POPULAR CULTURE
2021, without a doubt, was the year pop culture was the most popular trend in baby names. Names inspired by Netflix series broke into the top 100.
Maeve Otis, Eric and Otis were all popularized by Otis the character in Netflix’s Sex Education. Love and Henry, both YOU-inspired names, moved up the charts.
Penelope rose to number 71, perhaps influended by Miss Featherington in Bridgerton, names inspired by Made in Chelsea also rose in popularity, with Myles reaching number 56, Harry making it into the top ten, Millie in 31st position and Ollie climbing 13 places.
SPORTING HEROES
After a summer filled with sporting competitions including the UEFA European Championship which kicked off in June and the Olympics and Paralympics in July and August, sports enthusiasts took inspiration from their heroes as well.
Harry Kane, Harry McGuire and Harry’s efforts during the Euros made Harry’s name make the top 10, while Jack became a very popular choice following Jack Grealish’s rising popularity.
Team GB won 65 medals at the Tokyo Games, their second-best Olympics.
Jason Kenny is the Briton’s first to win seven Olympic medals. He also defended his men’s title in keirin. Jason ranked number 84 among the top 100 boys’ names.
TOURNAMENT
Some parents chose wanderlust names for their daughters, choosing patronyms such as Ocean or Destiny to make international travel a topic of discussion this year.
GENDER NEUTRAL
In 2021, gender neutral names became a popular trend. Willow reached number 20 on the list of top 100 girls and fell outside the top 100 of boys’ top 100.
Noah, a favourite of boys, was second in the list. It also gained popularity among girls, just like Blake.
DEAD OF OLD FASHIONED NAMES
BabyCentre did not record any new registrations this year. However, certain names were out of favor.
This was the case for Piers, as well as Elliott, Clive, Maurice, Roger, Clifford, Dwayne, Vernon and Daryl.
Girls name that were not registered this year included Maud, Tina, Pauline, Doreen, Doris, Edna, Glynis, Bertha, Kerry and Gertrude.