British Naming Trends of 2015
By Eleanor Nickerson
As this year draws to a close, it’s time once again to look back at the most prevalent trends that have influenced baby names in Britain in 2015.
The 2014 British Name Trends of ‘ar’ sounds and surnames which I wrote about last year are in full swing. Arlo has been prolific in British birth announcements, meanwhile Cooper, Carter, Parker, Hunter, Lincoln (for boys) and Harper and Darcey (for girls) have continued to rise.
But other trends are beginning to emerge this year, and some are definitely ones to watch out for:
HIDDEN Es
With our penchant for diminutive names in Britain, names ending in an ‘ee’ sound – think Harry, Charlie, Molly, Daisy – are very prevalent here.
This year has also seen a notable rise in ‘ee’ names that aren’t so obvious, often with the syllable placed at the beginning or middle such as Mila, Thea, Penelope, Eloise, Edith and Nina for girls and Theo, Leo, Elliott, Eli and Gabriel for boys.
A TO A: END AS IT BEGINS:
With Amelia having reigned as the number one name since 2011 – and not set to shift anytime soon – it is little wonder that sound-alikes sharing the same crisp mellifluous sounds, starting and ending with an A, are also on the rise.
Already in the Top 100 in England, Wales or Scotland are rising Ava, Anna, and Aria/Arya. Below the top 100 but moving upwards are Arabella, Annabella, Aurora, Arianna, Aisha and Ada.
LENGTHENED DIMINUTIVES
Some of the names that have risen this year for boys show an interesting leaning away from short hypocoristic forms like Ben and Jake to longer lengthier forms.
The highest rise in the Scottish top 100 in 2015 was shared by Jackson and alternate spelling Jaxon, and in their yearly reports, both Bounty.com and babycentre.co.uk noted a rise also. With Jack being such a strong favourite for so many years, it is little wonder that some parents are looking for a lengthier twist with the versatility of Jack as a nickname.
Other rising names fitting this bill are Tobias, Albert, Theodore and Nathaniel.
TV AND FILM INFLUENCE
As always, popular television has also had an impact on names in 2015.
This year saw the whole country go crazy for the new BBC adaptation of Poldark, featuring Irish actor Aidan Turner as the hunky lead, Ross Poldark, and Eleanor Tomlinson as the feisty heroine, Demelza.
Aidan, which peaked in the early 2000s, was up in Scotland in 2015 and both BabyCentre and Bounty have noted a rise in the name. Both these British sites have also seen an increase in Eleanor, a name which was in the top 20 in the 1990s, but has spent the last few years around the #60 mark. It seems Poldark has been able to boost these two plateauing names back up again.
Doctor Who’s new Doctor played by Peter Capaldi, and a feisty clever assistant in the form of Jenna Coleman’s Clara Oswald has also helped to give Clara a boost this year. Don’t be surprised to see it in the top 100 soon.
ON-TREND CELEB BABIES
2015 has seen a wide range of styles and trends in British celebrity baby names, from popular choices such as Alfie James and Matilda Jessica to more striking combos such as Honey Krissy and Aaliyah Reign.
Here are some celebrities who were right on the money with current British trends:
Arlo Thomas – Have I mentioned yet that Arlo is everywhere at the moment? This year also saw another added celebrity boost when TOWIE star Billi Mucklow and footballer Andy Carroll gave the name to their son.
Evelyn – Carey Mulligan and Marcus Mumford went for a surprisingly popular name (as celebrity names go) when they chose upright Evelyn for their daughter in October. Evelyn ranked #31 in England and Wales last year and has been swiftly rising since it joined the top 100 in 2007. In fact, its rising curve looks very similar to that of Amelia. Could Evelyn be the a future #1?
Edie and Sadie Rose – Keeping with the popular trend of “on-their-own-diminutive-names” actress Keira Knightley and actor Gary Lucy both opted for vintage hipster choices for their daughters this year.
Rafferty Vincent “Raffi” – Hear’Say’s Suzanne Shaw welcomed Rafferty Vincent “Raffi” in October, after Martine McCutcheon named her son Rafferty in February.
Pearl & Louie – Former Eastenders actress Kellie Shirley named her twins (a son and a daughter) the perfectly quirky-vintage names Pearl and Louie. Funnily enough, the four babies (characters) introduced in Eastenders this year have been named Matthew, Ollie, Pearl and Louie, which is yet another example of the popular soap influencing naming trends. I’m looking at you Demi, Alfie and Tommy…
Siera Aleira – Picking up on the currently trend for lyrical, vowel-heavy names, Welsh model Imogen Thomas gave the assonantal name Siera Aleira to her daughter this year.
Art and Zeke – With Max, Jude, Seth and Kai so popular, Irish actor Chris O’Dowd and TV presenter Dawn O’Porter hit the right spot when they gave their son the short-and-sweet vintage name of Art. On the other end of the spectrum, Westlife star Kian Egan and actress Jodi Albert gave their son the zippy name Zeke.
THE 2015 BRITISH NAME CONTROVERSY
Have you heard the news? Gary is extinct!
I am, of course, referring to the snippet of information which was plastered over most major British news outlets back in March that only twenty-eight babies were named Gary in England and Wales in 2013.
One couple even made the news in recent months when they named their son Gary to “save the name from EXTINCTION.” It’s all really quite dramatic.
And all nonsense of course. Twenty-eight babies is hardly extinction — something the Oxford Dictionary describes as “no longer in existence” – and is actually pretty good going for dated Gary, which was more popular than the likes of Kurt, Bowen, Niko and Sawyer that year.
Fashions come and fashions go; what goes up (in this case Gary’s Top 50 status from 1954-1984) must come down. But a spell out of fashion by no means equals extinction.
Let’s take Edwardian darling Ivy, for example. At its peak at #16 in 1904, Ivy remained a firm favourite until it fell out of the Top 100 after the 1930s. By the 1970s, those 1920s and 1930s Ivys were middle aged mothers and aunts, so is it any wonder that only eight girls were named Ivy in 1974 and only four a decade later in 1984? Now she’s sitting pretty at #54 with 1103 babies given the name in 2014.
So is there hope for Gary? Sure. You may even have a great-grandson with the name.