The Top 100 Analysis

The Rising Names

 

New Entrants to the Top 10

There was only one new entrant to the Top 10 for the girls  this year, with Poppy racing up 6 places to #7, replacing the once-darling of the flower world: Lily, who falls to #12.

As for the boys, Oscar races into the Top 10 to sit at #7, whilst George sneaks back in at #10. They replace Alfie and Riley.

New Entrants to the Top 100

On the boys side there was the most amount of movement into and out of the Top 100. In all, 6 names are new on the boys side:

• Teddy (now #86, up from #141, that’s a massive leap of 55 places)
• Ibrahim (now #89, up from #107)
• Ronnie (now #90, up from #105)
• Felix (now #91, up from #114)
• Austin (now #94, up from 108)
• Albert (now #99, up from #109, which has made me very happy)

As for the girls, there were only 3 new entrants:

• Victoria (now #88, up from #106)
• Darcy (now #93, up from #107)
• Beatrice (now #95, up from #114)

Big Jumps in the Top 100

With Teddy doing so well this year, it may not surprise you to hear that Theodore also made big leaps within the Top 100 after his first entrance last year at #97, jumping up about 20 places to #78. Other big rises for the boys are: Hugo; Reuben; Elijah; Oscar; and Blake, who all rose at least 10 places.

As for the girls, the highest rising name within the Top 100 was Elsie (for the second year rising) who rose about 20 places, also, to break the 50 mark at #47. Elsie first joined the Top 100 in 2011. Nature names fared well in the Top 100, with Willow (15 places), Violet, and Ivy (both 22 places, respectively) also being high risers.

The Falling Names

 

Exiters of the Top 100

And the names they’ve replaced are:

• Rhys (#101)
• Ellis (#103)
• Kayden (#104)
• Bailey (#113)
• Taylor (#118)
• Kyle (#120)

For the girls, this year Sara and Lydia shared the Top 100 spot, thus only two names fell out:

• Caitlin (#114)
• Keira (#110)

Big Falls in the Top 100

It may not surprise the British public to hear Cameron was one of the biggest fallers in 2013, falling 16 places to #93; at this rate, he may drop out altogether for the 2014 list. Other names falling far within the Top 100 are Callum, Liam, Tyler and Riley, all falling at least 10 places each.

For the girls, the big fallers were: Hollie (down 21 places to #75); Paige (down 18 places to #98); Madison (down 17 places to #92); and Amy (down 14 places to #76).

Name Spot of the Week: Game Show Blitz

Simmy (l) and James (r), from James May's Man Lab, from tinypic.com

I found myself humming Little April Shower from Bambi earlier on today, and that got me thinking: April or Avril? Or maybe even Aprella? There were four voice actors for Bambi in his film, of which the ones for baby, young and adolescent Bambi were called Bobby, Donnie and Hardie.

I’ve rediscovered the TV channel Challenge this week, and have been busy gobbling up up the classic game show reruns. Earlier on today I caught an episode of Family Fortunes featuring a family of elderly ladies named Joan, Dorothy, Enid, Margaret and Ella. To the modern eye, Ella looks almost out-of-place, but in fairness Ella was at #97 in 1904.

Classic Who Wants To Be A Millionaire threw up an Ingram – who went on to win the top prize. He has a son called Isaac ‘Zac’, whilst the player beforehand used his friend Olaf for Phone A Friend.

Million Pound Drop also restarted up again this week – huzzah! Akbar and Lynne won 25k, whilst Craig and Seve won 100k. Seve was half-spanish and he reminds me of the man called Simmy who turned up in James May’s Man Lab series from a few weeks ago. I can only speculate that Simmy is short for Simon. Back to Million Pound Drop and there was also a pair called Jono and Liam, and another pairing called Kenneth and Whitney who went out on their first question.

I’ve also started to get into this series of Masterchef: The Professionals, whilst includes a male named Perry – and another one named Ash. Speaking of Ash, 3-letter names rock, and I’m not just saying that because Lou fits this category. I’m also saying this because I couldn’t help but notice a buzz developing around these names of late, especially over at Elea’s little corner of the internet. They’re certainly more intriguing than Ann or Rob, and the collection mentioned over the past week by my peers is nothing short of fascinating:

Roa, from Eponymia’s post on Names From Jordan.

