British Baby Names

UK Birth Announcements 22/4/19 - 28/4/19

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:

Alexander James (Annabel Emilia)

Augustus Wilfred McLeod (Araminta Posy)

Christopher James (Simon Russ)

Edward Richard Hugh (Matilda Catherine Ruth & Arabella Mary Elspeth)

Finley Crispin (Drew Nicola)

Hari Eifion (Elan Dafydd)

Louie (Lucas)

Louie Joshua

Rowan David Peter

Sam David Panther

Walter William (Rory Andrew, Louisa Mary & Matilda Rose)

 

Girls: 

Anais Niloufar

Beatrice Penelope (Flora)

Daphné Rose

Emily Sheila (Abigail)

Evie Marie

Hali Olivia (Enya Amelia)

Jacintha

Laila Dawn Teresa

Rosanna Katherine Jane (Henry)

 

I cross-reference older BAs to find the full names of the siblings, however often they are missing (especially the eldest siblings, or for half siblings) which explains why you will sometimes see something like: George Henry (Lucy, Emma & Jack Arthur). "Lucy" and "Emma" may well have middle names as well; I simply cannot find them online. 

 

Name of the Week: Wilhelmina

 

Origin:

Wilhelmina is the feminine form Wilhelm, the German form of William composed of the Old Germanic elements willio "to wish, desire; be willing; be used to," and helm "helmet, protection, covering."

Usage:

There are a few examples in Latinised records of Williamina in the Middle Ages in England. Other feminised forms appear elsewhere on the Continent including Guillelma in Italy*, Guialma in Spain*, Willelma in Switzerland* and Guillelma, Guillemette and Guillemine in France*. It is quite possible that, as was the case with Philip, girls whose name was Latinised as Williamina in Britain were actually called simply "William" as the vernacular English form. Certainly, the diminutive form Wilmot was used not only for boys named William, but also for girls. By the 16th century, it was predominantly feminine in use, perhaps indicated that Wilmot had become the standard feminine form of William by that time. Given that William was so extremely common from the 11th century onwards, it is surprising that feminised forms of the name didn't see more use. In German-speaking countries, Wilhelmina became established in the 17th century when it was used by royalty. Wilhelmina properly came into its own in Britain in the 18th century, perhaps of the back of other fashionable latinised feminine forms such as Caroline, Christiana, Georgiana and Thomasina, but most likely as it was the first name—though not the regnal name of—King George II's wife, Queen Caroline (1683-1737), born Wilhelmina Charlotte Caroline. Oliver Goldsmith used the name for the character Miss Carolina Wilhelmina Amelia Skeggs inThe Vicar of Wakefield (1769) which Goldsmith took from his earlier publication work Citizens of the World (1760) in which there is mentioned a "sweet pretty creature" named Carolina Wilhelmina Amelia Tibbs, most likely after Queen Caroline and her second daughter Princess Amelia. The short-form Wilma came into use in the 19th century. It was rare as an independent name at first, but it became more common at the turn of the 20th century, peaking in the 1940s. Wilhelmina was the dominant spelling of the name in the 19th century in England. It was never especially common, but it was used regularly, as records in the England and Wales Birth Index show: 1840: 1850:  1860:  1870:  1880:  1890: 1900:  #296 #225 #199 #174 #187 #189 #178 click to enlarge In Scotland, Wilhelmina was much more commonly used than it was in the rest of Britain in the 19th century. The spelling Williamina was especially common thanks to the Scottish tradition for adding -ina to feminise masculine names: examples in use include Hughina, Magnusina, Andrewina and Donaldina.  As we can see from data from the 1881 UK census (see image, right) both Wilhelmina and Williamina were most popular in Scotland, with the spelling Williamina more common in the Highlands, and Wilhelmina more common in southern Scotland.  In 1900, Williamina ranked #25 and Wilhelmina ranked #60 in Scotland. Also ranking in the Scottish top 100 that year was Christina, Georgina, Robina, Alexandrina, Davina, Alexina and Thomasina. By 1950, Wilhelmina had fallen out of the Scottish top 100, replaced by short-form Wilma at #66. The spelling Williamina was still going strong at #77.  In 1974, Williamina ranked #311 with 8 births, but after that fell steeply out of the top 500 and was rarely used after by the 1990s.  In the last few decades, Wilhelmina has been rare across Britain. In 2017, it ranked #2706 (9 births) in England and Wales and #1537 (1 birth) in Scotland.

