Some names in the irish and UK’s top 100 make sense, what I mean are traditional Irish baby names e.g. [name]Eabha[/name], [name]Aoibhinn[/name] and [name]Saoirse[/name] in the Irish one and baby names to follow celebrity uses, e.g. [name]Lexie[/name], [name]Poppy[/name] and [name]Florence[/name] in the UK’s. However, some names truly stump me, and are not heard of in the American top 100, let alone top 100. The girl’ names are:
Ireland’s Top 100:
[name]Robyn[/name] [43]
[name]Faye[/name] [56]
[name]Freya[/name] [61]
UK’s Top 100:
[name]Imogen[/name] [26]
[name]Tia[/name] [79]
[name]Harriet[/name] [86] (more-so questioning why this stunning name isn’t in US top 1000)
Do any well-educated Berries have any explanations for these names in the Irish and British Top 100s?
I haven’t got any real explanation, but I think that trends arise at different times in each country. Of course there’s a bit of a cultural divide- I can’t see [name]Caoimhe[/name] on catching on in the US or [name]Dakota[/name] in the UK/[name]Ireland[/name]-but I don’t think that’s all of it. Names like [name]Harriet[/name], [name]Imogen[/name], [name]Gemma[/name], and [name]Freya[/name] are just beginning to come into vogue here in the US; conversely, [name]Jessica[/name] is quite dated here but recently popular (now waning) there.
I think it’s possible that “old man/lady” names are a tiny bit ahead in [name]Britain[/name]; Vintage names like [name]Eleanor[/name], [name]Amelia[/name] and [name]Charlotte[/name] ranked in the top 50 back in 2000 and have lost some popularity there, while here those names are quite hot and rising here over the past 10 years. Names do cycle every few generations, so maybe their cycle of vintage names is running just a bit ahead of ours.
I also think it takes a while for trends to cross over. [name]Amber[/name] and [name]Jessica[/name] are far more popular in [name]Britain[/name] than the US now, but the US trended those names first. I see the same thing happening in the reverse with names like [name]Gemma[/name] and [name]Zara[/name]- they’re newly popular in the US, but I believe they were quite popular in the UK in the 80’s and 90’s.
In terms of [name]Imogen[/name], I think it is more popular here in the UK largely because we are simply more familiar with it (through [name]Shakespeare[/name] and some celebrities) and we don’t seem to have the -gene or [name]Em[/name]- pronunciations here at all, which makes the name more appealing.
[name]Tia[/name], I think, is simply an extension of [name]Mia[/name] & [name]Lia[/name]'s popularity here. [name]Thea[/name] is rising insanely quickly here, too.
[name]Harriet[/name] again seems to be just something Brits are more familiar with, I know several adult Harriets. Also, I think the British pronunciation of [name]Harriet[/name] may be more appealing too, as the American pronunciation seems to be more like Hairy-et. Maybe there is some truth to daisy451’s theory too?
Can’t really shed much light on the Irish names, but possibly [name]Freya[/name] is trending there following its super-popularity in the UK?
[name]Robyn[/name] - may be due to the singer [name]Robyn[/name]. It’s also a nature name and they’re hot and very trendy right now.
[name]Faye[/name] - short, sweet and no-nonsense names are popular too ([name]Grace[/name], [name]Claire[/name]). It may be influenced by the Arthurian legend and the character [name]Morgan[/name] le [name]Fay[/name], [name]Arthur[/name]'s sorceress half-sister. I’m just guessing here!
[name]Freya[/name] - Popular in [name]Britain[/name] as well as the Scandinavian countries so it just may be an export. Interesting tidbit: Irish actor [name]Liam[/name] Neeson is engaged to British businesswoman, [name]Freya[/name] St [name]Johnston[/name].
[name]Imogen[/name] - A great Shakespearean name that is well-known in [name]Britain[/name]. In [name]North[/name] [name]America[/name], it’s usually spelled [name]Imogene[/name] (like comedian [name]Imogene[/name] Coca) and pronounced “im-oh-jean”. I prefer [name]Imogen[/name].
[name]Tia[/name] - Spanish/Portuguese word for “aunt” and fits in with the popular [name]Mia[/name] and [name]Lia[/name]. This name and [name]Tiana[/name] are popular in the African-American community so that could be an influence in [name]Britain[/name].
[name]Harriet[/name] - This vintage name is more accepted in [name]Britain[/name] ([name]Prince[/name] [name]Harry[/name]'s influence, perhaps?) and I think it will take [name]North[/name] Americans a little longer to warm to it. It’s still thought of as “old-fashioned and fussy” ant parents worry about the teasing potential of “hairy-et”. I do think [name]Harriet[/name]'s nn of [name]Hattie[/name] is catching on after [name]Tori[/name] Spelling named her baby [name]Hattie[/name] recently.
Does the first syllable of [name]Harriet[/name] rhyme with car rather than hair in British English? or something else? So interesting! Knew about [name]Imogen/name difference, not this one.
Is [name]Romilly[/name] still fairly popular in the UK? [name]Feel[/name] like I remember reading about that one too.
It’s not just girls’ names, too, right? [name]Alfie[/name] for one?
And I’m sure there’s a good number in the opposite direction, I just tend to notice them living in the US. What are they?
[name]Romilly[/name] has never been popular in the UK, to my knowledge! I’ve never met one, and its definitely never come into the Top 100 (or its extremely unlikely anyway)
[name]Harriet[/name] is prn. H-a-ree-ut (‘a’ sound like in the name [name]Agnes[/name])
[name]Alfie[/name] is VERY popular. [name]Every[/name] second baby here seems like he’s called [name]Alfie[/name]!
One difference people seem to think British people have in their pronunciation is pronouncing the name [name]Dahlia[/name] day-lee-uh, but actually I have heard most people over here pronounce it dah-lee-uh! Ditto [name]Georgiana[/name], people pronounce it Geor-jee-ah-nuh rather than Geor-jay-nuh, which is meant to be ‘the British way’ if I’m not mistaken? Maybe its the US rubbing off on us all? Who knows…
There’s a lot of names more popular in the US! Ummm, for boys names like [name]Elias[/name] aren’t heard here really. Similarly stuff like [name]Caleb[/name], which is pretty unusual here. Ditto [name]Beckett[/name] and [name]Spencer[/name], names like that. [name]Hank[/name] isn’t really used as a nickname for [name]Henry[/name]. There are actually so many differences in boy name…
I also don’t hear [name]Nevaeh[/name] really ever…or many of the yooniq spellings. People more commonly go for old fashioned cutesy names. Names like [name]Lydia[/name] and [name]Maryam[/name] make the Top 100 ([name]Maryam[/name] was somehow in there one year anyway). Ummm, [name]Adelaide[/name] is more popular in the US I think. Names like [name]Peyton[/name] and [name]Sydney[/name] never found their way to the UK. Ditto names like [name]Genesis[/name] and [name]Serenity[/name], except in very particular demographics. Thats all the differences i can think of right now!