British Baby Names

Upswing Girls' Names in England & Wales: 2014

Will Isla be the next #1 name? Surely Florence isn't far from the top 10? 

In this post I will be examining girls' names in England and Wales which, up until 2014 (the last point of data), have been continually rising in usage. 

First let's look at the names within the Top 100 which are currently rising. Unlike the boys' names, girls' names with sharp spikes are more common to come by. 

However, a rise in rank and an increase in birth count don't always correlate, so there were a few names which didn't make this chart. The ranks of Poppy, Isabella, Sophia, Isabelle and Sienna went up from 2013 to 2014 but the birth count actually went down in each case.

 

Upswing Names in the Top 100:

Then there are the names below the top 100. Their upward curves could indicate future fame.

Upswing Names in the Top 300:

 

Three names just a itching to break into the top 100 are the Hollywood inspired Penelope, Elsa and Mila. Look out for them in the 2015 statistics!

With botanical vintage choices like Lily, Daisy, Rose, Ivy and Violet in vogue, it is little wonder that Iris, Olive and Pearl are on an upward curve. Pearl has recently featured as a new baby in Eastenders this year, so expect to see more of it next year. 

The enduring legacy of Downton Abbey has had an impact not only on popular culture, but also names. Edith has been marching up the charts since the series began, as has diminutive for Edie (given a further boost this year when it was used by Keira Knightley). Similarly, Cora has also risen since the show's airing. 

In the same vein as Edith and Cora, other two syllable Victoriana names are becoming fashionable, leading to a rise in Clara, Ada and Nina -- which reached the Scottish top 100 in 2015. 

Other two-syllable -a ending names are also on the rise such as the Celtic Orla and the celestial Luna and Lyra.

Speaking of celestial, American imports Skyla/Skylar and Hallie have also made their way over the Atlantic and are making waves here. 

Isabelle, Isabella, Annabelle and Bella are firm favourites up in the top 100, so it's little wonder that other bell names are on the up.

These three A-A names have already made it into Scotland's top 100 thanks to a boost popular TV shows. 

Songstress Ariana Grande has help boost this spelling of the name, and the alternate Arianna has reached #81 in Scotland. Another A-a name, Aliza is similarly rising. 

These A-a names really are a trend! They're clearly following number one favourite Amelia.

Sweet bouncy B names Bonnie and Betsy have been rising quickly since 2008. Following behind Penelope's success, diminutive Penny is also on the upswing.

Ever since the Royal Wedding of 2011, Pippa (the world's most famous bridesmaid) has been on the rise. Maggie has had a celebrity boost from Maggie Gyllenhaal, and Marnie has had a hefty boost from popular culture. 

Ladylike names with a Continental flair are also on the rise such as French Elodie and Italian Eliana. Sweet Felicity is getting a boost from rising actress Felicity Jones.

Other latinised Exotic Traditionals are also rising, as can be seen with Liliana, Beatrix and Valentina.

Like Lola, Delilah is the bad girl turned darling. Sortened forms Lilah and Dolly are similarly rising. 

Muslim favourites Fatima and Khadija have been steadily rising (and in various spellings) for decades now. Aizah is a variant of staple Aisha, which has already risen into the top 100. 

Though not a traditional Arabic name, Inayah and variants Anaya/Anayah is a word taken from the Qu'ran meaning "care."

These top 10 favourites in Poland (Zuzanna #2, Zofia #5 and Hanna  #6) are rising here thanks to growing multiculturalism in Britain. 

 

UK Birth Announcements 28/12/15 - 3/1/16

A round-up of names from birth announcements announced in British newspapers in the last week.

Sources include a national paper (The Telegraph) and a broad range of local newspapers from across England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland.

Sibling names are in brackets. 

 

Boys:

Albert Cosmo

Alexander Charles (William Peter)

Alfie James

Charlie Alexander (Freddie)

Cian James Ted

Conor Philip (Aiden)

George Thomas

Henry Francis Barose (Alice Mary Devi)

Jacob Martin

Joshua James

Leopold Alexander

Lewis Michael

Max James

Reggie Anthony

Ruairi James Adair (Cameron David Walenty)

 

Girls:

Eleanor Mary Rosamund

Ellie Jackie

Emmie Rae

Esme Alice

Evelyn Elizabeth

Faith Cynthia Florence

Grace Lily

Heidi Amber

India Elizabeth Louise Irving (Otis Charles James Irving)

Kayla Maci (Chloe)

Matilda Emily (William John Edward, George Richard Herbert & Johnnie Arthur James)

Millicent Hope

Savannah Drew

Sophia Jane

Stella Ivy Juno

 

Name of the Week: Henrietta

 

Origin:

Henrietta is the Latinised form of Henriette, a French feminine form of Henri (or Henry in English).  Henri itself derived from Henricus, the Latinised form of the Old Germanic name Heimerich, composed of the elements heim "home" and rīhhi "ruler."