Famous Bearers:

Royalty: * Princess Wilhelmina Ernestine of Denmark (1650–1706), daughter of Frederick III of Denmark and wife of Charles II, Elector Palatine. * Wilhelmina Amalia of Brunswick (1673–1742), empress consort of the Holy Roman Empire of the German Nation, Queen of the Germans. * Wilhelmine of Bayreuth (1709–1758), German princess, sister of Frederick the Great, and composer * Princess Wilhelmina Caroline of Denmark and Norway (1747–1820), daughter of Frederick V of Denmark and wife of William I, Elector of Hesse. * Wilhelmina of Prussia, Princess of Orange (1750–1820), German princess and consort of William V of Orange. * Wilhelmine of Prussia (1774–1837), German princess and first queen of the Netherlands. * Princess Wilhelmine of Baden (1788–1836), German Grand Duchess of Hess and the Rhine. * Vilhelmine Marie of Denmark (1808–1891), daughter of Frederick VI of Denmark and wife of Frederick VII of Denmark. * Wilhelmina of the Netherlands (1880–1962), Reigning Queen of the Kingdom of the Netherlands from 1890 to 1948. History: * Wilhelmina Krafft (1778–1828), Swedish painter and miniaturist. * Wilhelmina Gravallius (1809–1884) Swedish writer. * Wilhelmina Drucker (1847–1925) Dutch politician and writer. * Wilhelmina Pruit (1865-1947), American poet. * Wilhelmina von Bremen (1909–1976), German American gold medalist in the Olympics. * Wilhelmina Feemster Jashemski (1910–2007), American classical archaeologist. * Wilhelmina Barns-Graham (1912–2004), British abstract artist. Contemporary: * Wilhelmina Cooper (1939–1980), Dutch-American high-fashion model and founder of Wilhelmina Models. Literature and Other Media: * Wilhelmina "Bill" Robinson, a tomboy character in Enid Blyton's Mallory Towers series.   * Wilhelmina "Willie" Scott, character from Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom (1984). * Wilhelmina Slater, character from Ugly Betty. * Wilhelmina Grubbly-Plank, character from the Harry Potter book series. Other: * 392 Wilhelmina, a large main-belt asteroid. * Wilhelmina Bay, a bay in Antarctica.

Variants:

Williamina, Willamina (English), Guglielma, Gulielma (Italian), Guillemine (French)

Pronunciation:

wil-ə-MEE-nə [key]

Possible  diminutives:

Billie, Millie, Mina, Minka, Minna, Minnie, Willa, Willow, Wilma, Winnie

Sibling Names:

Gwendoline     Theodosia     Georgiana     Euphemia     Ursula     Isadora  Valentine     Archibald     Percival     Ferdinand     Quentin      Cornelius

Name Lists:

Royal Names of Europe    Gorgeously Georgian  Victorian Darlings  Upright Elegance   Funky-Clunky   Enid Blyton Names

 

If you like Wilhelmina you may also like:   Philomena, Thomasina, Minerva, Honoria, Philadelphia, Dorothea, Roberta, Millicent, Rowena, Araminta

Thanks to Prue for requesting this name.

Name Help: A Brother for Eloise

 

Lauren is expecting her second baby -- a brother for Eloise Daisy. 

Lauren writes: "I already have a girl called Eloise Daisy, and I found her name quite easily as I had a long list of girl's names that I liked. However, we have found out that we are expecting a little boy, and we are both finding it a bit harder to decide on a boy's name. There are a few names that we like, but I am struggling to find something that I really love. I tend to like names that are classic, and easy to understand, but still slightly unusual/less common. If we had been expecting another girl, our choice would have been Juliet Catherine (Catherine is a family name). 

Both my husband and I prefer names that are easy to spell, with no unique spellings. We don't like nicknames as names, so names like Archie are off limits, but names that can be shortened to nicknames are fine. Both my husband and I are Scottish, and we like the idea of a Scots name, but lots of names we would consider have been used by people we know. The name doesn't have to be Scottish, however, as long as it fits our family. Our surname ends in 'n' and we have found that certain names ending in 'n' just don't sound right with it.

 

Names we like:

Tobias/Toby

Nathaniel/Nate

Otis (I like this better than my husband does)

Wesley (this is the main one that we both agree on)

Jonah (I don't love this but husband likes it a lot)

Hamish (husband likes this more than I do)

 

I also like Otto, but husband has vetoed it.

 

Names we can't use:

Finlay

Ruaridh (I would love to use this but we have a friend who has just used it!)

