British Baby Names

British love of the Hyphen

Hyphenated first names, particularly for girls, are a popular trend in Britain at the moment. Looking at the England and Wales 2009 data shows some interesting details about the 945 (747 girls, 198 boys) different hyphenated names listed.

 

Most popular hyphen names:

For boys the most popular hyphen name is Tyler-James. 46 boys were recorded with this name in 2009. Following are Brandon-Lee, Harvey-Lee and John-Paul - all recorded on 26 children. 

The most popular hyphen name for girls is Lily-Mae with a whopping count of 207, followed closely by Ellie-Mae at 204 and Ellie-May with a count of 200. 

 

Most commonly hyphenated name:

Alfie and Abdul both have eight different hyphen variations recorded. Charlie, Jayden and Tyler follow with six different variations. 

Lily has twenty variations (including 3 spellings of May/Mae/Mai), Lilly has nineteen and Ruby has eighteen. Ellie and Lexi both follow with fifteen variations each. 

 

Most common second name:

Lee, James and Jay are the most popular second name that appears for boys. 
Grace, Jo, Lea/Lee/Leigh, Louise, Marie, May/Mae/Mai and Rose are the most popular for girls. 

 

Unisex hyphen names:

These names appear on both boys and girls: 

Bailey-Rae
Billy-Joe/Billie-Jo
Bobby-Joe/Bobbie-Jo
Cody-Lee/Codie-Leigh
Frankie-Lee
Jamie-Lee
Mackenzie-Lee/Mckenzie-Leigh
Taylor-Lee/Taylor-Leigh 

For my complete mega list of all the hyphen names found in the 2009 data take a look at Hyphen Names 2009.

 

 

Before There Was Ethan...

Ethan is currently ranks at number #13 in England and #6 in Wales. It is now more popular that it has ever been in Britain. 

Ethan is an Old Testament name meaning "enduring" that was occasionally used in Britain after the Reformation. The name gained more fame in America after revolutionary Ethan Allen (1738-1789) and was a strong favourite there in the late 20th century. 

Famous Americans like Hollywood actor Ethan Hawke and characters in 90210 and All My Children brought the name over to British shores in the 90s and, the rest as they say, is history. 

But, lets take a look back to when Ethan as still an obscure Biblical name in search of some once popular Ethan-esque alternatives.

 

Amos - a interesting and streamlined Biblical name meaning "carried".

Asher - Hebrew name meaning "happy" used in the nineteenth century.

Edric - Old English name that was revived by the medieval-loving Victorians. 

Eben - Short form of Ebenezer popularised in the Victorian period, particularly in Wales. 

Ellis - surname and medieval form of the biblical Elias.

Heath - nature name found in the nineteenth century. Made known to modern parents through Heath Ledger fame. 

 

If you like Ethan you may also like:   Lucas, Stellan, Theo, Dylan, Milo, Nathan, Alden, Damon, Eoin, Cian

 

 

Holly Willoughby's Belle of the Ball

A few days ago Holly Willoughby gave birth to a daughter named Belle. Unlike her brother, Harry, Belle doesn't have a top 5 name -- in fact, her name ranks all the way down at #530 -- and yet, the name has a lot going for it. Let's have a look. 

Firstly, although Bel started its beginnings as a nickname for Isabel in the thirteenth century it has become widely associated with the lovely french word belle meaning 'beautiful' - hence the change of spelling. Not a bad meaning for any little girl to have. 

There is also its fairytale status. Jeanne-Marie Leprince de Beaumont abridged the classic French tale in her work La Belle et la Bête in the eighteenth century and this is largely the form of the story we now have today. Disney brought the story story into glorious life in 1991 giving Belle the veritable status of being a 'Princess' name. Beautiful + Princess = winning baby name me thinks!

