Names

[ghoti_mhic_uait]

I get very annoyed when I read name lists of 'British baby names' that have been gathered by Americans from the Torygraph announcement columns. They tend to not reflect real life. So, I decided to compile my own lists, and I'm putting them here to remember where I left them.

Edit: the 2009 names data is available!

The latest stats for England & Wales are 2008, so I've used the 2008 data for both countries.

These are the boy names that feature in the top 100 of England and Wales, but not the top 1000 in the US, and their England & Wales ranking:
Alfie (6)
Archie (31)
Harvey (34)
Theo (58)
Freddie (60)
Finlay (61)
Louie (93)
Ewan (95)
Zak (100)

These are the girl names that feature in the top 100 of Englang and Wales, but not the top 1000 in the US, and their England & Wales ranking:

Millie (24)
Freya (27)
Poppy (29)
Imogen (33)
Isobel (58)
Maisy (63)
Rosie (66)
Niamh (70)
Harriet (81)
Hollie (87)
Tilly (93)
Florence (94)
Maryam (99)
Esme (100)



Boys:
Oliver
Harry
Alfie
Charlie
George
Lewis
Mohammed
Jake
Max
Callum
Oscar
Archie
Riley
Harvey
Harrison
Muhammed
Leo
Edward
Finley
Rhys
Jamie
Toby
Ben
Theo
Louis
Freddie
Finlay
Leon
Harley
Mohammad
Reece
Kian
Kai
Kieran
Luca
Ashton
Bailey
Sam
Bradley
Elliot
Taylor
Joe
Corey
Reuben
Joel
Ellis
Louie
Ewan
Jay
Morgan
Billy
Zak

Girls:
Ruby
Lily
Evie
Lucy
Ellie
Katie
Holly
Summer
Millie
Daisy
Phoebe
Freya
Poppy
Erin
Molly
Imogen
Amy
Isla
Scarlett
Eva
Matilda
Caitlin
Keira
Alice
Lola
Lilly
Amber
Georgia
Eleanor
Bethany
Amelie
Isobel
Lacey
Sienna
Libby
Maisy
Rebecca
Rosie
Tia
Niamh
Zara
Lexi
Maddison
Alisha
Skye
Nicole
Lexie
Martha
Harriet
Eve
Aimee
Hollie
Lydia
Francesca
Tilly
Florence
Alicia
Abbie
Emilia
Courtney
Maryam
Esme



So, what does that all mean?
I find it utterly astonishing that three of the top ten girls names in England and Wales (Ruby at number 2, Lily at number 8 and Evie at number 10) don't make the US top 100. I guess there isn't as much shared culture/overlap as I thought.

There are some names that make the top 100 for boys in England and Wales, but not the US, that make the girls list there (Morgan, Taylor, Bailey). There are some names that used to be more popular in th US, that are waning in popularity now (Harrison, Courtney). I am wondering where all the American Muslims are -even most popular spelling Mohamed was at #430.

Overall, though, the main thing that catches my eye is that there are a lot of diminutives on that list (Alfie, Archie, Theo, Millie, Rosie, Tilly). I've been very surprised since having Judith the number of people who are suprised that Judy is a diminutive of Judith, for example... I think English people compartmentalise more, maybe.

Anyway, I hope at least one of you found that interesting.