Lachlan

Blair

Harry 

Sam

Ben

Lewis

 

Family names we have considered as middle names:

Campbell

Thomas

David

George

Too popular for us would probably be anything within the top 100 in Scotland, and the really well-used names like Oliver, Jamie etc are definitely out. We’d prefer something recognisable but outside of the top 100 names. "

 

※    ※    ※    ※

 

The illusive sweet-spot! Trying to find a name that is easy to spell and pronounce, familiar that people will recognise, not considered "weird" and yet still feel fresh and uncommon so that it stands out from the crowd. Fortunately, your current list is full of names which fit that bill. Here are a few others to consider that work as well. 

Declan – A traditional Gaelic name meaning "full of goodness". It peaked at #35 in 1999 in Scotland but currently ranks #208 making it a familiar but not too common.

Dominic – A friendly and familiar name that feels stylish and debonair. Dominic has the same tailored style as Tobias and Nathaniel and ranks at #156 in Scotland. 

Douglas – A solid Scottish old-timer with an affable charm. This traditional clan-name currently ranks at #310. 

Fergus – Another Scottish charmer meaning "man of vigour." Familiar Fergus ranks at #146 in Scotland currently.

Fletcher – Much like Fraser (which at #64 is perhaps too popular for you), similar sounding Fletcher is an appealing traditional Scottish surname borne by Clan Fletcher. With its meaning of "arrow maker", it feels like a modern heirloom from the Middle Ages. 

Flynn – Dashing and Gaelic, lovable rogue Flynn—made famous by swashbuckling movie hero Errol Flynn—ranked comfortably at #162 in Scotland in 2018. 

Gabriel – With Tobias and Nathaniel on your list, Gabriel seems like a perfect fit, especially with the built-in nickname Gabe. It ranks at #97 in Scotland. 

Jesse – Sound-wise, Biblical Jesse sits between Jonah, Wesley and Ruaridh and, although familiar, only ranks at #433 in Scotland.

Maxwell – A traditional Scottish surname which feels tailored and polished like Nathaniel and Tobias and similar is sound to Wesley. It ranked #247 in 2018.

Murray – If you are lamenting the loss of Ruaridh, equally traditionally Scottish and friendly Murray might fit the bill. The downside is that it ranks at #77, but it hasn't been in the top 50 since 1988 so it isn't as common 

Myles / Miles – A stylish Norman name which could derive from the Slavic element mil "gracious, dear, beloved". Myles ranked at #134 in 2018 and Miles was #288.

Roderick – A handsome Norman name meaning "famous ruler" and used by Scotland's favourite son, Sir Walter Scott in The Vision of Don Roderick (1811). It ranked at #595 in 2018. 

Rowan – Not only is rowan a nature name (from the rowan tree), it is also an anglicised form of the Old Gaelic name Ruadhan and also a Scottish surname derived from places named Roan in Ayr, Berwick and Roxburgh. It ranked at #156 for boys in 2018; the only downside is that it is currently more common for girls in Scotland. 

Sebastian – A twice used Shakespearean name meaning "venerable." Like its meaning, Sebastian is a sophisticated and warm choice. It ranked at #103 in 2018. 

Theodore – At #130, Theodore is a classically refined choice that is familiar but not too common with built-in nicknames Theo and Teddy. 

Tristan – A literary hero which has ancient Celtic roots and links to Scotland. It is a handsome and heroic name that stands out from the crowd. 

Zachary – A happy Biblical name in the vein of Nathaniel and Jonah which ranks at #130 in Scotland. 

 

I hope this has been of use. Best wishes for finding the perfect name.

 

UK Birth Announcements 15/4/19 - 21/4/19

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:

Alfred Gregory (Arthur Charles)

Felix Guy Laurence (Flora Verena Jane)

Jac Alan (Ellie-Jo & Mya)

Jaxon Mally (Blake Freddie)

Otis James (Ruby)

Ronnie Gareth (Sonny Adam)

Samuel John (Eloise Rose)

William Anthony (George Richard)

 

Girls: 

Bonnie Patricia

Catherine Nancy Tremayne "Kitty" (Alice Mary Julia)

Connie-Rae Elizabeth (Isla-Rose)

Evie Michelle

Hazel Iris

Isla Elizabeth

Lillibeth Grace "Betsy" (Harry George)

Lucy Elizabeth Fleur (William Augustus Owen & Edward Alexander Owen)

Margaret Lydia

Margot Elizabeth Joy (Sebastian Ronald Owen)

Ophelia Robyn

Ottilie India Rose (Wilfred Alexander Leofric)

Persephone Annabel Elizabeth (Rupert & Wilhelmina Sophie Charlotte)

Rosie Dawn

Violet (Joshua, Lily, Charlie, Thomas, Emily & Bethany)

 

 

I cross-reference older BAs to find the full names of the siblings, however often they are missing (especially the eldest siblings, or for half siblings) which explains why you will sometimes see something like: George Henry (Lucy, Emma & Jack Arthur). "Lucy" and "Emma" may well have middle names as well; I simply cannot find them online. 