Usage:

Henriette was first used in France in the 16th century as a feminine form of Henri. It was famously borne by Princess Henriette Marie of France, daughter of King Henry IV of France and Marie de Medici. Her marriage to Charles I in 1625, and accession to the throne of England, Scotland and Ireland, brought the name to Britain, where it was latinised as Henrietta Maria.   After 1625, several members of the public (especially those in the peerage) were keen to name their daughters in honour of the new queen, and as such we find several Henrietta Marias during the queen's lifetime. Examples include Lady Henrietta Maria Howard (b.1628), Lady Henrietta Mary Stanley (b. 1630), and Lady Henrietta Maria Blount (b. 1632). George Redmonds notes that this double name became more popular after the Restoration of the monarchy in 1660, particularly among the gentry, but generally across all classes. He also argues that this may have set a precedent for the general adoption of two names by members of the gentry and aristocracy.* It is interesting to note that, while Henrietta was the Latinised form of Henriette, the familial vernacular form in Britain was Harriet. Evidence suggests that at first Henrietta and Harriet were interchangeable. Baptism and marriage registers recorded Henrietta, but familiarly they were 'Harriet' to their friends and family. This was certainly the case of Lady Henrietta Cavendish (later Countess Granville), daughter of 5th Duke of Devonshire and the famous society beauty Lady Georgiana Spencer, who was known as Harriet (or "Harryo" to her family). She was named after her maternal aunt Henrietta Ponsonby, Countess of Bessborough who was also known as Harriet. Other examples from the peerage abound, making it difficult to distinguish between the two forms.  With Harriet firmly established, Henrietta came back into use in its own right in the 19th century.  Some of this may have been due to Henrietta's adoption by the Jacobites in honour of Henry Benedict Stuart, the last male heir of the Stuart line.  The three names James, Charles and Henry were common names for Jacobites to give their sons, as were the feminine forms Jamesina, Jacobina, Carolina, Charlesina and Henrietta. After Henry Stuart's death in 1807, the Jacobite claim to the throne then passed to the senior heir of King Charles I, descended from his youngest daughter Henrietta Anne -- yet another Jacobite link to the name Henrietta.  The Surname Atlas - click to enlarge In the 19th century, Henrietta became a top 100 staple in England and Wales: 1860: #53 1870: #60 1880: #69 1890: #81 1900: #95 Data from the 1881 UK census shows -- when population is evened out per 100,000 people -- that Henrietta was especially popular in the Highlands of Scotland (where Jacobite names still held sway) and also in the south of England.  Though Henrietta reached a low of #95 in England and Wales by 1900 (and fell out of the top 100 soon after), it was still strong at #55 in Scotland in that year, though it had fallen out of the Scottish top 100 by 1950. Henrietta's popularity in England and Wales declined across the 20th century as shown by the number of birth registrations per decade: 1910s: 3418 births 1920s: 1709 births 1930s: 569 births 1940s: 310 births 1950s: 280 births 1960s: 529 births 1970s: 291 births Though it generally declined over the century, there was a noticeble spike in the 1960s. This may have been inspired by Henrietta Tiarks, "the best-known debutantes of the Fifties" who became a society 'It-girl' and model, appearing in the prestigious Country Life in 1960. She married the then Marquess of Tavistock, in 1961 and later became Duchess of Bedford. Since 1996, Henrietta has, on average, been registered between 40-60 times per year (ranking between #500 and #700).  In the last four years however, Henrietta has seen a rise in usage, reaching #427 in 2014 with 102 babies.  In Scotland, however, Henrietta has been registered no more than three times in any given year since 1975. In 2014, Henrietta ranked #1534 with 1 birth in Scotland.

Famous Bearers:

History: * Queen Henrietta Maria of France (1609–1669), queen consort of England, Scotland, and Ireland as the wife of King Charles I. * Princess Henrietta Anne of England (1644–1670), daughter of King Charles I of England. * Henrietta Godolphin, 2nd Duchess of Marlborough (1681–1733), a princess of the Holy Roman Empire and a Princess of Mindelheim * Henrietta "Harriet" Leveson-Gower, Countess Granville (1785–1862), British peeress and society hostess. * Henrietta "Jetty" Treffz (1818-1878), well-known Austrian mezzo-soprano. * Henrietta Hooker (1851–1929), an American botanist. * Henrietta Swan Leavitt (1868–1921), an American astronomer. Contemporary: * Henrietta Russell nee Tiarks (b.1940), Dowager Duchess of Bedford and former fashion model and society belle.  * Dame Henrietta Louise Moore  (b. 1957), British social anthropologist. * Henrietta Ónodi (b. 1974), an Olympic gold medal-winning Hungarian gymnast. Literature and Other Media: * Henrietta (1758), a novel by Charlotte Lennox. * Henrietta Musgrove, a character in Jane Austin's novel Persuasion (1818). * Henrietta Petowker, a character in Charles Dickens' novel Nicholas Nickleby (1839).

