Traditional British names in danger
The recent vogue for old-fashioned names like Daisy and Harry has been highly selective, and several traditional British names are in danger of dying out, according to research by Gurgle.com.
The names in the danger zone include Edna, Gertrude, Norman and Walter, and it's getting critical: No Gertrudes and just two Normans were born in the UK in 2005.
The trend is largely down to parents being less likely to name their child after a favourite aunt or uncle, even a wealthy one, and naming their children after celebrities, celebs children or making up something unique.
Another cause is the replacement of out-of-fashion names with a variant: Olivia has almost replaced Olive, while Alfie has become far more common than Alfred.
Endangered girls' names
- Gertrude
- Edna
- Ethel
- Irene
- Ada
- Norah
- Olive
- Agnes
- Elsie
- Mabel
Endangered boys' names
- Norman
- Walter
- Percy
- Harold
- Ernest
- Herbert
- Clifford
- Frank
- Arnold
- Leonard
According to figures from the Government's Office of National Statistics, the most popular baby names in 2007 were Jack, Thomas and Oliver for boys and Grace, Ruby and Olivia for girls.
When it comes to unusual names, it's celebrities that lead the way as we will see in our round up of the strangest celebrity children's names.