 

Name of the Week: Leonard

Origin:

Leonard is the Anglicised form of the Old Germanic name Leonhard composed of the elements lewo  "lion" and hard "hardy, brave, bold." Leonardus and Leonardo served as Latin forms of the name, with the latter becoming the Italian, Spanish and Portuguese form of the name also.

Usage:

Leonard was brought to Britain by the Normans and established itself thanks to the veneration of the saint Leonard of Noblac (d. 559). Saint Leonard was a Frankish nobleman in the court of King Clovis I, and together the two converted to Christianity. Leonard asked for the right to liberate any prisoners who he deemed worthy of their freedom. He freed many and gave them honest work clearing forests on his vast estates where he established an abbey.  Saint Leonard's cult spread rapidly in the 12th century and he became one of the most venerated saints of the late Middle Ages. In England, no fewer than 177 churches were dedicated to him, and he was also venerated in Scotland.  We can find records for Leonard starting from the 12th century, such as Leonardus de Berhedon in the 1219 Curia Regis Rolls of Rutland and Leonardus Skeler in the 1379 Poll Tax of Sussex. During this time, the surname Leonard was also established, as seen with Stephanus Leonardus in the Assize Court Rolls of Worcestershire in 1221 and William and Agnes Leonard in the Hundred Rolls of Huntingdonshire, in 1272. Overall, however, Leonard can only be found in small numbers at this early stage. It does not appear at all in George Redmonds analysis of 1000 names from 10 English counties in 1377-81, for example, which is curious given the popular veneration of the saint.  As Reaney and Wilson put it in the Oxford Dictionary of English Surnames the name was "not so common in England as one would have expected in view of the number of churches dedicated to St Leonard." By the 16th century, however, Leonard saw increased use, as we can see from Smith Bannister's rank of top 50 names from 1538 to 1700 in England: 1538-49: #24.5; 1550-9: #44.5; 1560-9: #30.5; 1570-9: #21.5; 1580-9: #30; 1590-9: #50; 1600-9: #28; 1610-9: #41.5; 1620-9: --; 1630-9: #35.5; 1640-9: --; 1650-9: #41; 1660-9: --; 1670-9: --; 1680-9: #49; 1690-1700: --.  In Europe, variants of Leonard were in similar use including Léonard in France and Leonardo in Spain and Italy in particular.  Leonard became less common in Britain in the 18th century, but by the mid-19th century, it was on a popular revival.  The diminutive form, Lenny, can also be found in records dating to the 16th century.** Curiously, Lenny was also used for girls in small numbers as well as for boys in the 19th century. In 1892, for example, there are birth records for both a 'Lenny Beatrice' and a 'Lenny Charles'.  This was perhaps inspired by Leonora or Helen/a.  Rankings of registration records for Leonard as a first name in the England and Wales Birth Index: 1840: 1850:  1860:  1870:  1880:  1890: 1900:  1904: 1914: 1924: 1934: 1944: 1954: 1964: 1974: 1984: 1994: #81 #79 #58 #49 #32 #29 #24 #22 #20 #25 #37 #59 #76 — — — — click to enlarge By 1996, Leonard ranked at fairly respectable #472 (39 births) in England and Wales. It saw very gradual rise to #431 (52 births) in 2002 and #401 (93 births) in 2008. Since 2011, however, it has seen a more marked increase, reaching #247 with 216 births in 2017.  The familiar short-form Lenny has seen an even steeper rise. Back in 1996, it ranked #1765 (6 births) in England and Wales, but had reached the top 500 by 2003 (#469 - 52 births). By 2013, that number had almost quadrupled, ranking #248 with 201 births.  In 2017, Lenny ranked #158 with 360 births in England and Wales. The spelling Lennie has also seen a steep rise during the same period, jumping from #2357 (4 births) in 1996 to #462 (89 births) in 2017.  The Italian and Spanish variant, Leonardo, has also seen an even more marked rise than Leonard itself. From ranking #1458 (8 births) in 1996, it jumped massively to #378 (60 births) in 1998 -- the year following the release of the film Titanic (1997) which catapulted Leonardo DiCaprio to stardom.  The name settled in use for a few years after but has been on a steep rise ever since 2003, ranking #136 (433 births) in 2017.  Much of Leonardo's success is in London, where it has ranked in the top 100 since 2014. In 2017, Leonardo ranked #62 in London alone. However, when London is removed from the England-whole data, it ranks at #159 (277 births) for the rest of the country.  In Scotland, Leonard fell below the top 200 from 1977 and, despite a brief spark at #156 (14 births) in 1985, remained below the top 200 with fewer than 6 births until 2014. It has since peaked at #315 (12 births) in 2016, but fell to #433 with 7 births by 2018.

