From Sharon To Carol And Angela: The Off-Trend Baby Names That May Go Extinct This Year

baby

by Anna Brech |
Published on

Calling all Sharons, Carols, Angelas and Donnas...

We have some rather difficult news for you.

It seems your names, along with a few other choice monikers so revered in the 1960s and 70s, are losing their appeal and may even vanish from our lexicon altogether.

The Baby Centre has just released a list of baby names that have yet to be registered this year, after studying a database of three million UK mums.

Brace yourselves.

Tracey, Yvonne, Diane and Elaine are all in danger of dying out. On the boys' side of things, Malcolm, Geoffrey and Nigel are also waning.

1970s-baby
1970s baby names: no longer the catch they once were ©Getty

Baby names have the unique capacity to act as a barometer to a nation's changing tastes.

Wind back time by fifty years or so, and the likes Debra, Beverley and Joanne were all the rage.

Angela, Wendy and Sandra - three names singled out to be at risk of extinction this week - were among the top 30 most popular baby names of 1970. Wayne and Dean, two at-risk names, were also hot choices of the time.

The past few years have actually born witness to a resurgence in retro baby names, with 1930s favourites such as Evelyn, Nora, Eva, Theo and Ronnie all in hot demand.

Celebrities have jumped on this trend too; Lily Allen named her daughters Ethel and Marnie, Jennifer Garner opted for Violet and Scarlett Johansson chose Rose Dorothy.

But this passion for vintage does not extend to more recent retro trends. Names such as Roy and Sally would still be considered kitsch, and not in a good way.

wendy
The appeal of Wendy is waning

Still, there remains hope for the Sheilas and Dereks of this world. Not only are your names rare and special (and who named Sophie or Matt could say that), history may yet change paths to steer your title back into fashion once more.

Also, we're only three months into the year so who knows what the rest of it holds as far as baby names are concerned.

In the meantime, you could always start a campaign. #BringBackSharon - anyone?

Check out The Baby Centre's top 36 names at risk of extinction, below...

Baby names that may fizzle out

Angela

Bertram

Beverley

Cecil

Carol

Clarence

Clive

Cyril

Debra

Diane

Donna

Dean

Doris

Dennis

Derek

Duncan

Elaine

Ernest

Geoffrey

Horace

Joanne

Leonard

Maureen

Malcolm

Nigel

Neville

Paula

Roy

Sally

Sandra

Sharon

Sheila

Tracey

Wendy

Yvonne

Wayne

READ MORE: These Will Be The Most Popular Baby Names Of 2017

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