Carolyn, Debra, Meryl, Greg, and Walt are all baby names set to go extinct in 2023, alongside 35 other names listed in new research released today from Pregnacare by Vitabiotics. The data research revealed the top 40 baby names likely to be extinct in 2023, perfect for parents wanting a name for their child that they won’t share with anyone else in their class.
Alongside this, the research also reveals the baby names set to trend in 2023, based on expert trend analysis from government data of baby names stretching back to 1996. Without realising, you may choose a baby name you perceive to be unique when the name actually sits within the top 100 most popular choices the very next year.
To help unveil the most and least popular names for parents to sift through and choose from, Pregnacare analysed government data from 1996 to 2022 to identify trends and make an expert prediction based on year-on-year ranking increases and the number of babies born with each name every year.
The Top 20 Girl Baby Names Set To Trend in 2023
Looking into girls' names specifically, Pregnacare were able to identify the rank increase of over 100 names from 2010, alongside the names current ranking in the top 100, to determine which girls' names are most likely to be trending next year.
14 out of 20 names were found to have had strong influences from TV, film and celebrity culture, indicating that this is one of the most powerful influences when it comes to choosing a baby name.
The names with the highest ranking increases include Harper (+902), Margot (+760), Aria (+734) and Maeve (+601), all four of which stem from media influences. Harper was a name made famous in 2011, when David and Victoria Beckham announced the birth of Harper Beckham. Margot is also a celebrity name, with Margot Robbie shooting to fame and the name gaining popularity in 2014 after the release of her breakout role in Wolf of Wall Street.
Both Aria and Maeve take inspiration from television shows, with Arya Stark being a key character in all eight seasons of Game of Thrones, which started airing in 2011. Similarly, the name Maeve entered the top 100 girls names in the UK fairly recently when Sex Education appeared on Netflix in 2019.
The Top 20 Boy Baby Names Set To Trend in 2023
Next, Pregnacare looked at the boys' names ranking highest in the top 100 names, alongside their increase in rankings since 2010. The results show that Theodore, Tommy, Arlo, Roman and Teddy are likely to be the top 5 trending names in 2023.
Interestingly, both Tommy and Teddy are recently rising television personalities from the popular dating show, Love Island. Tommy Fury, professional boxer and son to Tyson Fury, appeared in season 5 of the show which aired in 2019. More recently Teddy Soares, a Senior financial consultant, entered the villa in the summer of 2021 and became a firm favourite on the show.
Other notable names linked to TV and film trends include Otis (+285), a name gaining popularity alongside Maeve after the release of Netflix’s Sex Education, and Ezra (+347) made popular again by actor Ezra Miller who rose to fame through films ‘We Need To Talk About Kevin’ and ‘The Perks of Being a Wallflower’ released in 2011 and 2012.
The 40 Girls and Boys Names Set To Go Extinct in 2023
Finally, Pregnacare undertook research to discover the top 40 girls and boys names set to go extinct in 2023. The above list features 40 girls names and 40 boys names of which each name was given to only 3 babies in 2020 - the most recent figures shared from publicly available government data.
Some names from the list will be recognised as previously having been extremely popular amongst Generation X (born in 1965 to 1980) and the Baby Boom Generation (born in 1946 - 1964); including Carolyn, Debra, Gladys, and Meryl for girls and Billie, Chandler, Greg, Stevie, and Walt for boys.