Baby Names
Percy, Norman, Irene & Edna: RIP
The traditional British names that have died out within a generation revealed
Percy, Norman, Edna and Gertrude are just a few of the classic British names that could soon be consigned to the graveyard of history. That’s the verdict of a compelling new study by gurgle.com which suggests that many popular baby names of years gone by are quite literally dying out with the passing of an older generation.
The Historical Names Report, conducted by leading statistician Dr Geoff Ellis, looked at the most popular baby names in 1907 that have failed to make the most popular 100 names lists in any of the last five years.
The study found that Norman and Gertrude are the top male and female baby names to have fallen victim to the passing of time. Gertrude failed to register at all in recent years (a 100% decline since 1907) while Norman has recorded a decline in popularity of 99.85% over the last century.
The traditional British baby names that have witnessed the largest falls in popularity are listed as follows:
| Boys' Names |
% Decline in popularity since 1907 |
Girls' Names |
% Decline in popularity since 1907 |
| Norman |
99.857% |
Gertrude |
100.000% |
| Walter |
99.436% |
Edna |
99.831% |
| Percy |
99.377% |
Ethel |
99.703% |
| Harold |
99.272% |
Irene |
98.174% |
| Ernest |
97.816% |
Ada |
98.120% |
| Herbert |
97.784% |
Norah |
97.787% |
| Clifford |
95.920% |
Olive |
96.989% |
| Frank |
93.640% |
Agnes |
96.825% |
| Arnold |
93.608% |
Elsie |
95.752% |
| Leonard |
92.845% |
Mabel |
95.524% |
| Edgar |
88.857% |
Edith |
95.390% |
| Arthur |
88.356% |
May |
95.387% |
| Albert |
86.419% |
Margaret |
94.418% |
| Edwin |
85.850% |
Minnie |
94.235% |
| Alfred |
83.808% |
Jane |
93.119% |
| Sidney |
79.815% |
Violet |
91.777% |
| Stanley |
74.989% |
Annie |
91.621% |
| Francis |
71.218% |
Lilian |
88.549% |
| Richard |
66.590% |
Mary |
83.829% |
| Fred |
55.606% |
Florence |
79.461% |
Perhaps one of the most surprising results was the fact that Richard, which was the UK’s most popular name 200 years ago, could soon be heading the same way as Norman and Percy. Richard is 19th on the boys’ endangered list, having witnessed a steady decline over the last century (66% fall) and shows no sign of regaining popularity.
The research suggests that parents are increasingly following fashion when it comes to naming their children. Currently, 13% of all children born are given one of the top five boys or girls names, while a hundred years ago this figure was as low as 8%.
The fashion for unique and experimental baby names was also cited as a factor in the decline of many traditional names. Traditionally children were often named after their grandparents or godparents, who would have been carefully chosen for their higher socio-economic status. However, today an increasing number of parents are following the lead of celebrities by giving their children ever more unique names. Gwyneth Paltrow and Chris Martin named their daughter Apple, U2's The Edge and Aislinn O'Sullivan: Blue Angel; Frank Lampard and Elen Rives: Luna Coco Patricia.
It is not all bad news for traditional baby names, however – the study notes that some classic names continue to enjoy popularity, albeit in a modern form, with the popular girl’s name Olivia replacing Olive; Lily becoming a modern-day Lilian, while Nathaniel has now been shortened to Nathan and Alfred has become Alfie.
As for the names which have bucked fashion trends, Thomas takes pole position as 
the UK’s favourite name of the last century. Thomas remains a top five boys' name now and was also among the top five British names 100 and 200 years ago. The only name that can compete with Thomas for long-lasting popularity is William, which was the second most popular boys' name 200 years ago, the most popular 100 years ago and has only fallen to the 9th most popular boys' name in the years since 2000. For the girls, Elizabeth is the most hardy, ranking in the top 10 both 100 and 200 years ago and still proving popular today.
It would seem that the Royal family may also have an influence. The names Elizabeth, Philip and Charles have remained consistently popular over the last 100 years while the male Royal grandchildren - William and Harry - both have names that have featured in the top ten for the past three years.
Biblical names are also still in fashion and while the likes of Abraham and Jeremiah may be on the wane, Joshua, Joseph and James still feature in the most popular lists today.
More baby names features
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Last Modified: 12/08/2008
Related Chat 1
Hi All
Well I beg to differ about the decline of the name Elsie, Since deciding to name my daugther Elsie Kate after her great grandmother I have heard of many other people naming there wee girls Elsie's and I must say that EVERYONE loves my daughters name. Thanks Proud mum of Elsie Kate Mauger.
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