So why is it not used very much? There are actually many similar sounding names that rank quite highly in England and Wales. Isabelle is #17, Isabel #51 and Isobel #60 (combined spellings added together, the name ranks #10 overall) and Isabella at #15. Similarly there is Annabel/le which (added together) ranks at #69, Bella at #165 and Arabella at #296. Perhaps, many of these enjoy Belle as a nickname, although Izzy's rank at #506 seems to belie that. 

Belle is the simplest, most-streamlined, of all these. Arguably Bella is too, but that is swiftly gaining a persistent Twilight association. Belle maintains the soft delicate feel without feeling fussy and would, I think, make a fresher nickname alternative to Izzy (Isabelle) or Annie (Annabel), or sit happily as a stand alone name. 

For a look at how Edwardian parents used Belle take a look at its 1911 Census Name Combos. 

 

If you like Belle you may also like:  Pearl, Orla, Rose, Sylvie, Adele, Aurelie, Iris, Fleur, Tess, Fern

 

Birth Announcements from across the UK 15/4/11

A selection of Birth Announcements from accross England, Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales since April 15th. 

Amelia Daisy Grace Annabelle Daisy Cameron Elizabeth June Chloe Jane  Chloe Jasmine Daisy Grace Elin Haf Eliza and Jean (twins) - sibling: Lily Ella - sibings: Toby & Dylan Emily Louise - sibing: Isabella Emily Freda Isabella Lola - sibing: Harry Isabella Michelle - sibling: Liliana Izzy Louise Lacey-Mae  Lauren Louise - sibling: Thomas Libby-Rose - siblings: Harry & Ruby Lilly Rose Patricia - siblings: Natasha & Daisymay Luci Nicole Lucy - siblings: Jessica, Amy and Emily Madison Ola Rose - sibling: Jessica & Cameron Margot Victoria Matilda Rose - siblings: Harry & Grace  Melisa - sibing: Tesni Nancy Phoebe Belle Amy - siblings: Maddison & Roxanne Polly Anne Poppy Elizabeth - sibing: Jacob Ruby-Leigh Shaye Elyse - sibling: Lyla Carys Sophie Louise - sibling: Thomas Talia Emily

Aidan Michael - sibling: Ewan Christopher Kevin Edward - sibing: Lylah Connor John - sibing: Kyle Daniel Thomas - sibling: Adam Eddie Scott - sibling: Daniel & Maisy Edward Mark - sibling: Lucy Victoria Ethan Robert Christopher Finlay James Joseph Finton - sibing: Logan Freddy James George Alan Stephen George Roy John - siblings: Hannah & Nathan Graeme - sibling: Demileigh Harry John - sibling: Leah Harvey Lewis Edmond  Henry Arthur - sibling: Olivia Hunter Norton - sibling: George Jack Stuart - siblings: Kate & Sophie Jackson Ian - sibling: Riley Leon Stuart Leonard Scott "Lenny" Max Thomas - sibling: Mollie Oliver Thomas Oscar - sibling: Charlie Rhys Owen David Samuel James Seb Isaac Toby David - sibling: Abigail Troy - siblings: Molly, Darcey & Skye Zachary - siblings: Kayleigh & Ethan

Hero has the O-Factor

If you look at the number 1 name for boys and girls in England and Wales you will find Oliver and Olivia reigning supreme, telling us that O is a very stylish sound for British parents. 

Other popular O names include Oscar, Owen, Ollie -- Ottilie is up-and-coming in some parts of the country -- and many have O as the dominant vowel sound, such as Noah, Logan, Joel, Joseph, Chloe, Imogen, Lola, Rose, Rosie, Zoe.

Here are some stylish O options:

Octavia Odessa Odette Olwen

Ophelia Opal Orla

Odin Orlando Orson Otto

Olev Ovid

 We also find this stylish O at the end of many fashionable names. Leo and Theo enjoy top 60 status and are followed by Rio (#157) and Milo (#175). Of course, O-endings are the norm for Spanish and Italian boys -- Leandro, Antonio, Cosmo, Enzo, Matteo -- and many of these names make a stylish choice. 

