A NEW list of trending baby names has revealed the traditional monikers that are growing in popularity – including one very surprising comeback.
According to the website UK Baby Names the name Gary is currently trending in Britain, despite previous reports suggesting that it had become ‘extinct’.
But according to the website, which uses government statistics to predict baby name trends, Gary is having a moment in 2022.
Other trending baby names include the ever popular Oliver, Jack and James for boys while girl names like Sarah, Emma and Olivia are also listed.
However, Gary isn’t the only traditional name that is predicted to be doing the rounds.
UK Baby Names also listed Paul and Ian as trending monikers this year although neither make it into the top five baby names.
The news may come as a surprise to many as Gary had previously been listed as the baby name most likely to go extinct in the UK.
Using the Office of National Statistics data from 2019, it was possible to see which monikers had not only fallen in popularity, but actually vanished from usage.
Trending baby names in the UK 2022
- James
- David
- Gary
- John
- Ian
- Oliver
- Jack
- Olivia
- Andrew
- Sarah
- Peter
- William
- Thomas
- Matthew
- Paul
- Emma
While names like Gary and Gemma are losing steam, baby name expert and co-creator of Nameberry, Pamela Redmond Satra points out that there were still 1,200 boys named Gary and 2,000 girls named Gemma in the latest records, which means they’re decades away from disappearing.
She says: “The names most likely to become extinct are those of the current generation of grandparents, born in the 40s, 50s, and 60s.
“It usually takes at least four generations for a name to come back into style, though some, like Bertha and Herman, Myrtle and Morton never make it.”