New parents naming babies after politicians

New parents are electing to name their children after politicians - with Corbyn the hottest new baby-naming trend, a study has found.

More than half of parents are now considering using the name Corbyn for their next child following the Labour leader’s post-General Election popularity surge.

The name had soared 50 per cent in popularity between 2014 and 2015 - the last year naming data is available - but is set to see an even sharper rise over the next 12 months.

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The study found more than a quarter of parents are now inspired by politicians when choosing a name for their baby.

Four in 10 claim May is a definite option, although only four per cent intend to call their new-born Theresa.

Cameron is the next most popular name, liked by a third of parents, followed by Jeremy, enjoying fresh popularity with 15 per cent of families.

However, only five per cent will consider naming their baby Boris or Diane, six per cent Donald and just one per cent believe Nigel will become a fashionable name again.

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Nicola is becoming a more popular name in Scotland, with 13 per cent of mums and dads claiming they would use the name, compared to 12 per cent of parents choosing Leanne in Wales.

Across Britain, 1,305 parents were asked which names were increasing in popularity in their local area.

The fastest-growing up-and-coming trends revealed in the poll by parenting site ChannelMum.com include Muslim names going mainstream.

Six per cent of parents quizzed revealed more non-Muslim families using Muslim names.

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The most commonly-used Muslim monikers include Zane, Zahra, Ayesha, Farah, Anila, Omar and Jana.

One in ten has seen an increase in babies with ‘tough names’ including Axl, Maverick and Diesel, and by contrast, Unicorn names including Rainbow, Twinkle, Sassy, Sparkle and Princess are also beginning to gain popularity.

Football ace Paul Pogba and Towie star Sam Faiers have helped to re-popularise the name Paul, with one in 25 parents seeing it used again.

There is also renewed interest in others 70s names including Michelle, Susan and even Gary.

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And Viking and Scandi names are on the march, with Magnus, Agnes, