Bygone baby names that are set to make a comeback in 100-year cycle
Baby names go in and out of fashion in 100-year cycles – meaning some surprising retro names are due to make a comeback.
New research from experts at Findmypast predicts the Top 20 baby names set to return this decade based on analysis that shows names make a resurgence every century.
And if information gleaned from the 1921 census is correct it means some of the bygone monikers due to resurface include Joan, Gladys and Irene for girls and Ernest and Ronald for boys.
The research also revealed that royal events have a huge impact on the popularity of baby names. The name Elizabeth surged with a 16% increase in popularity in 1926, the year of the Queen’s birth.
Similarly, after a dip across the 1960s and 1970s, Prince Harry’s birth in 1984 sparked a rush in popularity throughout the following decades.
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Findmypast expects the royal obsession to continue across the next decade with families looking to the recent births of the Duke and Duchess of Sussex’s babies, Lillibet and Archie, for inspiration.
Royal marriages also provided the population with plenty of inspiration when it came to choosing a name for their babies throughout history, with a whopping 56% increase in babies named Phillip in 1947, the year the Prince married Elizabeth.
Similarly, the name Diana saw a resurgence in 1981, in celebration of her wedding to Prince Charles with a staggering 122% increase in babies named after her.
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Digitised exclusively by Findmypast and recently released to the public for the first time a century later, the 1921 Census revealed the most popular names for children under one.
Expert historians used this data along with an analysis of current royal trends to predict which baby names are most likely to have a revival. You can now easily uncover the history of individual names online using the What's in a name search tool.
10 girl baby names set to make a comeback
Joan
Mary
Margaret
Dorothy
Gladys
Irene
Iris
Elsie
Ada
Mabel
10 boy baby names set to make a comeback
Ronald
Arthur
Robert
Albert
Freddie
Edward
Archie
Ernest
Isaac
Harris
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“History always has a tendency to repeat itself and baby names are no exception," says Mary McKee, Head of Content Publishing Operations at Findmypast. "All roads point to Joan as parents are increasingly looking to name their baby girls after strong female historical figures, and who better to take inspiration from than Joan of Arc.
“When it comes to boys’ names, these have a tendency of coming back into fashion but as their nickname equivalent – Frederick becomes Freddie, Archibald becomes Archie and so there is every chance that Ronald could come back into circulation as Ronnie.”
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Joan tops the list as the name most likely to make a return to favour in the coming years. The name was previously in the Top 10 most popular baby names in 1921, as revealed by the 1921 Census, it then plummeted in popularity in the mid-1950s before falling out of the Top 100 entirely.
The resurgence has even already begun for some names, with Arthur, Freddie and Edward re-entering 2021’s Top 100 names for boys and Rose, Iris, Ada all featuring on the list for girls.
10 most popular boys names in 1921
John
William
George
Thomas
James
Ronald
Arthur
Robert
Albert
Frederick
10 most popular girls names in 1921
Mary
Margaret
Dorothy
Joan
Doris
Irene
Kathleen
Gladys
Elsie
Joyce
10 most popular girl names in 2022
Olivia
Amelia
Isla
Ava
Mia
Ivy
Lily
Isabella
Rosie
Sophia
10 most popular boy names in 2022
Oliver
George
Arthur
Noah
Muhammad
Leo
Oscar
Harry
Archie
Jack
