US vs UK :: 1904

Inspiration :: Herman (art by Nada Herman)

1904 takes us into the 21st Century - Edwardian Britain and a period of change. Again we see more nicknamey names in the US chart for girls. There are two types of boys names I see standing out -the clunky Ronald, Gerald, Clyde and Eugene in both charts and the 'posh' names like Hubert and Percival in the UK charts that have too many connotations for use nowadays.

Names that were in the US chart but not the UK chart in 1904

Names that were in the UK chart but not the US chart in 1904

Name Data :: Origins of Names

Inspiration :: Maya (art by Maya Hayuk)

The name Maya has many different origins - Greek, American Indian, Spanish, Latin and Hebrew. It seems like many different languages had the same 'idea' at the same time.

I would have expected to see most names coming from Latin and Greek with others coming from English. But there was an overload of Hebrew names in the top 100 - England loves traditional, Biblical names like Hannah and Jacob. Surprisingly, there weren't many Greek names (like Thea, Phoebe and Leon). 

When we break the data down into the different genders, we get a more detailed picture. Latin or 'other' origins are favoured for girls and Hebrew or Celtic names for boys. This fits the theory that girls are more likely to be given aesthetically pleasing names (aka. flowing Latin names like Amelia) whereas boys are given names with history and status (aka. 'Strong' Biblical names).

And more than one quarter of all names in the top 100 were diminutives. They are gradually taking over our ranking charts!

Through the Decades :: 1 syllable, Male

Inspiration :: Dale (Yorkshire Dales)

Below is a chart showing all the one syllable names in the top 100 for each decade. The names are listed in their order of popularity. For example, you can see how John is the top 1 syllable name in 1860 and 1870 but in 1964, it slips to 3rd place.

John, George and James take the the top places for a good 100 years. Others like Fred, Frank, George and Hugh were less popular but remained in the top 100 for a long length of time. Many of the name that appear fleetingly in the top 100, seem dated now - Carl, Bruce, Dale and Shane.

Modern 1 syllable names are a mix of historical (John and James) and Modern (Zain and Cole). The rise of nicknames has had a bigger impact on the boys' 1 syllable names than the girls. They are often diminutives of older, longer names such as Max for Maximillian, Ted for Edward or Frank for Franklin. The longer, older names are rarer now - sometimes we even forget that they were ever a diminutive!

Below are the 1 syllable names from the top 200 names in the UK 2014.

Below are the 1 syllable names in the top 200-1000 in the UK 2014.

100 year rule :: 1914 and 2014

Inspiration :: Mary (St Mary's Lighthouse, No. 1 in 1914)

Name nerds use the term '100 year rule' to explain the pattern of name popularity where popular names from 100 years ago become popular again. But how accurate is this 'rule'? I'm going to look at the similarities between the 2014 and 1914 chart to discover this.

Names that were in the top 100 of 1914 and 2014.

27% of names from the top 100 of 1914 were in the top 100 of 2014.

Many of these names are those we would consider 'classic' but is this just because they are historical and are popular at the moment? 

Names in the top 100 of 1914 and the top 1000 (but not top 100) of 2014.

40% of names from the top 100 of 1914 were in the top 1000 (but not top 100) of 2014.

67% of names from the top 100 of 1914 were in the top 1000 of 2014.

These names are what people would call 'vintage'. They are the comeback names that seem fresh and exciting after being uncommon for 100 years.

Names from 1914 that were not in the top 1000 in 2014.

33% of names from the top 100 of 1914 were not in the top 1000 of 2014.

These names are the names that people would say were too 'granny-ish' and would be unlikely to return to our charts. However, I think some such as Marion, Bessie and Freda could make a comeback - just a bit later than their 100 year schedule.

I do not have enough data to comment whether the '100 year rule' works or is just a myth but hopefully, when I have data from other years and from the boys' names, I will be able to create some graphs and charts to reveal the truth.

Around the World :: United Kingdom

Introduction

Around the World will be a series of blog posts that highlight naming laws, popular names and name culture around the world. Today I start with my home; the UK.

Naming a child in the UK is relatively easier than many countries in the world. You choose a forename or forenames (which can be just about anything) and usually the surname is passed through the family through the males.  If your grandfather’s surname was Cooper, your father’s surname will be Cooper and your surname will be Cooper. However, if you are a woman, you will usually take the name of your husband on marriage and your baby will also have this name. This isn’t law though and with the rise of blended and separated families, parents are becoming creative with surnames. Some will use a double barrelled name, some will blend the surnames (eg. Mr Smith and Miss Wilson may become Mr and Mrs Smithson) and some will discard their history in favour of a completely new name.

What are the laws about names in this country?

A selection of laws about names in the UK (for more information visit this page) 

:: Names must include at least one forename and one surname and are not allowed to be impossible to pronounce or include numbers/symbols/punctuation marks except hyphens and apostrophes.

:: They cannot promote criminal activities, promote hatred, promote the use of controlled drugs or ridicule groups or government departments.

:: They cannot lead people to believe that you have a title, rank or academic award when you do not (eg. Sir, Lady, Professor)

:: There is a limit of 250 characters including spaces for forenames and 50 characters for surnames.

I think these are very sensible laws although some are a bit vague. What counts as impossible to pronounce? Many Irish names such as Saoirse or Ruadhri seem impossible but they would not be declined as a name because it would be seen as prejudiced against someone’s heritage.

What are the popular names in this country?