Catherine, Princess of Wales and Prince William, Prince of Wales(Image: Mark Cuthbert/UK Press via Getty Images)Choosing a baby name can be tough – especially with the due date fast approaching and the pressure mounting. Fortunately, there are plenty of websites designed to help parents navigate this decision.
But before you settle on a name, did you know some are on the verge of extinction? While BabyCenter releases a yearly list of the most popular baby names, it’s the ones not climbing the charts that might surprise you.
Looking at names which have dropped off within the last year, they spotted the beginning of the end for “-aden” boy names like Jaden. They also noted that royal names have also taken a step back.
In their research, they said: “Catherine, Anne, Phillip, Albert, and Edward – all names of British royal family members in recent history – each tumbled more than 100 spots. Catherine took the biggest fall, though, dropping 221 spots.”
The naming experts also note that names popular in the ’80s and ’90s are rapidly declining, while nickname-style names are gaining traction. Examples include Lexi, a short form of Alexandra, and Archie, short for Archibald – famously the name of Prince Harry and Meghan Markle’s son.
Girl names at risk of going ‘extinct’
Is your name on the list?(Image: Getty)These girl names saw the steepest decline from 2023 to 2024:
Jamie (down 320)Katie (down 290)Remy (down 277)Liv (down 257)Analia (down 245)Karina (down 243)Belle (down 242)Erin (down 231)Bristol (down 230)Lilia (down 230)Catherine (down 221)Boy names at risk of going ‘extinct’
These boy names saw the steepest decline from 2023 to 2024:
Jamal (down 433)Esteban (down 283)Cannon (down 268)Emery (down 241)Taylor (down 199)Kareem (down 193)Idris (down 187)Camilo (down 185)Matthias (down 179)Danny (down 176)Aziz (down 170)
For those interested in royal names, Anne ranked 15th among the names at risk of extinction. On the boys’ side, Louie came in 12th, Philip 15th, Albert 16th and Edward placed 20th.