More babies were called Tiger in 2020, a possible reflection on the first big TV hit of lockdown, Tiger King.
The BabyCentre has revealed the top baby names for kids in the UK, and other TV-inspired names – Arabella and Michaela from I Will Destroy You and Connell from Normal People saw rises in the popularity of those names this year.
Interestingly, one name now on the edge of extinction is Karen – the cause likely thanks to its association with rude, entitled women across the internet. 2020 was definitely not a great year for those whose parents named them Karen years ago.
Names inspired by heroes
The naming trends also picked up on the people who have inspired us this year. Tom, perhaps after Captain Tom Moore, the 100-year-old pensioner who raised millions of pounds for NHS charities walking around his garden, is now just outside the top 100 with Thomas at number 19 and Tommy up 10 places to number 28.
Next year, BabyCentre anticipates a similar rise for the name Marcus, inspired by the footballer who forced the UK government into a U-turn not once but twice over the issue of free meals for children.
Changes in popularity for girls’ names included more takers for garden/nature inspired names with Rosie and Ivy both climbing the top 20, Poppy going up four places to break in at number 17, Lily in the top five, and Eden, Aurora, Luna and Robyn all soaring up the top 100.
Nature-inspired boy’s names
Nature inspired boys’ names also featured—Rowan was a new entry for the boys at number 89, while outside the top 100 boys’ chart Robin, River, Heath, Sky and Ash all increased in popularity.
The name Donald saw a fall in registrations, as did Boris, Dominic, Matt and Christopher. Who’d be a politician/government adviser, eh?!
The Black Lives Matter movement saw the name George remain at number seven after a fall in popularity in 2019, while Rosa (Parks) and Martin (Luther King) both edged towards the top 100 while Ruby (Bridges), the first black woman to attend a white school, rose four places to number 22 and Malcolm (X) nearly doubled in registrations.
Writer and activist Maya (Angelou) climbed one place to number 30 and Alice (Walker), author of The Color Purple, soared 16 places to number 23. Chadwick was registered for the first time following the premature death of Black Panther actor Chadwick Boseman.
At the top of the charts, Sophia replaced Olivia as the number one choice for girls. Muhammad, however, is still the most popular name in the boys’ chart.
Most popular names in Finders International cases
To round-up this year, Finders International investigated the most popular names in the cases they worked on in 2020. For men, John topped the list with 91 people, followed by 80 David’s, 57 Peter’s and 40 William’s although only William featured in the most popular names for boy’s in 2020.
The most popular female name in the cases we worked on was Margaret with 32 cases followed by 29 Mary’s, 26 Patricia’s and 20 Barbara’s although none of these names featured in the top 100 most popular girl’s names in 2020. These names have declined in popularity over the years with new entries into the top 100 being Margot, Mabel and Talia.
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