Traditional British names in decline

13 Aug 2008

An upsurge in mum's choosing trendy new names is leading to traditional British names dying out.

A study by Gurgle.com has found that names such as Edna, Norman and Gertrude have suffered a huge decline, with not one child being named Gertrude in 2005 and only two Normans.

An increasing number of mums are giving their children the names of celebrities or making them up entirely, the report found.

Sarah Stone, editor of Gurgle.com said: "Not so long ago is seems we all knew a Great Uncle Harold or Aunty Irene, but sadly it seems these names could soon be lost forever.

"It is clear that modern parents are increasingly being influenced by fashions and celebrity. However we also need to remember that there are now more choices available."

The news was not all bad, with many names still being popular such as Thomas, Jack and William, and other names such as Lilian being adjusted to the more modern sounding Lily.

In 2007 the most popular names in the UK were Jack, Thomas and Oliver for boys and Grace, Ruby and Olivia for girls, the Office for National Statistics reports.

Please click here to see popular baby names.

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