Baby name trends are always changing and unisex monikers are the latest to surge in popularity.

Titles usually fall in and out of favour with cultural shifts and many celebrities, from Blake Lively and Ryan Reynolds to the Kardashians, are opting for non-gendered titles for their famous little ones.

And it seems that new parents are getting in on the trend, as new research shows the number of registered unisex names has risen by an impressive 56 per cent in England and Wales. New parents are opting for names that are not gender-specific, with many being unique or even unheard of.

The top of the list for girls is Marlowe, moving 266 spots from 2020-2021. Spelt without and 'E', Marlow also appears on the boys' top 1,000 list in a first. Noa also appears on both lists, which interestingly also knocked Jack off the number one spot for Scottish boy names this year, according to the National Records of Scotland (NRS).

Other unisex names like Kai, Avery, Rowan and Sage are also increasing in Scotland, according to NRS.

Names on the girls' list include Oakley, up 249 spots, and Blair and Ronnie, which are both new to the Top 1,000, The Mirror reports. The boys' list, meanwhile, features Ren and Ocean, also both new to the Top 1,000, and Sunny, which is up 195 places.

Speaking on the emerging trend, Sophie Kihm, name expert at Nameberry, told the Metro: "Gender neutral names are rising both because they give children flexibility should they not identify with their birth gender, but also because gender neutral names are modern choices with contemporary style."

It's not just gender-neutral names on the rise. Disney-themed names could also become incredibly popular with parents this year, according to Sarah Redshaw, the UK Managing Editor for BabyCentre.

She said: "It's a possibility that parents may take the lead from celebrities and their recent Disney-inspired names. Molly-Mae Hague and Tommy Fury named their newborn daughter Bambi, and Stacey Dooley called hers Minnie so we could see an increase in searches for Disney names."

Another unexpected trend seems to be wild west-inspired names. Sarah claims this is a move that none of the baby name experts ever saw coming, but it seems expectant parents just can't stop searching their website for monikers that would be fit for a little cowgirl or cowboy.

As such BabyCentre believes we can expect to see more babies named Billy, Butch, Wyatt, Pearl, Daisy and Clementine being welcomed into the world over the coming months. The experts went on to claim that outer space names will also dazzle parents, with Apollo, Cosmo, Ariel and Luna all being good options.

Other trends you may see cropping up in 2023 include gemstone names like Ruby and Jet as well as old-fashioned and classy-sounding names such as Tybalt, Tamara and Barnaby.

Don't miss the latest news from around Scotland and beyond - Sign up to our daily newsletter here.