Famous Bearers:

History: * Saint Leonard (d.559), patron saint of prisoners, captives and horses.  * Leonardo Fibonacci (c. 1170 – c. 1250), Italian mathematician. * Leonardo Bruni (c. 1370–1444), humanist, historian and chancellor of Florence. * Leonardo da Vinci (1452–1519), Italian Renaissance scientist, inventor, engineer, sculptor, and painter. * Leonard of Chios (d. 1458), Catholic archbishop. * Leonhard Fuchs (1501–1566), German physician and natural historian. * Saint Leonard of Port Maurice (1676–1751), Italian saint. * Leonhard Euler (1707–1783), Swiss mathematician. * Leonard Labatt (1838–1897), Swedish tenor. * Leonard Woolley (1880–1960), British archaeologist. * Leonard Cheshire (1917-1992), British philanthropist. * Leonard Bernstein (1918–1990), American conductor and composer. Contemporary: * Leonard Stone (1923–2011), American actor. * Leonard Rosenman (1924–2008), American composer. * Leonard Nimoy (1931–2015), American actor and film director. * Leonard Cohen (1934–2016), Canadian singer-songwriter. * Leonard Adleman (born 1945), American computer scientist. * Leonard "Lenny" Kravitz (born 1964), American singer and songwriter. * Leonard Doroftei (born 1970), Romanian boxer. * Leonard Humphries (born 1970), American football player. * Leonardo DiCaprio (born 1974), Academy-award winner American actor. Literature and Other Media: * Leonard McCoy, character in the Star Trek series. * Leonard Hofstadter, character in The Big Bang Theory. * Leonard of Quirm, character in the Discworld novels.

Variants:

Leonhard (German), Léonard (French), Lennart (Swedish, Danish, Norwegian, Finnish, Dutch), Leonardo (Italian, Spanish, Portuguese)

Pronunciation:

LEN-ərd [key]

Possible diminutives:

Len, Lenny, Leo, Leon, Ned

Sibling Names:

Esther     Mabel     Georgina     Jemima     Audrey     Josephine Vincent     Sidney     Ernest     Reginald     Chester     Robin

Name Lists:

Victorian Darlings

 

If you like Leonard you may also like:   Francis, Edwin, Jonathan, Ronald, Lawrence, Franklin, Patrick, Timothy, Edison, Douglas

Thanks to Marie for requesting this name.  

 

Regional Favourites for Boys 2017

If you named your son Rupert in 2017, chances are you live in the south of England, according to newly released data from the Office for National Statistics. If you know a few little Laytons, perhaps you live in the North East. 
The data release lists all the names given to three or more babies ranked according to popularity solely within the nine official regions of England, and also Wales. 

In this post, I have identified all the names which appeared in the top 100 of each individual region that did not rank in the overall top 100 for England and Wales combined.

The following table is a breakdown of the ranks of the names which appear above:

	N. East	N. West	Yorkshire	E. Midlands	W. Midlands	East	London	S. East	S. West	Wales
Aaron	#81				#82		#47
Aiden							#61
Alfred							#78	#89	#63
Ali							#40
Ayaan					#63		#69
Billy			#87		#99
Bodhi									#100
Cai										#58
Callum	#90				#96	#92
Cole	#78	#96								#88
Connor	#95	#93		#91	#94					#83
Dominic	#99						#76
Eesa							#99
Eli			#87	#92					#85	#67
Elias							#80
Elis										#44
Eric				#99			#86
Evan										#39
Filip				#96
Grayson	#84		#79	#75		#92			#94
Gruffydd										#91
Hamza							#97
Harri										#18
Hudson						#98				#83
Ioan										#70
Isaiah							#95
Jac										#52
Jamie	#84	#97						#100
Jasper				#92		#86		#70	#53
Jax	#95				#99
Jaxson					#99				#95	#100
Joel	#89	#88		#85
Joey	#55
John	#84						#95
Kevin							#65
Layton	#91
Leonardo							#62
Lincoln	#71	#76	#82						#96	#91
Macsen										#70
Maximilian							#81
Milo								#90	#96
Mohamed							#68
Morgan										#60
Muhammed			#87		#64
Musa					#74		#53
Nathaniel
Nicholas							#71
Omar							#99
Osian										#22
Owen										#76
Parker										#91
Patrick		#99					#72
Rafael							#92
Raphael							#72
Rayan							#74
Rhys										#52
Robert	#98
Rowan	#95		#93					#85	#75	#55
Rupert								#92	#70
Seth			#76	#82					#87	#91
Sonny		#93				#97			#70	#91
Syed							#85
Tobias		#97	#86	#94	#95				#80
Tomos										#55
Yahya							#77
Yusuf					#79		#37
Zakariya							#90
	N. East	N. West	Yorkshire	E. Midlands	W. Midlands	East	London	S. East	S. West	Wales