Some intriguing O-endings for boys:

Amadeo - 19th century king of Spain.

Ezio - Italian form of Latin Aetius 'eagle'

Falco- Variant of German Fulco and Italian surname.

Ivo - Germanic name borne by several Saints. 

Jago - Cornish form of James.

Risto - Finnish and Macedonian form of Christopher.

Santo - Cornish deminutive of Alexander and Italian word for 'Saint'.

Viggo - Scandanavian name of Mortensen fame. 


But what about the girls? When Myleene Klass announced three weeks ago that her second daughter was named Hero Harper it devided opinion. Some people love the Ancient Greek name. A mythological heroine and a Shakespearean character! Others are put off by the fact that it is also a word (mainly associated with men), compounded by that strange O-ending. 

Aren't O-endings for boys? Well, yes mostly, as shown above, but look carefully and we can see some interesting O-ending girls names:

Callisto - Kallisto was a greek nymph. Her name means "most beautiful".

Dido - Queen of Carthige in Virgil's epic 'Aeneid'.

Clio - Greek muse of history and poetry. Her name means "glory".

Juno - Roman queen of the gods.

Leto - In Greek mythology she was the mother of Artemis and Apollo

Llio - Welsh diminutive of Gwenllian

Margo - Streamline spelling of the French Margot. Chic variant of Margaret. 

Rosario - Spanish name meaning 'rosary'

 

 So watch this space, beause O names are set to run and run. 

Eugenie: You're saying it wrong. Oops!

Just found this fascinating little tibit from Nancy's Baby Names blog:

And Eugenie’s name? You’re not pronouncing it correctly.It’s YOO-genny, said the princess in an interview several years ago. She explained, “Whenever we used to meet foreign people who were struggling with it, my mum and I would help them by saying, ‘It’s like Use Your Knees.’ But whatever. I am now used to every pronunciation.”

via www.nancy.cc

 

I've honestly always heard news broadcasters pronounce it 'you-ZHAY-nee'. I have been too! I sometimes hear 'you-JEE-nee' as well but not very often or in context with the Princess. 'you-zhay-NEE' is, I believe, the original French but 'you-ZHAY-nee' was actually released as the pronunciation of the Princesses name by the Palace. Strange that her parents chose to pronounce it differently than stated.  

 

If you like Eugenie you may also like:   Eulalie, Eumelia, Euthalia, Sylvia, Aurelia, Helena, Sabine, Vivienne, Penelope, Xanthe

 

Lily and Mohammed knock Olivia and Oliver off their thrones

When you combine the different spellings from the ONS 2009 England and Wales data a few interesting changes occur. 

For years newspapers have reported that, when all the spellings are added together, Mohammed is the most popular boys name in Britain. But would it surprise you to know that Lily is the most popular girls name?

There are, in fact, nine different ways that British parents have chosen to spell Lily including Lilly, Lillie, Lili, Lilli, Lilie, Lilley, Lillee and Lilee and the number of different Lilys born in 2009 outstrips Olivia of first first place by a considerable 1711 births. 

So why has nobody mentioned that before?

Well the simple answer is that no one seems to have bothered to check the girls ranking. Mohammed is newsworthy because it is a Muslim name and that starts interesting questions about British multi-culturalism. There is no obviously 'ethnic' name for girls in the top 100 -- although the combined spellings show Fatima, Aisha and Maryam move into it -- and so the huge popularity of Lily has been left ignored. 

What makes Lily such a winner?

Firstly, it has the popular ingredients "short, 2 syllables, 'ee' ending" found in many top 100 names like Ruby, Chloe, Amy, Evie, Sophie, Milly, Ellie, Lucy, Phoebe, Molly, Katie, Maisie, Lexi, Gracie, Rosie, Lacey, Libby, Tilly. Lily also doubles as a nature word name - another popular trend, as can be seen by Ruby, Daisy, Holly, Poppy, Summer, Scarlett, Jasmine, Rose, Amber. 
It's quite possible that many parents particularly like the fact that Lily has a multitude of spelling possibilities. That, in fact, far from being seen as potential spelling headache, it give parents a sense of ownership and the ability to tailor the name to their own specification. 

