While debate has always raged about the role of the Royal Family in a modern society, the most popular baby names of 2023 seem to indicate that their influence and impact is as wide-reaching as ever.
Using a year’s worth of data from their baby announcements, the Telegraph have been able to pinpoint trends in the names being given by parents, and there’s a recurring theme of royal names dominating the top spots.
Overall, the most popular names were Clementine, Eliza and Frederick.
For Frederick, it’s the second year running as the top boy’s name, while Clementine rose from fifth to joint number one alongside Eliza, who did not feature at all in the list last year.
However, most notable is the rise in popularity for Charles, up from 18th to 6th place in the space of a year.
In 2023, when the historic Coronation of King Charles III took place, and His Majesties first full year on the throne following the late Queen’s death in September 2022, this is surely more than coincidence.
Another royal inspired name has surged back to the top.
Charlotte, which was the most popular name for girls in 2021, following the increased visibility of the Prince and Princess of Wales’s only daughter, has had another boost in popularity, coming joint third after falling to 18th last year.
As a direct parallel to the ascension of Charles in the list of most popular names, the opposite has happened to the name Elizabeth.
As a poignant final reminder of the end of the Elizabethan era after the death of Queen Elizabeth II, the name has dropped out of the list of the most popular baby names altogether.
The return of more traditional names as preferred by the royals is even more impressive considering the data seems to show, outside of the likes of Charlotte and Charles, names are drastically changing.
Susan Cole, the retired librarian who pours over the Telegraph’s baby name data each year, shared, “There were a couple of Elizabeths in 2022, but none this year. But Charles has grown quite a lot in popularity, which seems significant.”
As for the move away from more traditional names, names like “Ottilie, which came joint third, and Athena” stood out.
She said, “Most of the names of my contemporaries, like the ubiquitous Susan and Linda, seem to have gone completely and have been replaced by quite different names, such as Olympia, which I would never have imagined.”
“Among the boys this year there’s even a Cosmo. The last famous Cosmo I recall was Cosmo Lang, the Archbishop of Canterbury in the 1930s and 40s.”
This subtle show of support for the King (and the likes of Princess Charlotte) must be a reassurance to fans of the monarchy, after earlier surveys in 2023 suggested their popularity was on the descent.
A survey by the National Centre for Social Research (NatCen) in summer revealed public support for the monarchy had fallen to a historic low. A total of 45% of respondents said either it should be abolished, was not at all important or not very important.
