The traditional British names that have died out within a generation revealed…

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
(Free-Press-Release.com) August 13, 2008 -- 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 which suggests that many popular baby names of years gone by are quite literally dying out with the passing of an older generation.

‘gurgle’s Historical Names Report’ was specially commissioned by gurgle.com - the UK’s first mother and baby social networking site - to research the trends in naming behaviour over the last hundred years.

The study, 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 team then plotted each individual name’s relative decline in popularity over the last century to provide a fascinating insight into both the names that are dying out and those that have endured over the years.

The study found that Norman and Gertrude are the top male and female baby names that have fallen victim to the passing of time. Gertrude failed to register at all in recent years (a 100% decline since 1907) whilst Norman has recorded a decline in popularity of a staggering 99.85% over the last century putting it top of the boys endangered names list.

The results reveal a clear generational shift - suggesting that names like Norman, which can be traced back to the Norman conquest of 1066, and Gertrude, the name of a Seventh Century Saint, could soon be lost forever. Names that just missed out on top ten placings include Albert, Sidney and Fred on the boys side and Margaret, Annie and Florence for the girls. The full top 20 lists can be found at www.gurgle.com/babynames.

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. The report notes that the name 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 whilst a hundred years ago this figure was as low as 8%.

As for the names which have bucked fashion trends, Thomas takes pole position as the UK’s favourite name of the last century. For the girls, Elizabeth has proven the most hardy, ranking among the top 10 both 100 and 200 years ago and still proving popular today.

Sarah Stone, gurgle.com’s Site Editor said: “ Modern parents are increasingly being influenced by celebrity, however we also need to remember that there are now more choices available. By way of example, our online Baby Namer tool currently has more than 20,000 names to choose from, that’s a lot of homework for aspiring parents!’

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