ONS Official Ranks 1. Olivia 2. Ruby 3. Chloe 4. Emily 5. Sophie 6. Jessica 7. Grace 8. Lily 9. Amelia 10. Evie

Combined Spellings 1. Lily 2. Olivia 3. Ruby 4. Emily 5. Chloe 6. Sophie 7. Amelia 8. Jessica 9. Grace 10. Isabelle

ONS Official Ranks 1. Oliver 2. Jack 3. Harry 4. Alfie 5. Joshua 6. Thomas 7. Charlie 8. William 9. James 10. Daniel

Combined Spellings 1. Mohammed 2. Oliver 3. Jack 4. Harry 5. Thomas 6. Alfie 7. Joshua 8. Charlie 9. William 10. Daniel

Overall, there is a lot less movement in the boys list than the girls due to fewer alternate spellings being used. 

 
Where things get particularly interesting is the names that make the biggest jumps and falls. 

 

 In the new  lists Darcey, Aisha, Casey, Annabelle, Maryam, Macey, Aaliyah, Tegan, Abbie, Madeleine, Victoria, Miley, Gabriella, Fatima, Alyssa, Kayden, Zak, Mckenzie, Corey, Cody, Dominic, Caleb, Jay,  Sean, Nicholas and Ollie all move into the top 100.

 

You can read my complete new top 100 and breakdown of the combined spellings in Combined Spellings 2009 Girls and Combined Spellings 2009 Boys

 

 

Before There Was Ava...

Ava is currently sitting very prettily at number 12 in the top 100 Baby Names in England and Wales 2009. 2,827 baby girls were given the name Ava in 2009 having leaped a mighty 419 places over the last decade.  

Ava is more popular now than it has ever been due to its use by many celebrities, such as Reece Witherspoon, Heather Locklear, Hugh Jackman, Myleene Klass, to name just a few; a Hollywood legend namesake -- the gorgeous Ava Gardner; and short bell-like quality popular in many current favourites such as Eva, Mia, Ella, Lila and Amy.

But, lets take a stroll back to when Ava wasn't such a huge hit in search of some Ava-esque alternatives.

 

Ada - Lord Byron named his daughter Augusta Ada in 1815 and this simple-yet-lovely name was a huge hit in the 19th and early 20th century, only falling out of the top 100 in the 1930s.

Ena - popularised in 1887 at the baptism of Princess Victoria Eugenie of Battenberg. She was meant to be named Victoria Eugenie Julia Eua, however Eua was misread as Ena during the ceremony and she was popularly known as Ena ever since.

Eva - this latinisation of Eve has been recorded in use since the 12th century

Ida - brought over by the Normans this name gradually died out in the 14th century but became a fashionable favourite in the 19th century when Tennyson used it for his heroine in The Princess (1847).

Iva - this feminisation of Ivan became fashionable in the late 19th century.

Vera - came into use in the at the very end of the 19th century and was a popular Edwardian favourite most likely due to the novel A Cigarette Maker's Romance by F Marion Crawford (1890).

If we look further we can also see some interesting elaborations of Ava:

1840-1900 -

Avas / Avis

Avanda

Avalena / Avalina / Avalenia

Avaline

Avarella

Avarena / Avarina / Avarinah

Avarilda

Avarilla

Avarilita

Avarlida 

Avauna

 

1901-1980 - 

Avala

Avalyn

Avaril

Avarine

Avary

 

Present -

Avani / Avaani

Avalon

 

 

If you like Ava you may also like:   Aria, Asta, Ayla, Lena, Liv, Maeve, Neva, Silva, Vida, Viva