Burning Name Questions of the Week 🙋🏻‍♀️

Extinct names, banned names, starbabies and more

Are those baby names really going extinct?

You might have seen headlines about names like Gary, Karen and Nigel heading for extinction: they do the media rounds every so often.

Actually, these names, while declining, are still given to dozens, even hundreds of babies in the US each year. But we’ve been on a mission to discover which names are extinct, and on the verge of extinction. Once popular, names like Carol, Hester, Barney and Glynn were given to under 5 children in 2022.

The good news? Unlike a species, it’s easy to resurrect an extinct name, simply by giving it to your child (or pet). So if you’re looking for something truly unique, can we interest you in Debby or Doug, Rod or Roxane?

Which wild baby names have celebrities used now?

…er, none. It’s been a quiet few weeks for starbaby announcements, and the two biggest ones we’ve seen are a reminder that celebs don’t always choose jaw-dropping names. They can also be pleasant, stylish, and handsome, like Henry (Whitney Cummings), and Shepherd (Josh Duhamel and Audra Mari).

Shepherd is undeniably more trendy than classic Henry, but it’s a fast-growing surname-as-firstname that’s already in the US Top 500 — so if you don’t know a boy named Shepherd yet, you soon will! It suits the cool couple perfectly, so much so that our editor Sophie correctly predicted it beforehand 👏

What can’t you name your baby in New Zealand?

New Zealand has a few restrictions on baby names: you can’t register anything that’s offensive, a number or initial, or could be mistaken for a rank or title. That last one means there are no babies called Justice or King in NZ.

Other names declined there in 2023 include Royal, Messiah, KC, Sovereign-Kash, and XIX.

What happens when you name your daughter Saoirse in America?

It’s a Top 1000 name, but there’s still a lot of mispronunciation… along with a whole lot of connection to her Irish roots.

What were the top baby names in Monaco last year?

The stats are out, and the most popular baby names in Monaco in 2023 were Louise and Théo. The Top 10 names are mostly in line with French trends, with a few Italian additions like Chiara and Leonardo.

Recently we’ve also seen the top baby names on the Isle of Man (Isabelle and Archie), Western Australia (Isla and Oliver), as well as Aussie states Victoria (Amelia and Oliver), and New South Wales (Isla/Amelia and Oliver).

What would you name Morwenna’s son?

…Or, what would you do if you were one of three girls named Morwenna at school, you have a son called Ivan, your girl name would have been Narayani, and you’re looking for a two-syllable name that’s not royal and not Russian?

I enjoyed this British journalist’s naming story, and she found a cute and very British name in the end.

Why did this baby get Keith as a middle name?

Because country singer Keith Urban did his gender reveal at a concert — and signed his parents’ guitar!

And finally, what nickname do you give a baby who was born in a McDonald’s parking lot in a snowstorm? McFlurry, of course! ❄️🥰