Variants:

Henrike (German, Scandinavian), Enrica (Italian), Henriikka (Finnish), Hendrika (Dutch)

Pronunciation:

hen-ree-ET-a [key]

Possible  diminutive:

Hen, Henny, Hetty, Ettie, Etta, Hattie, Ren, Retta, Rena, Henry, Harriet, Harryo, Jetty, Hero

Sibling Names:

Florence     Arabella     Verity     Caroline     Alexandra     Cecilia      Sebastian     Fergus     Rupert     Barnabas     Roderick     Louis

Name Lists:

Upright Elegance   Latinate Lovelies   Gorgeously Georgian   Victorian Darlings   Royal British Names   Jane Austen Names   Dickensian Names   Enid Blyton Names   Inspirational Women of Science

 

If you like Henrietta you may also like:   Georgiana, Cordelia, Rosalind, Theodora, Cassandra, Ophelia, Clementine, Juliana, Philippa, Letitia

 

Thanks to Minnie for requesting this post. 

Upswing Boys' Names in England & Wales: 2014

Which names are set to be top 20 hits? What up-and-coming names are the next big thing?

In this post I will be examining boys' names in England and Wales which, up until 2014 (the last point of data), have been continually rising in usage. 

First let's look at the names within the Top 100 which are currently rising  These boys' names, in general, take longer to rise than girls' names and have a more gradual upward curve, often with intermittent plateauing. 

Still, there are some with a sharp upward curve, including Theo, Elijah, Theodore, Teddy, Hugo and Albert.

 

Upswing Names in the Top 100:

But what about the names which are on rocketing up below the top 100? Could these be the next Noahs, Leos and Arthurs?  

Upswing Names in the Top 300:

 

With Teddy, Jenson and Freddie all in the top 100, it is little wonder that counterparts Ted, Jensen and Freddy are also on the rise within the top 200. 

With Jackson comfortably floating around the #100 mark, alternative spellings Jaxon and Jaxson have also risen steeply in recent years. When all the spellings are added together, the name ranks #52. Short form Jax is also getting more use as an alternative to staple Jack. 

With Leo, Theo and Hugo leading a trail in the top 100, two syllable -o ending names are hot property, leading to rises in Rocco, Milo and "the next big thing" Arlo. 

Three other two syllable names featuring the prominent 'o' sound -- Oakley, Otis and Nico -- are also on the upswing.

Preppy B name Brody (also a two-syllable 'o' sound name) is on the up in both spellings, as is the similarly bouncy Buddy.

Following the success of Ethan and Elijah, other Biblical E names are also on the up, particularly Eli, Elias and Ezra. 

Other Biblical names are also on the up, such as gentle Jonah and the name of the third Magi Casper / Jasper. 

Theodore has followed Theo's success, so perhaps it is little wonder that Leonardo and Leonard are following rising Leo (up at #16). And as with Teddy, diminutive Lenny is also getting a look in. 

Speaking of diminutives, vintage cheeky-chappy names Reggie, Albie and Vinnie are chasing the tails of the popular Alfie, Archie, Teddy and Ronnie.

Though they are not quite diminutives, Ralph, Eric and Frank are all short-and-sweet grandpa names with turn-of-the-century charm which are on the upswing.

Stately, dapper R names are also on the rise, as can be seen by Roman, Raphael and Rex. 

Other refined dapper vintage names -- Rupert, Barnaby and Wilfred -- are also enjoying a rise in popularity.

Move over, Mason, Harrison and Harley, there is a new wave of surname-firstnames hot on your heals, featuring to-syllables and the fashionable -er ending. 

Other surnames on the rise include Lincoln -- a name which rose significantly in 2006 after the airing of TV show Prison Break -- and the next generation of -son names, Grayson and Hudson. 

The increasingly multicultural face of Britain is also seeing rises for staple Arabic names. Yusuf and Yahya are Quranic translations of Joseph and John, while Ayaan is an Arabic name said to mean "gift of God."

Polish names are also having an influence on British trends. Antoni (#3 in Poland), the preferred Polish form of Anthony; Marcel (#18 in Poland) and Natan (#36 in Poland), the Polish form of Nathan, are all on the rise. 

Other rising names which have been given a celebrity boost include Biblical Jesse, Arabic Zayn -- brought into the spotlight by Zayn Malik -- and Arabic and Welsh name Idris -- boosted by actor Idris Elba.