Zed and Ovo, from Bewitching Names’ post of Names From Cirque du Soleil

Ada and Azo from Baby Names From Yesteryear’s post on Lord Byron.

Bell, Pax, Paz, Eir, Joy, Gil, Lux, Luz, Ora, Ori, Uri, Nur and Xue from British Baby Names’ Advent Calendar series.

Icy and Ivy from Midwinter Names’ post on Wintery Names.

Ava and Jem from Waltzing More Than Matilda’s post on Names From Stories on Midwives

Asa and Roy from Names 4 Real’s most recent post of Birth Annoucements.

Zeb and Zef from Appellation Mountain’s post on Z- Names for Lads.

Dot from Nook of Names post on Rune Names.

Wim and Kit from Marginamia’s post on Names from The Glow.

Names Tipped For Stardom

What names are looking like they might explode over the coming years.

Well, one of the major factors in a names popularity depends on the current trend in names. For female names at the moment, people are choosing between the girly (Isabella, Ava) and the not-so-girly (Harper, Finley). Currently, it’s the girly names that dominate the top spots. But, could all that change? As for boys, well, there are names that are consistently in the top spots each year (James, Matthew) and then there are the wildcards (Aiden) that appear due to a sudden preference for that name.

What characteristics will place a name in a likely position for a comeback? Well, if the name is similar to another popular name (Such as how Maribelle is similar to Isabella) it will begin to rise in the name charts, as parents who love the top name look for alternatives.

Another is that of names that have been unpopular for decades, and are beginning to look much more appealling nowadays to parents. These are names such as John and Mary. These names were once top spot names; they have since fallen very much down the name charts. Does this place them in favour for a comeback?

Also, sounds are very important in name, especially for girls. We like how Sophia sounds, so will that mean we’ll begin to like Sylvia soon too? We love Jack and Jacob, so will this mean we’ll start to go crazy about Jake too?

So, here are a list of names I believe are poised to become popular:

Eve, an alternative to Ava and Eva. It has biblical roots, which could help for when people start to turn from the made-up names towards more traditional names once more.

Amelia, it’s similarity to top names Emma and Emily mean it’s bound to start climbing. Amelia is already in the top 20 in Europe, and European trends tend to be a few years ahead of American ones this name looks set to storm the USA.

Violet, Floral names such as Lily are popular, and this name is certainly enjoying more popularity than before.

Lila, the two ‘l’s make it a perfect replacement for Ella. It’s also similar to Lily, another name currently big in Europe.

Verity. We love Grace at the moment. Could this be its successor?

Ivy, another floral name.

Nancy and Wendy. Old-school favourites. Perhaps ready to make a comeback?

Sylvia or Sylvie. Both similar sounding to current favourite Sophia.

Ruby, like Amelia, this name in hot in Europe at the moment.

Leonie, a hot favourite in Germany, could this name’s popularity spread?

Matilda, this name has a lot going for it. It can be shortened to either a boyish nickname such as Mattie, or a girly one such as Tilly.

Harper and Scout. The novel ‘To Kill a Mockingbird’ could help boost both these names. These names are both part of the trend of giving girls more boyish names, and the literary association can only boost their popularity further.

Camden, it’s similarity to Charles and Charlie may place it in a good spot to become their replacement. It’s also a place name.

Milo, could the ‘o’ ending place this name in favour? The similar sounding name Leo has recently started to climb, will the same happen for this name?

Theodore, this name has been low for a few years now, it’s nickname of ‘Theo’ means that this name has the potential to start climbing.

Xavier. The ‘x’ at the start of this name gives it a rather unique feel to it. Names such as Felix and Max are climbing, perhaps due to their ending of ‘x’, so Xavier should start rising as well soon.

Ryder and River. Ryder is a surname that has started to leap up the name charts for boys, as names such as Harper and Sawyer start to drift towards becoming feminine, this puts Ryder in a good position to replace them. River is a name with links to the natural world, as the world’s population face Climate Change, people are starting to become more ‘in-tune’ with the world around them. Could this translate into names?

Kai. It has roots in many cultures, and as people are more likely to have a partner of another race due to the surge in movement of people between countries, its likely that names that appeal to many cultures will become more popular.