The old fashioned baby names predicted to make a comeback this year

Baby names come and go in cycles, but 2022 is set to have a big historical revival.

The Royal Family has had a big impact on this, as more parents look for names with regal associations through the ages.

New research from family history brand Findmypast has predicted the top 20 baby names set to make a comeback this decade, based on record analysis and in line with the trend that names tend to follow a 100 year cycle of popularity, making a resurgence every century.

The name Elizabeth surged with a 16% increase in popularity in 1926, the year of the Queen’s birth. Similarly, after a dip across the 1960s and 1970s, Prince Harry’s birth in 1984 sparked a rush in popularity of the prince’s moniker throughout the following decades.

Experts expect the royal obsession to continue across the next decade with families looking to the recent births of the Duke and Duchess of Sussex’s babies, Lillibet and Archie, for inspiration.

Royal marriages also provided the population with plenty of inspiration when it came to choosing a name for their babies throughout history, with a whopping 56% increase in babies named Phillip in 1947, the year the Prince married Elizabeth. Similarly, the name Diana saw a resurgence in 1981, in celebration of her wedding to Prince Charles with a staggering 122% increase in babies named after her.

Historians used data from the 1921 Census along with an analysis of current royal trends, to predict which baby names are most likely to have a revival:

10 baby girl names set to make a comeback

1.     Joan

2.     Mary

3.     Margaret

4.     Dorothy

5.     Gladys

6.     Irene

7.     Iris

8.     Elsie

9.     Ada

10. Mabel

10 baby boy names set to make a comeback

1.     Ronald

2.     Arthur

3.     Robert

4.     Albert

5.     Freddie

6.     Edward

7.     Archie

8.     Ernest

9.     Isaac

10. Harris

‘History always has a tendency to repeat itself and baby names are no exception,’ says Mary McKee, head of content publishing operations at Findmypast.

‘All roads point to Joan as parents are increasingly looking to name their baby girls after strong female historical figures, and who better to take inspiration from than Joan of Arc.

‘When it comes to boys’ names, these have a tendency of coming back into fashion but as their nickname equivalent – Frederick becomes Freddie, Archibald becomes Archie and so there is every chance that Ronald could come back into circulation as Ronnie.’

The resurgence has even already begun for some names, with Arthur, Freddie and Edward re-entering 2021’s Top 100 Baby Names for Boys, and Rose, Iris, Ada all featuring on the list for girls.

The 1921 Census for England and Wales was digitised as a joint project between Findmypast and The National Archives and was released to the public for the first time in January this year.

10 most popular boy’s names in 1921

1.     John

2.     William

3.     George

4.     Thomas

5.     James

6.     Ronald

7.     Arthur

8.     Robert

9.     Albert

10. Frederick

10 most popular girl’s names in 1921

1.     Mary

2.     Margaret

3.     Dorothy

4.     Joan

5.     Doris

6.     Irene

7.     Kathleen

8.     Gladys

9.     Elsie

10. Joyce

Do you have a story to share?

Get in touch by emailing [email protected].

MORE : Five of the best warm-up stretches to prevent injury

MORE : Colour-lover who transformed her flat reveals her top tips for making your home more joyful

MORE : What is stealthing and is it a crime?