
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