(London) David Bowie, but also the Kardashians seem to inspire some parents looking for first names in England and Wales: Ziggy and Saint are more and more trendy.
Posted at 12:10 p.m.
In 2016, 49 little boys were called Ziggy, as in the album Ziggy Stardust released in 1972. In 2021, there were 136, according to data from the Office for National Statistics released on Wednesday.
The British artist died in January 2016 at the age of 69, but remains as popular as ever.
The curve continues to rise for the first name Bowie: they were less than 40 in 2016, but nearly 80 five years later. Around 30 girls were also named Bowie in 2021.
The sources of inspiration are as varied as the tastes of the parents. When Kim Kardashian and Kanye West named their son Saint in December 2015, fans of the now-estranged star couple were visibly wowed. The popularity of Saint has multiplied by more than ten: nearly 60 little boys have been named Saint in 2021 in England and Wales.
The Netflix series Sex Education has increased the popularity of the names Otis and Maeve: nearly 750 and 650 babies born in 2021 had these names, compared to around 250 and 60 in 2016.
British singers George Ezra and Mabel also seem to inspire parents.
Ezra was very close to making the top 50 most popular boy names of 2021, having grown in popularity as the musician’s star rose. The number of baby girls named Mabel also peaked in 2021 at 885, following big increases in 2018 and 2020.
“It may have been influenced by singer and songwriter Mabel, whose single Finders Keepers reached the top 10 in 2017. His album High Expectations then reached third place in 2019,” the Statistics Office said.
At the top of the 2021 ranking are the names Noah and Olivia. Olivia has been the most popular first name given to little girls for six years. Noah replaced him on the first step with the first name Oliver.