A rose by any other name. . .



Photo by Andre Peltier
Baby Yawning

 I was looking over popular British baby names and found that many of the most popular baby names in Britain are popular in the U.S. too. In fact, out of the top 25 girls names, nine are the in both top 25 lists and seven are in the top boy’s list. I was disheartened not only by how similar they were, but how incredibly boring. Whatever happened to great British names? 




Most Popular American vs. British Baby names 2012
Girls 

         American       British

1. Sophia         Amelia
2. Emma         Olivia
3. Isabella       Jessica
4. Olivia          Emily
5. Ava             Lily
6. Emily           Ava
7. Abigal         Mia
8. Mia             Isla
9. Madison      Sophie
10. Elizabeth     Isabella
11. Chloe          Evie
12. Ella             Ruby
13. Avery          Poppy
14. Addison       Grace
15. Aubrey        Sophia
16. Lily              Chloe
17. Natalie        Isabelle
18. Sofia           Ella
19. Charlotte     Freya
20. Zoey           Charlotte
21. Grace         Scarlett
22. Hannah      Daisy
23. Amelia        Lola
24. Harper        Eva
25. Lillian          Holly

          American       British

1. Jacob           Harry
2. Mason         Oliver
3. Ethan          Jack
4. Noah           Charlie
5. William       Jacob
6. Liam          Thomas
7. Jayden       Alfie
8. Michael      Riley
9. Alexander   William
10. Aiden          James
11. Daniel        Joshua
12. Matthew     George
13. Elijah          Ethan
14. James        Noah
15. Anthony     Samuel
16. Benjamin    Daniel
17. Joshua       Oscar
18. Andrew       Max
19. David         Muhammad
20. Joseph      Leo
21. Logan       Tyler
22. Jackson    Joseph
23. Christopher    Archie
24. Gabriel          Henry
25. Samuel        Lucas

I was disheartened not only by how similar they were, but how incredibly boring. Whatever happened to great British names? I understand that every American parent wants their little girl to grow up to be a cheerleader, but not the Brits too!! I am including some wonderful, British names to keep in mind. 

Cool: Derek, Nigel, Graham, Giles, Dermot, Clive, Ewan, Alasdair, Rex, Buzz, Raeven, Kade, Jarrett, Jamison, Greer, Wren,

Quirky: Rosamund, Fionnula, Bryonie, Rupert, Rufus, Algernon, Hugo, Mungo, Atticus, Wilfred, Percy, Quentin, Rowena, Purity, Queenie, Mercia, Maridel, Jetta, Idalis, Gilda, Evelyn, Blodwyn, Baron, Barton, Beacher, Beasley, Windy

Impossibly, wonderfully British! Cyril, Prunella, Cordelia, Gwenda, Royston, Camilla, Cedric, Prentis, Royston, Ridgewell, Penny, Rowan, Gemma, Clementine, Daphnie,Hermine, Primrose, Poppy, Tabby, Lilibeth, Edwin, Binney, Birdie, Afton, Agate, Bayard, Baxter, Sterling, Sulwen

Just plain Unfortunate: Horace, Fanny, Reginald, Beatrice, Eugenie, Octavius, Winifred, Earlene, Malvina, Eartha