BabyCentre declares 2022’s UK names at risk of extinction
NORWICH, UK 19th December – Today, leading pregnancy and parenting resource BabyCentre reveals the UK endangered baby names of 2022 – with Karen and Donald both teetering on the edge of extinction.
These once popular names are at the opposite end to our 2022 girls’ and boys’ chart toppers Sophia, Lily and Olivia and Muhammad, Noah and Theo.
And there is one girls’ name that, despite falling fast in recent years, is still just about hanging on with one registration. Once popular for baby girls born in the 1960s but now a meme byword for a privileged, white woman, Karen dwindled from four registrations last year.
For boys, Donald is seeing a similar fate, with just one registration this year compared to six in 2021.
Sarah Redshaw, Managing Editor for BabyCentre UK, said: “After becoming the name of a million memes it looks like Karen is only just hanging on. We could very well see it drop off completely next year. And it’s no surprise that Donald is meeting the same kind of fate after the last US president’s controversial time in office.”
When it comes to those that have already hit zero registrations, girls’ names with a 70s and 80s American vibe dominated the list. There were no baby girls named Farrah, Stacey, Kelly, Barbie or even Britney this year, despite Ms Spears’ continuing popularity. Equally though, baby boomer names like Sheila, Deirdre and Shirley also fell from grace.
In a similar picture for boys, Cliff, Nigel and Harold weren’t registered at all. But there was also a decline in old-fashioned gentlemen names. Rhett was gone along with Brent, Quinton and Giles.
Sarah said: “These names might have fallen out of fashion, but they could make a great choice for your newborn. They’re familiar but it’s unlikely there will be another boy or girl with the same name in your child’s class. Parents looking for cool and unique choices might want to put Farrah and Rhett on their shortlists.”
Parents are still cancelling Piers however, after BabyCentre declared it endangered in 2021, possibly due to controversial TV host Piers Morgan walking off the Good Morning Britain set over a row about Meghan and Harry. There were zero registrations for the name again this year.
Endangered girls’ names
- Barbie
- Britney
- Carrie
- Deirdre
- Farrah
- Gail
- Gayatri
- Katrina
- Kelly
- Lindsey
- Shania
- Sheila
- Shirley
- Stacey
- Tegan
Endangered boys’ names
- Baxter
- Bill
- Brent
- Clement
- Cliff
- Giles
- Harold
- Kamran
- Maximillian
- Nigel
- Quinton
- Rashid
- Rhett
- Saul
- Wallace