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Daily Mirror

National

Courtney Pochin

'My name is going extinct and I'm relieved - no one ever spells it correctly'

Billie Debra Gladys Greg Meryl Stevie Walt

What's in a name? That's the eternal question parents are still pondering today as they try and pick the perfect moniker for their little ones. And for some mums and dads it can take days, weeks or even months to make their choice.

They'll likely be browsing through the top baby name lists, paying attention to which names are currently the most popular and they might also consider keeping an eye on the other end of the scale to see which ones are falling out of favour.

We recently heard all about the baby names set to go extinct in 2023 as hardly any registrations have been made for them over the last few years, the list included the likes of Carolyn, Debra, Gladys, and Meryl for girls and Billie, Chandler, Greg, Stevie, and Walt for boys.

And while you might think this is sad, the loss out of names that were once beloved, one woman has shared why she's 'relieved' her name might not be used any more.

Carolyn Creel, a psychic medium and declutterer, recently learned from The Mirror that her name was one of those at risk of extinction with parents.

But she said there was no upset or offence caused by this - instead, she felt quite the opposite.

She has told of her relief at the name fading away as she'd suffered for years with people mispronouncing it and spelling it wrong.

The 57-year-old from Yorkshire said: "For me it’s quite a relief that Carolyn isn’t going to be used any more! Firstly, no one can pronounce it – I’m always called Caroline – and no one can spell it either.

"I’m not at all upset or offended, it’s just evolution. Look at all the names which are coming back in to fashion! My new granddaughter has just been named Nellie – you wouldn’t have seen that a decade ago."

Do you have an extinct name? Email courtney.pochin@reachplc.com

Certain names are falling out of favour (stock photo) (Getty Images/iStockphoto)

She continued: "Now, I really don’t mind my name in general, I certainly don’t dislike it though the constant incorrect spelling of it can be annoying. This is especially the case in America as they pronounce Caroline as Carolyn. I like that it’s not a bog standard name though, it’s a little bit different and there aren’t loads of Carolyn’s about.

"I do think that as an adult, you just take it for granted that your name is your name, and don’t think too deeply about it. You grow into your name, and embody it.

"However as a child, I didn’t really like it – I wanted to be called something ‘normal’ like Julie or Jennifer. Something more mainstream.

"I didn’t like it when people got the spelling or pronunciation wrong. I also found it hard when I was learning to spell and write as it’s quite a long name! My daughter was given a shorter name for that reason!"

There were 80 names in total on the list of those set to go extinct and it was put together by the team over at Pregnacare by Vitabiotics. To do this, they analysed government data from 1996 to 2022 looking at the number of babies born with each name every year and picked out those with fewer than three births

They've then used this information to predict the names that will be the least popular in 2023 and are at risk of disappearing altogether.

The full list includes:

Girls names with fewer than three births

1. Averly

2. Brydie

3. Carolyn

4. Cecile

5. Cheryl

6. Cheyanne

7. Christie

8. Collette

9. Debra