16 Jan 2025

A Good Name

Every January we review the baby names that we have recorded over the preceding year on our Peerage & Baronetage database. The data we collect is from a small sample of the British population – titled individuals and their families – but it does provide an interesting insight into naming trends and might also be seen as a harbinger of trends to come in the more general population.

The Office of National Statistics has only just released its name data for 2023 so direct comparisons are not possible. For reference, the top ten ONS names for boys and girls in 2023 are as follows: boys’ names are Muhammad, Noah, Oliver, George, Leo, Arthur, Luca, Theodore, Oscar, Henry. Girls’ names are Olivia, Amelia, Isla, Lily, Freya, Ava, Ivy, Florence, Willow, Isabella.

Debrett’s Top Names

We can confirm that our top five boys’ names for 2024 are: Charles, Felix, Frederick, George and Timothy. The top five girls’ names are: Catherine, Sienna, Charlotte, Amelia, Lara.

Both these lists are indicative of several interesting trends in baby naming. There seems to be a higher preponderance of traditional boys’ names in circulation, and girls’ names tend to be more unusual. Within our own dataset, there is a marked return to traditional boys’ names, with Charles being the most popular; several other ‘royal’ names (William, Henry, Edward, James, George, Louis, Frederick) are also top choices, with other traditional names scoring high (David, Mark, Martin, Nicholas, Peter, John, Timothy, Robert, Thomas).

Girls’ names are more varied. The top choice is the impeccably royal Catherine (with Charlotte third), but Amelia, Lara and Sienna are a more mixed bag. Sienna is an Italian placename and its popularity is probably related to the fame of the actress Sienna Miller. Lara has Greek, Latin and Russian roots (it is the diminutive of ‘Larissa’) and therefore not traditionally English. Amelia is a name of Latin origin; it was popular in the 18th century when Kings George II and III named their daughters Amelia.

Vintage Revival

Amongst the other trends we have noted is a resurgence of names that were popular in the 19th century: Agnes, Agatha, Albert, Alfred, Arthur, Cecilia, Daisy, Flora, Florence, Lily, Mabel, May. These were names that went out of fashion in the last decades of the 20th century; they were associated with a long-lost Victorian generation, often redolent of grandparents and great-grandparents. 21st-century parents are reaching back into the archive and reviving many of these names, perhaps even reverting to lost family traditions and discovering the names of preceding generations.

Gender-Neutral

The vast majority of the names on our database are gender-specific, but the following gender-neutral names make an appearance: Evelyn, Kit, Robin, Rowan, Valentine, Vivien.

Thinking Creatively

As always, we have enjoyed seeing the more unusual names that our listed parents have embraced. They have obviously ranged far and wide, looking at Bibles, books of Greek, Roman and Celtic mythology, atlases and – especially for boys – following the trend of using family surnames as forenames. Our selection of favourite creative names in the Peerage & Baronetage database for 2024 is as follows: Ajax, Barclay, Bodie, Brodie, Calypso, Clover, Coco, Cormac, Cosmo, Esau, India, Ithaca, Leanda, Luna, Merlin, Mungo, Orlando, Rosetta, Skye, Soleil, Spencer, Thalia, Tosca, Vesper, Woodrow.

Choosing Wisely

The general trends in baby naming over the last few decades have been to embrace more unusual names. Many parents feel that finding a unique name for their child is a way of asserting their originality and giving them a great start in life. But it’s never that simple; you always need to weigh up the advantages of originality (standing out, being unforgettable, good name recognition) against the disadvantages (bafflement, misspelling, playground derision). You also need to think carefully about the following factors:

•Surnames

Your child is going to be saddled with a forename and a surname, and it is vital that you take into account the way the two sit together. Sometimes the names are satisfactorily complementary (alliteration is catchy, the syllable distribution sounds right, and so on). Rhyming forenames and surnames (eg Harriet Marriott) can sound comical. Often, there is a jarring dissonance between the two names, and they do not sit well together. If you have a complicated, multisyllabic surname, you might well want to explore simple, monosyllabic forenames. The opposite is also the case; some surnames (Brown, Smith, West, Bloggs etc) cry out for a more exotic and multisyllabic forename.

•Nicknames

If your child’s name is two syllables or more, you can almost guarantee that it will be shortened or mangled. Some names have common abbreviations that supplant the origin name (Alfie, Freddie, Hattie etc) and if you prefer the full name to the abbreviated name, you will have a real struggle to assert your preference and, no matter how frequently you reiterate the full name, you will probably find you are fighting a losing battle. If you have struggled long and hard to find an original name (eg Pandora), which you think is beautiful, are you prepared to hear your child being referred to as ‘Pan’?

•Spelling

It’s become common practice to add individuality to a name by introducing eccentric spelling of your own devising. Think carefully before you do this and bear in mind that you are condemning your child to a lifetime of spelling out their name or being asked “How do you spell that?”.

•Family Considerations

Of course, your child’s name is entirely your choice but do bear in mind that some families have expectations that certain names will pass down from generation to generation.  In these instances, names can carry a lot of emotional baggage and choosing them for your own child is seen as an act of filial respect and loyalty. If you really don’t like this tradition, you could perhaps compromise by using the favoured family name as a middle name. If even that is a step too far, be prepared to have a conversation with family members about your name choice and, instead of dismissing the rejected family name out of hand (which might cause offence), line up some strong, positive reasons for choosing an alternative.

If, when you choose a name, you can predict that your parents, siblings and in-laws will react with shock, horror or incredulity, then it is probably a good indication that you might have gone too far down the road of eccentricity and individuality. If even this does not deter you, then stick to your guns – ultimately the choice of your baby’s name, no matter how eccentric or ill-advised other people might find it, is yours, and they must accept it with good grace.

READ NEXT

Fifth Floor, Clareville House 
26-27 Oxendon Street,
St. James's, London,
England, SW1Y 4EL
FOLLOW US
Get In Touch
Subscription Enquiries
enquiries@membership.debretts.com
+44 (0)330 3339699
General Enquiries
enquiries@debretts.co.uk
+44 (0)20 3950 5240
Join our weekly newsletter
Subscription Form
FOLLOW US
MPA House
66 Baker Street
Weybridge KT13 8AL
United Kingdom
Designed by Anna Ocipinska. Developed by BuiltByGo. © 2022 Debrett’s. All Rights Reserved
magnifiercross
My cart
Your cart is empty.

Looks like you haven't made a choice yet.