.
 

These statistics have been compiled and formatted by me based on data provided by the Office for National Statistics. 

 

Regional Favourites for Girls 2017

If you named your daughter Elodie in 2017, chances are you live in the south of England according to data from the Office for National Statistics. The data release lists all the names given to three or more babies ranked according to popularity solely within the nine official regions of England, and also Wales.

In this post, I have identified all the names which appeared in the top 100 of each individual region that did not rank in the overall top 100 for England and Wales combined.

.The following table is a breakdown of the ranks of the names which appear above:

	N. East	N. West	Yorkshire	E. Midlands	W. Midlands	East	London	S. East	S. West	Wales
Aaliyah							#60
Ada	#94						#84
Aizah			#89		#74
Alexandra							#43
Alys										#53
Amaya					#88		#74
Amina							#91
Amira							#61
Anastasia							#66
Anaya					#71		#76
Annie	#90	#70	#76	#94
Ariana	#98			#94	#93		#75			#85
Arya							#99
Ayla	#81						#53
Bethany								#85	#81
Betsy			#84
Brooke	#65									#93
Cadi										#65
Connie	#81		#81
Delilah								#96	#89
Eden	#65			#94		#79
Edie			#73	#80	#91
Efa										#74
Eira										#65
Elena							#81
Eleri										#85
Elin										#79
Elodie									#92
Eloise						#88		#88	#89
Esmae	#81	#83	#77	#82
Esther							#76
Faith										#96
Fatima		#92	#84		#67		#46
Felicity	#89		#90	#88	#96			#87	#85
Ffion										#27
Frankie	#78		#94		#98
Gwen										#85
Hanna				#91
Inaaya					#98		#96
Isabel							#87
Katie	#81
Khadija							#89
Lacey	#94			#80					#97	#96
Lara						#92	#61
Lexi			#81	#91	#78				#91	#64
Lili										#93
Lowri										#70
Lydia	#73	#94	#79
Maddison	#98		#96	#97		#88				#79
Madison					#85					#77
Mali										#41
Margot							#72
Mariam							#94
Mollie	#96									#92
Myla	#90
Nansi										#83
Naomi							#97
Nevaeh		#95			#88
Nia										#62
Niamh	#73	#84
Nina							#79
Paige	#98								#97
Pippa		#84	#88			#92			#99
Sadie	#85	#90
Safa					#98		#95
Sarah							#28
Savannah	#90				#85	#95		#96
Seren										#33
Skye	#96			#97
Tilly						#96
Zahra							#76
Zainab		#100			#96		#79
Zoe						#84	#50	#76
	N. East	N. West	Yorkshire	E. Midlands	W. Midlands	East	London	S. East	S. West	Wales

.

These statistics have been compiled and formatted by me based on data provided by the Office for National Statistics. 

 

Appeal for Help - Calling all Bilingual British Parents!

 

If you're a parent (or prospective parent) in the UK who speaks a first language that's not English -- or you are parenting with a partner that fits this description -- name scholarship needs you! 

Clare Green, best known for her fantastic Name News scoop.it page and excellent weekly international baby names news posts over at nameberry.com, is in need of volunteers willing to be interviewed for her final dissertation.

Clare is currently undertaking her MA in Language Documentation and Description at SOAS, and for her final dissertation she's examining how parents in the UK choose their children's names when one or more of them speaks a first language that's not English - and if that connects to the way they use language(s) at home. 

If you or your partner fit this description, please consider helping Clare further research into name scholarship. Email [email protected].

Many thanks!

