It is widely known across the world that we Brits have gone gaga for hyphenated names, and its a trend that does not seem to be abating.
Now that both Scotland, England and Wales have released their data for 2013, lets have a closer look at all their hyphenated names, starting with a breakdown of usage and then looking at the highest ranking.
A new trend is also emerging that seem to be growing also. Compound names such as Hannahmay, Lisamarie, Ellagrace, Lilyrose, Johnjames and Jamielee are prevalent, forgoing the hyphen all together.
England and Wales:
Boys:
Of the 6054 individual boys' names recorded in the 2013 data, 323 (5.3%) are hyphenated, registered for a total of 2223 babies.
- 2010: 241 hyphen names given to 1574 babies. (4.0% of names in released data)
- 2011: 279 hyphen names given to 1776 babies. (4.6% of names in released data)
- 2012: 322 hyphen names given to 2307 babies. (5.2% of names in released data)
- 2013: 323 hyphen names given to 2223 babies. (5.3% of names in released data)
Girls:
Of the 7538 individual names recorded for girls in 2012, 1132 (15%) are hyphenated, registered for a total of 12,556 babies.
- 2010: 911 hyphen names given to 9045 babies. (12.3% of names in released data)
- 2011: 968 hyphen names given to 10,625 babies. (12.8% of names in released data)
- 2012: 1195 hyphen names given to 13,005 babies. (15.5% of names in released data)
- 2013: 1132 hyphen names given to 12,556 babies. (15.0% of names in released data)
It is important to note that the ONS only release names given to three babies or more. 27,000 different boys' names and 35,000 different girls' names were registered in 2013, but only 6053 (boys) and 7538 (girls) appear in the data. That's a huge number of missing names!
Though we know that the number of individual names is going up each year, the number of individual names in the released data keeps going down. This tells us that names are becoming increasingly individul and more and more names are given each year to only one or two babies. A large part of these missing names will be hyphenated.
Most popular hyphen names in England and Wales 2013:
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Scotland:
Unlike England and Wales, Scotland has no restriction on the names they release. Consequently every name registered in Scotland is released in their data giving us a fuller picture.
Boys:
Of the 3041 individual boys' names recorded in the 2013 data, 224 (7.4%) are hyphenated, registered for a total of 242 babies. To put it another way, 0.8% of all the baby boys registered in Scotland in 2013 were given a hyphenated name.
- 2010: 155 hyphen names, representing 5.2% of all names.
- 2011: 192 hyphen names, representing 6.3% of all names.
- 2012: 206 hyphen names, representing 6.2% of all names.
- 2013: 224 hyphen names, representing 7.4% of all names.
Girls:
Of the 4396 individual names recorded for girls in 2013, 647 (14.7%) are hyphenated, registered for a total of 832 babies. To put it another way, 3% of all the baby girls registered in Scotland in 2013 were given a hyphenated name.
- 2010: 424 hyphen names, representing 10.4% of all names.
- 2011: 494 hyphen names, representing 12.3% of all names.
- 2012: 661 hyphen names, representing 14.9% of all names.
- 2013: 647 hyphen names, representing 14.7% of all names.
Most popular hyphen names in Scotland 2013:
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A Little Bit Different:
Many parents are quite creative with their hyphenated creations. Here are is a small selection of quirky choices from E&W and Scotland:
Aeren-A'ter
Argyll-Sutherland
Bernard-Che
Bien-Zachary
Jaero-Drake
Kenzie-J
King-David
King-Enoch
Ledley-Lee
Magnus-Mackenzie
Moray-Geo
Oakley-Blue
Xander-Wolfgang
Zion-Benjamin
Ayleigh-Blue
Barbara-Anne
Bella-Beau
Briar-Rose
Caolila-Alba
Ceilidh-Margaret
Dolcie-Mae
Fergie-Alexis
Harmony-Grace
Katie-Morag
Pixie-Beau
Poppi-Gem
Ruby-Tuesday
Ruby-Valentine
Sapphire-Rose
Tallulah-Blu
Temperance-Lee
Click this link to view the complete list of hyphen names listed in the data for England and Wales and Scotland in 2013:
Hyphen Names 2013
