Parents set to welcome a baby this Christmas may be casting their eyes over some festive name options, including the likes of Nicholas and Mary. There are, however, a number of more unusual Christmassy monikers that many mums and dads have plumped for.
New research from family history brand Findmypast has unveiled the most festive-themed baby names throughout history, with surprises such as Sprout and Tinsel making the cut.
The team scoured through more than 14 billion digitised historical documents when compiling their list, with records stretching right back to the 1500s. Ivy was found to be the most popular festive-themed name, with almost 2.5 million (2,333,758) occurrences noted in the records.
Historical festive popularity aside, Ivy is currently the fifth most popular baby name for a girl in England and Wales, soaring from 2,165th place in 1996 to fifth in 2021. It's thought the 2012 birth of Beyonce and Jay Z ’s eldest daughter Blue Ivy Carter partly inspired its revival.
Other top ten festive baby names which still make for popular choices today include Angel, which occurred 652,337 times in the records, and Holly, which had 459,150 entries.
Some of the festive-themed first names were a little more unique, with the likes of Christmas (9th), Turkey (10th), Present (3rd), Santa (7th), Chestnut (8th), and Wine (6th) breaking into the top ten.
Outside of the top 10 names, a total of 7,000 people named Sprout and Crackers were discovered in the records, plus a further 579 babies called Snowman, 2,015 named Mistletoe, and 293 called Bauble. A total of 37 people were found to have been christened Eggnog.
The Findmypast team also uncovered the most popular Christmas-themed names from one hundred years ago, as a comparison, with the top festive names in 1922 being Angel (2025 occurrences), Santa (230), Ivy (84), Holly (12), Star (16) and Christmas (1).
Research Specialist at Findmypast.co.uk, Jen Baldwin, said: "It was truly fascinating to find so many festive-themed baby names through our entire collection of family and historical records. When we started our analysis, we never expected to see such a wide range.
"Equally interesting to discover was that Ivy topped the overall list, by some margin too. Part of the thrill of family and historical research is discovering those connections with the past to the present. So, to see Ivy top the list was especially rewarding, knowing that the name is still one of the most popular baby names today."
This comes after government data published by the Office of National Statistics (ONS), revealed the most popular days of the year to conceive a baby in England and Wales are over the Christmas period - Christmas Eve, Christmas Day, and Boxing Day.
Top 22 festive names ranked
1. Ivy (2,332,758)
2. Angel (652,337)
3. Present (459,150)
4. Holly (452,011)
5. Star (327,747)
6. Wine (311,116)
7. Santa (157,840)
8. Chestnut (141,666)
9. Christmas (131,926)
10. Turkey (27,550)
11. Sleigh (17,843)
12. Pudding (12,022)
13. Crackers (3,711)
14. Reindeer (3,190)
15. Sprout (2,827)
16. Tinsel (2,634)
17. Mistletoe (2,015)
18. Snowman (579)
19. Bauble (293)
20. Nutcracker (284)
21. Mulled (230)
22. Eggnog (23)
Do you have a name from this list? We'd love to chat to you. Email us at julia.banim@reachplc.com
