These are the baby names which are going extinct

DON’T expect to meet many Caroles in years to come.

It’s just one of the once popular baby names given to zero children in England and Wales in the most recent year counted.

There are a variety of old fashioned baby names going extinctCredit: Getty – Contributor

Baby name expert and co-creator of Nameberry, Pamela Redmond Satran, says: “There are some real surprises on the list, names quite common among grown-up women that are off the table for this generation for babies.

“Carole, the name of Kate Middleton’s mother, is one example I’m surprised to see as literally extinct.

“Same with Carolyn, Debra, Justine, and Lee.”

Using the latest Office of National Statistics data from 2019, it’s possible to see which monikers have not only fallen in popularity, but actually vanished from usage.

While names like Gary and Gemma are losing steam, Pamela points out that there were still 1,200 boys named Gary and 2,000 girls named Gemma in the latest records, which means they’re decades away from disappearing.

She says: “The names most likely to become extinct are those of the current generation of grandparents, born in the 40s, 50s, and 60s.

“It usually takes at least four generations for a name to come back into style, though some, like Bertha and Herman, Myrtle and Morton never make it.”

We recently revealed that the list of most in-demand baby names of 2021 so far is dominated by retro choices like Ottilie, Maeve, Atticus and Ezra.

So parents on a quest to pick something truly unique for their little one might do better to get inspiration from names that have dropped from records completely.

Pamela says: “The list includes some clunkers for both genders: It’s hard to imagine a modern baby named Hepzibah or Cuthbert, though a few decades ago we might have said the same for Hester or Clyde, names that are now hipster darlings.”

Fancy yourself as a trendsetter? Get inspired below…

Extinct baby names for girls

Bertha

Bette

Bettina

Carey and Cary

Carole

Carolyn

Charla

Christa

Claudette

Colleen

Debra

Dorcas

Drusilla

Gail and Gayle

Georgette

Gertrude

Glenda

Greer

Gretchen

Helene

Hepzibah

Isolde

Jacquelyn

Janine and Jeanine

Janis

Jessamine and Jessamyn

Jill

Jillian

Justine

Karena

Kerensa and Kerenza

Kerry

Laverne

Lee

Lenore

Lesley and Leslie

Lettice

Lindsay

Lucretia

Lyn, Lynne, and Lynette

Marlene

Marsha

Martine

Michele

Muriel

Myrna

Myrtle

Nanette

Patrice

Paulette

Phyllis

Pilar

Prunella

Rhonda

Rosamond

Sela

Sheena

Shelley and Shelly

Sherry

Stacy

Extinct baby names for boys

Anselm

Auberon

Beauregard

Broderick

Burton

Cleon

Clifton

Clinton

Clovis

Cuthbert

Cyril

Dwight

Eldridge

Elmer and Elmo

Festus

Fredric

Garrison

Garth

Godfrey

Herman

Irvin, Irwin, Irvine, and Irving

Jabez

Kelso

Lesley and Leslie

Lester

Maynard

Morton

Norris

Norton

Octavius

Orville

Peregrine

Philbert

Pius

Quintus

Randolph

Regis

Roderick

Sherwin

Sylvan

Urban

Van

Virgil

Willard

Winslow

Zephyrus

We spoke to Pamela Redmond Satran, a baby name expert and co-creator of Nameberry

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We spoke to Pamela Redmond Satran, a baby name expert and co-creator of NameberryCredit: Supplied

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