I’ve always much preferred the UK girls list to the boys list, but I am surprised at how little usage [name_m]Frederick[/name_m] gets in the US. I used to love [name_u]Rory[/name_u] but I’ve grown out of that. And this does explain so many people suggesting [name_m]Edward[/name_m] for an underused classic.
Personal favourites on this list: [name_m]Arthur[/name_m], [name_m]Edward[/name_m], [name_u]Arlo[/name_u], [name_m]Hugo[/name_m] and [name_m]Frederick[/name_m].
This list is not surprising, but definitely interesting!
I have known quite a few little Charlies, actually. However, if [name_u]Charlie[/name_u] is a boy, it’s almost always short for [name_m]Charles[/name_m], which is in the US Top 100. And a lot of the Charlies (that are just [name_u]Charlie[/name_u]) I’ve met/known are girls.
I know of two little [name_m]Georges[/name_m]. One is a brother of a [name_u]Charlie[/name_u] ([name_m]Charles[/name_m]) and the other is a brother of a [name_u]Teddy[/name_u] ([name_m]Theodore[/name_m]).
I’ve met one little [name_u]Ellis[/name_u], and I love it!
Otherwise, these names are definitely very rare here – at least, where I live. Some of the more nickname-y ones are likely to stay that way because Americans in general seem to prefer a full name for a nickname as far as I have observed, and I find that contrast quite interesting!
George was in the charts before [name_m]Prince[/name_m] [name_u]George[/name_u] - number 19 in 1996 and stayed pretty constant. [name_m]Edward[/name_m] was at 45 in 1996 so has increased but slowly. [name_u]Harry[/name_u] was 17 in 1996 so again has increased but was around.
Harry and [name_m]Edward[/name_m] could be after the royals but are just as likely, I think, to be because of other factors.
I think the reason I generally like the US list more is for the point @elanorelle raised, unlike my countryfolk, I don’t like nicknames as full names.
@elanorelle I know one male [name_u]Charlie[/name_u] in the US but he is really a [name_m]Charles[/name_m] who goes by [name_u]Charlie[/name_u] (in his 40s). The rest are girls. A friend in [name_u]Sweden[/name_u] named her son [name_u]Charlie[/name_u] a few years ago and I was surprised both by the Englishness and also that it just seemed more a girl’s name to me.
Playgrounds in my neck of the woods (midwest U.S.) are loaded w/Theos, Teddys, Charlies, Tommys & Ollies . They’re just all nick-names. I did also meet a little [name_u]Harry[/name_u] recently, but his mom was British.
I personally prefer the girl’s list too. Some of the boy’s names feel a little stuffy to me.
I really like some of the nickname’s though [name_u]Freddie[/name_u], [name_m]Archie[/name_m], [name_m]Albie[/name_m] etc. xx
Just came over from the Girl’s List hoping that Boy’s version was up! I said most of my stuff in my other comment but it continues to shock me how many of the top boy names are nickname names! Definitely softens up some of these older names!
My faves from this list are:
[name_m]Arthur[/name_m] -one of my favorite names
[name_m]Oscar[/name_m]
[name_m]Archie[/name_m] -although I prefer it as a nn to [name_u]Archer[/name_u]
[name_u]Theo[/name_u] -prefer it as nn
[name_u]Teddy[/name_u] -prefer as nn
[name_u]Rory[/name_u]
[name_m]Hugo[/name_m]
[name_u]Toby[/name_u] -prefer as nn
[name_m]Felix[/name_m]
[name_m]Tobias[/name_m]
Love some of these names! Also if you couldn’t tell I’m not too huge on nn names and like them better long, but those nn certainly are soo cute!
@sophia_elena I have a grandmother who won’t accept that nicknames are real names If I ever do choose a nickname or diminutive for a first name for any of my children I know I am going to be in for a lecture or a scolding
I feel that! [name_f]My[/name_f] family actually likes nicknames names but if I were to name my child something like [name_u]August[/name_u] they would come at me so hard for naming my child the name of a month! Make pretend that they have a full name and you only call them by their nn worst case lol! They’ll never know until it’s way too late haha!
I think those names were common before but have definitely gained popularity due to the royals.
[name_u]Finley[/name_u] is so lovely, i agree.
[name_u]Rory[/name_u] was my favourite character on dr who, so yes properly his influence but it’s also an Irish name so that boosts it’s popularity here.
Yes, that’s another thing i notice about uk vs us. Many of our unisex names are switched so over here [name_u]Riley[/name_u], [name_u]Harley[/name_u], [name_u]Mackenzie[/name_u], [name_u]Taylor[/name_u], [name_u]Tyler[/name_u], [name_u]Brooklyn[/name_u] etc are more common for boys.
I love [name_u]Ellis[/name_u] too!! it’s so sweet. The nickname vs fullname thing is definitely something i’ve picked up on too, it’s very interesting xx
Haha! Yes, many of our names are definitely more sparky and cutesy.
I think the lack of [name_u]Harry[/name_u]’s in the US may come down to accent. In many US accents [name_u]Harry[/name_u] likely becomes ‘Hairy’ which would put a lot of people off.
Yes, we do love a nickname over here! It is a very interesting observation i must say. I personally like nn names for boys but not as much for girls xx
I’m quite surprised by [name_m]Jenson[/name_m]. It seems more American to me than British being a surname name. And although I know that names like [name_u]Freddie[/name_u], [name_u]Alfie[/name_u], [name_u]Frankie[/name_u] etc are more popular in [name_f]England[/name_f] and here in Australia, I’m surprised they’re not even in the top 1000 in [name_u]America[/name_u]! I’m also surprised by [name_u]Riley[/name_u] being more popular in [name_f]England[/name_f], but then it occurred to me that maybe [name_u]Riley[/name_u] is more popular in [name_u]America[/name_u] as a girls’ name?
With [name_m]Jenson[/name_m] in the US it happens to be that the more popular spelling is actually [name_u]Jensen[/name_u], so while [name_m]Jenson[/name_m] is unranked for us, [name_u]Jensen[/name_u] is #293!
I live in NY and I know:
[name_u]George[/name_u]- 1
[name_u]Theo[/name_u]- 2
[name_u]Riley[/name_u]- too many to count!
[name_u]Dexter[/name_u]- 1
[name_u]Ollie[/name_u]- 2
LOVE IT!
