A stunned mum who found out her name is set go 'extinct' says she wants to start a campaign to bring it back. Stacey Dennis was saddened to see her name on the list of monikers that didn't have a single registration in the UK this year.
But the 37-year-old is hoped that it will one day come back into fashion and is urging people to 'be more Stacey, be less Karen'. As a youngster, Stacey wasn't a fan of her name as she could never find any keychains or mugs with it on, but grew to love her unusual title as an adult.
Although there are plenty of famous Staceys, including Stacey Solomon and Stacey Dooley, American-style monikers have become less popular with new parents across the UK. In fact, Stacey said she never knew anyone with the same name as her when she was younger and even now only knows a few.
The mum, from Pontefract, told the Mirror : "I always get called Tracey, and I'm like, 'It's Stacey!' And there are a couple of variations, and you can't really shorten it. I like it now as an adult, I've gotten over myself, but as a kid, I didn't, just because it's not as popular.
"As an adult, I do, probably for the opposite reasons of why I didn't like it as a kid."
She added: "It sounds a bit classier than Tracey, I guess!"
Stacey says her parents Steve and Shirley - now also an endangered name - picked a name beginning with 'S' to match her older brothers. She was almost called Shelley, but the name was given to her older cousin instead.
Stacey was surprised to see her name featured on the list of disappearing monikers, adding: "I didn't think it was that bad! I thought it was quite a nice name. I'm not surprised really at Barbie being on the list. But no Staceys in a year, what's happening there?
"I think we should start flying the flag for Staceys, maybe it's a campaign I'll have to do!"
Interestingly, Stacey - who is a graphic designer by trade - started her own business, Love Layla, which sells a large selection of name-related merchandise. This includes products centred around 'Karen' memes, as well as goods featuring the name Gary, which Stacey says is 'the new Karen'.
In the past, Stacey has faced 'ironic' complaints from annoyed 'Karens', who are upset over the negative connotations that their name now has.
Stacey is now urging young people with unusual names to 'just embrace it' and to 'enjoy the uniqueness".
She said: "I'm really sad to see Staceys are going the same way as the dinosaurs. I want to see 'bring back Stacey!' I want to see loads of people named Stacey next year!"
Stacey is now even considering creating a hashtag, with a campaign encouraging people to 'not be a Karen, be a Stacey instead'.
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