 

UK Birth Announcements 8/4/19 - 14/4/19

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:

Caleb 

Charles Henry David

Edward Alan

Edward George Francis (Henry Bruce Gardner & Georgiana Jean Rowena)

Fergus Patrick 

Oisín Anthony

Thomas Andrew (Peter David & Michael McInroy)

 

Girls: 

Beatrice Agnes Constance (Edmund)

Eleanor "Ellie"

Ella

Eva Marie

Freya

Isabella Poppy Anne

Kelsey Arryn (Charley Eva & Georgie Amber)

Michaela

Orla (Georgia, Shaun & Rowan)

Sophie Robyn 

 

 

I cross-reference older BAs to find the full names of the siblings, however often they are missing (especially the eldest siblings, or for half siblings) which explains why you will sometimes see something like: George Henry (Lucy, Emma & Jack Arthur). "Lucy" and "Emma" may well have middle names as well; I simply cannot find them online. 

 

Name of the Week: Winifred

Origin:

Winifred is the Anglicised form of the Old Welsh name Gwenfrewi via the Latinised form Wenefrida, a spelling which may have been influenced by the Old English name Winfrið (wine "friend" and frið "peace"). St Gwenfrewi (or more commonly, St. Winefride) was a 7th century Welsh virgin martyr, niece of St Beuno and abbess of Trefynnon & Gwytherin. According to legend, Gwenfrewi was the daughter of the chieftain of Tegeingl. When she decided to become a nun, her enraged suitor, Caradog, decapitated her , but she was brought back to life by her uncle, Saint Beuno. On the spot where her head fell sprung a healing spring which later became a shrine and pilgrimage site called St Winefride's Well in Holywell, Flintshire, Wales.  It is interesting to note the connection between shrines of early British saints and previous pagan Celtic shrines. It is very likely that St Winefride's Well was previously a sacred Celtic shrine and that Gwenfrewi herself was once a Celtic deity. As Kimberly Rachel Grunke points out, "sources of water were sacred to the pagan Celts. Offerings were often thrown into waters to become the property of the Celtic deities. [...] Lakes and rivers were thought of as places of healing. Almost every Irish, British, and Breton tradition has a holy well named after one or more of their saints. It’s clear that many of the holy wells existed well before the introduction of Christianity into the Celtic lands. Renaming these holy wells was a “monotheistic reinterpretation of the spirit that dwells within and guards the (often) healing waters.” These wells were usually natural springs that had buildings built over them for protection and into the Christian tradition, many of them were still believed to contain healing properties. Some wells reputedly sprang up when a saint was beheaded, such as the wells of St. Reina, St. Jutwara, St. Ludd, St. Noyala, and St. Gwenfrewi."* Gwenfrewi has traditionally been assumed to be from the Welsh gwyn "fair, white, blessed," and Old English frið "peace" (possibly thanks to confusion with the Old English name Winfrið). That a Welsh name would contain an Old English element is incredibly unlikely, so this definition has, in more recent times, popularly been bypassed, and instead you'll often find Gwenfrewi popularly derived from the Welsh gwyn and frewi "peace, reconciliation."  The major problem with this theory is that you'll be hard pushed to find frewi in a Welsh dictionary at all, let alone meaning "peace" (for that you need hedd or tanc). It seems that the old idea of the Saxon element  frið "peace" has just been erroneously reassigned as a Welsh element.  One Welsh word that does seem possible as a source is the Welsh ferwi, which derives from berwi "to bubble, to effervesce"* The move from ferwi to frewi could be an example of metathesis or simply scribal error. This word seems even more likely when we consider that St. Winefrede's Well in Holywell, Flintshire actually does bubble. Furthermore, the element berwi "to bubble, to effervesce" has precedence as a given name which we can see in the Celtic Bormanna, the goddess of spring waters and healing. She was the feminine equivalent to Bormo/Bormanus (Berw in Welsh) which itself is similar to the name of St. Winifrede's uncle, St. Beuno.  It is possible that gwyn could be an example of an epithet ("Blessed"), which eventually became attached to the name, giving Gwenfrewi the meaning of "Blessed Bormanna" or "blessed bubbling waters."  K.M. Sheard also points out the similarity of the name Gwenfrewi to Ffraid [an alternate name for the saint is Gwenffrwd], the Welsh form of Bridget. With gwyn "blessed" as an epithet, and -wy as a suffix (which was commonly attached to names associated with water), Sheard believes that Gwenfrewi may really represent "a survival of the cult of the great Brythonic Goddess Brigantia."* We do know that offerings were made to Brigantia (whose name means "the exalted/high one") in wells and springs across Europe* and several rivers were named after her.* St Winefrede's Well may have originally been one of these sites sacred to Brigantia.

