More on KentOnline
More on KentOnline
Names like Gemma, Robert and Kieran are said to be in steep decline as new parents opt for more on-trend names often inspired by television shows and celebrities.
Rebecca, Aimee and Ryan are also described as being 'at risk of extinction' as mums and dads choose monikers influenced by popular culture.
The research, by name label manufacturer My Nametags, has involved scouring its databases of more than 1.5 million children's names from the last 10 years in order to identify trends.
Rather than the most popular names - Olivia for a girl and Oliver for a boy according to ONS data from 2019 - these listings are those names rapidly growing in popularity and those falling out of favour fastest with families. Scroll down to see the list.
Gemma and Kieran have been declared 'the UK's most endangered names', based on the research, with their use having declined more than 65% in the last decade. While it is Aria for a girl and Albie for a boy which are among those now swiftly on the up.
According to the company order books for name labels, made suitable for clothing, stationary and other belongings, there were just 36 uses of the name Gemma in 2020, and none in 2021, while there have been just four Kierans listed so far this year.
Also in the top 10 of names most at risk of dying out, unless once again adopted in large numbers by parents-to-be in the coming years, are Natasha, Irene, Lauren, Morgan and Bethan.
Other names falling out of favour in the top 10 for boys are Calum, Jonathan, Bradley, Joe and Sean.
They are being replaced with label orders for Quinn, Game of Thrones inspired Aria, and Harper - which was the name David and Victoria Beckham chose for their youngest child, daughter Harper Seven.
Mila, following in the footsteps of the Hollywood actress Mila Kunis, and Penny possibly generated by the lead character in the long running sitcom The Big Bang Theory are two girls names also among those cropping up more and more.
The use of nicknames as given names is another trend continuing to grow, says My Nametags, with Albie, Bertie Teddy, Belle and Ronnie all featuring in the top 50 fastest growing names ahead of their traditional counterparts which include Albert, Theodore or Edward, Isabel, and Ronald.
The trend to choose a shortened name rather than the more traditional longer version was a choice also made by The Duke and Duchess of Sussex in 2019 when they named their son Archie in favour of the more traditional longer option Archibald.
Alongside the growth of shortened names, research has also shown a continuing appetite among new families for nostalgic or 'old fashioned' names. Also making gains in recent years are Mabel, Flora and Florence for the girls while Rupert and Arthur have also seen 'significant' growth.
Lars Andersen, managing director at My Nametags, said the most current popular names appear to fall into three categories.
He explained: “At My Nametags, we see thousands of names every day and we were interested to see how the popularity of certain names has changed over time.
"Our analysis revealed that names once popular with baby boomers, such as Gemma, Kieran, Hannah, and Ryan, are experiencing a steep decline in overall popularity.
“These names are being replaced by new favourites, and we were interested to find that modern parents tend to fall into three distinct camps when it comes to naming their children.
"The data shows a strong trend for modern names influenced by pop culture, vintage names that are having a come-back, and shortened versions of more traditional names, such as Ronnie and Albie."
To read the research in full visit the My Nametags website here.
For support, advice, events and all things to do with parenting in Kent, visit My Kent Family here.
