I saw this article on my local news website.
MANY favourite first names from a century ago are at risk of dying out or are already extinct, new research has revealed.
Now extinct names that were among the most popular in 1905, include Gertrude, Bertha and Blodwen for girls and Willie, Cecil and Rowland for boys.
Names classified as 'endangered' include Horace, Leslie and Norman for boys and Doris, Hilda and Edna for girls.
Research carried out by Ancestry.co.uk studied birth records for 1905 and produced a 'top 100'.
They then compared the names to those on the 2012 baby name list from the Office for National Statistics (ONS), the most recent data available.
The extinct names are those that did not appear on the 2012 lists at all.
Those names still being chosen, but significantly less common than they used to be - include Cyril, Arnold and Bernard for boys, plus Mildred, Dorothy and Lilian for girls.
However, many popular names from the early 20th Century remain popular in their shorter form.
Termed the ‘Alfie effect’, this trend has seen Freddie replace Frederick, Archie overtake Archibald and Charlie become more popular than Charles.
The same applies to girls’ names, with Lexi replacing Alexandra, Sophia making way for Sophie and Ellie overtaking Eleanor.
However, many of the most popular names of 1905 remain common today, such as Lily, Hannah and Lydia for girls and Alan, Patrick and Joe for boys.
FULL LIST OF EXTINCT AND MOST POPULAR NAMES
'Extinct’
Male - Cecil, Rowland & Willie
Female - Bertha, Blodwen, Fanny, Gertrude, Gladys, Margery, Marjorie & Muriel
‘Endangered’
Male - Clifford, Horace, Harold, Leslie & Norman
Female - Doris, Edna, Ethel, Hilda, Marion & Phyllis
‘At Risk’
Male - Arnold, Bernard, Clarence, Cyril, Ernest, Fred, Herbert, Percy, Roland, Sydney, Trevor & Walter.
Female - Ann, Dorothy, Eveline, Freda, Gwendoline, Irene, Jane, Janet, Jennie, Lilian, Lizzie, Margaret, Mary, Maud, Mildred, Nellie, Rhoda & Winifred
Booming traditional names
Male - Christopher, Harry, Sam, Samuel, Louis, Evan, Owen, Louie, Michael, Reuben, Benjamin, Matthew, Lewis, Jack, Alexander, Daniel, Isaac, Jacob, Charlie, Oliver
Female - Amelia, Charlotte, Daisy, Eleanor, Eliza, Emily, Eva, Grace, Harriet, Isabel, Isabella, Leah, & Lucy
I know a Muriel (adult) but I won't tell her she's extinct.