Usage:

St Winifred's veneration dates at least to the 12th century, and was not uncommon in England. In 1138, her remains were brought to Shrewsbury Abbey, making it a major centre of pilgrimage. St. Winifred's Well in Holywell is also mentioned in the 14th century medieval poem Sir Gawain and the Green Knight showing how well known it was as a sacred site. It is difficult to tell how early Winifred's use dates from as records are scant, but it was certainly in moderate use in the 16th century in England and Wales. Variants retaining the G of Gwenfrewi can also be found in the forms Gwenffrid, Ginnifret, Gwyniffrid, Gweenyfrid and Guinifritha.  Winifred was not uncommon among the peerage: notable early bearers include Winifred Maxwell, Countess of Nithsdale (c.1680–1749), who arranged the daring escape of her husband from the Tower of London in 1716 following the Jacobite Battle of Preston, and Winifred, Lady Strickland (1645–1725) who was a courtier and governess to James, Prince of Wales (1688-1766).  Smith Bannister's rankings of top 50 names from forty English parishes in each decade from 1538 to 1700 has Winifred ranking twice: #39 in 1538-49 and #49 in 1620-29.  It wasn't until the 19th century, however, that Winifred really started to become a mainstream name, rising rapidly by the end of the century. The short form Winnie also rose in use over the century and rose to #183 by 1900.  Records for Winifred as a first name in the England and Wales Birth Index: 1840: 1850:  1860:  1870:  1880:  1890: 1900:  1904: 1914: 1924: 1934: 1944: 1954: 1964: 1974: 1984: 1994: #124 #121 #138 #91 #58 #36 #18 #12 #10 #19 #48 — — — — — — By 1996, Winifred was firmly below the top 1000. By 2010, however, it began to see a rise and reached #842 (45 births) by 2014. In 2017, Winifred ranked #785 with 50 births.  Regional data for 2016 shows that Winifred is most common in the South West (#395), followed by the South East (#529). In contrast, it did not rank at all in Wales, Yorkshire and the Humber and the North East.  Originally less common, by 2011, the short form Winnie became the more common form, ranking #814 (47 births) in 2014. Winnie saw a huge jump in 2017 when it almost doubled in use, moving from #666 (63 births) to #394 (113 births).

Famous Bearers:

History: * Winifred, Lady Strickland (1645–1725), Jacobite courtier. * Winifred Maxwell, Countess of Nithsdale (c.1680–1749), Jacobite courtier. * Winifred Cavendish-Bentinck, Duchess of Portland (1863–1954), British humanitarian and animal welfare activist. * Winifred Edgerton Merrill (1862–1951), the first American female to receive a PhD in mathematics. * Winifred Lewellin James (1876–1941), Australian writer. * Winifred Brunton (1880–1959), South African painter.  * Winifred Mary Letts (1882–1972), British writer. * Winifred Greenwood (1885-1961), American silent film actress. * Winifred Lawson (1892-1961), British opera and concert singer. * Winifred Lamb (1894-1963), British pioneering archaeologist. * Winifred Holtby (1898–1935), British novelist and journalist. * Winifred Spooner (1900–1933), British aviator of the 1920s and 1930s. * Winifred Copperwheat (1905–1976), British violist. * Winifred Atwell (1914–1983), Trinidadian pianist who enjoyed great popularity in Britain in the 1950s ragtime hits. Contemporary: * Winifred "Winnie" Mandela (born 1936), former wife of Nelson Mandela. Literature and Other Media: * Winifred Banks, a character from Mary Poppins. * Winifred "Winnie" Sanderson, a character from Hocus Pocus (1993). * Winifred "Winnie" Foster, a main character from the American book and movie Tuck Everlasting (1975). * Winifred "Wendy" Torrance, a main character from the American book and movie The Shining.

Variants:

Winnifred, Gwenfrewi, Winifrede

Pronunciation:

WIN-ə-fred [key]

Possible  diminutives:

Winnie, Wenna, Freda, Freddy

Sibling Names:

Dorothy     Constance    Henrietta     Rosemary     Millicent     Cecilia      Leonard     Sidney     Reginald     Ernest     Montgomery     Benedict

Name Lists:

Terrifically Tudor  Victorian Darlings   Roaring Twenties Names   Funky-Clunky   Upright Elegance

 

If you like Winifred you may also like:   Gwendoline, Marigold, Rosanna, Olive, Margery, Wilhelmina, Blanche, Cassandra, Rowena, Elspeth

Thanks to Louise for requesting this name.