These baby names are going extinct because no one likes them any more

Ever heard a name and thought, ‘Who would name their child that?’ Us too. And now it seems so few people are using certain names that they are now considered ‘critically endangered’.

A new list from parenting website BabyCentre has revealed all the names that have gone out of fashion in the UK this year. The first may not come as a surprise. After over a year of using ‘Karen’ as an insult, parents have apparently been put off from using it for their babies, with only four registered under that name in 2022.

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Another trend is names with ‘American vibes’, which have been steadily dropping in popularity since the 1970s and 1980s – meaning Farrahs, Staceys, Kellys, Barbies and Britneys have all had zero registrations this year. For boys, old-fashioned names like Brent, Quinton and Giles are also on the way out. A total of zero babies were called Cliff, Nigel and Harold. 

But for those wanting to save Nigel’s legacy, all hope is not lost. Dwayne is an example of a name which saw a nil count in 2021, but got four new registrations this year. Same goes for Maude, which was given to a singular baby in 2022, having not been used once the year before. In need of the full list? Read on. 

Endangered girls’ names

1. Barbie
2. Britney
3. Carrie
4. Deirdre
5. Farrah
6. Gail
7. Gayatri
8. Katrina
9. Kelly
10. Lindsey
11. Shania
12. Sheila
13. Shirley
14. Stacey
15. Tegan

Endangered boys’ names

1. Baxter
2. Bill
3. Brent
4. Clement
5. Cliff
6. Giles
7. Harold
8. Kamran
9. Maximillian
10. Nigel
11. Quinton
12. Rashid
13. Rhett
14. Saul
15. Wallace