The least popular baby names revealed — is yours on the list?

From traditional monikers like Barbara and Doris, to X Æ A-Xii [Musk], it’s fair to say that baby names have changed a lot over the years.

These days, people are opting for more unique names, with Irish-origin baby names such as Maeve, Saoirse, Niamh, Ronan, Quinn recently predicted to be on the rise in the UK.

And as new names enter the lexicon, certain classic ones begin to fade out.

That’s perhaps why names like Bill, Gordon, Graham, Beryl, Edna and Maureen are currently on the list of the 100 least popular baby names in 2024.

This is according to the team at language learning software Babbel, who have analysed all the baby names recorded between 1914 and 1994 in the UK.

They compiled a list of names that were previously in the ONS top 100 most popular baby names up until ’94, but haven’t made the cut since then.

These were then separated into 50 least popular names for boys and 50 least popular for girls.

Donald, Barry, Bill, Dale, Gordon, and Esteban are some of the boy names that have fallen out of favour with parents.

Other male names which are no longer proving popular include Nigel, Melvyn, Norman, Rodney, Trevor, and Horace.

And when it comes to the least popular monikers for a little girl, Alexa is up there, and given the popularity of the Amazon device today, it’s no surprise that mums and dads aren’t opting for this.

Dawn, Gail, Beryl, Jill, Lorraine, Kerry, Toni, and Yvonne also featured on the list.

But if you’re a fan of a traditional moniker, then don’t panic as they’re not going extinct.

A number of classic names actually featured on the top 100 list of most popular names from last year.

Experts from babycentre.co.uk revealed their annual list of the most popular names from 2023 which featured the likes of Olivia, Sophia, Amelia, Grace, Charlotte, and Rose for girls.

For the boys, Muhammad was the most popular choice, closely followed by Noah, Theo, Leo, Oliver, George, and Arthur.

The research found that a number of dark and supernatural-themed names have been creeping up in popularity, with Lyra being a new addition to the girls’ top 100, and Matilda coming close to breaking into the top 40. 

Morgan, Minerva, Ursula, Gwen, Sabrina, and Luna were also registered throughout the year, suggesting it must be the season of the witch.

This comes after it was revealed that floral names were set to become the biggest baby name trend in 2024. 

After analysing data from 1906 to the present, experts predicted the top 10 flora and fauna-inspired names that we can expect to see rising in popularity over the next 12 months – with the top three being more off-the-beaten-track monikers on both lists.

The list included names such as Juniper, Azalea, Blossom, Orion, Rowan, and Ren.

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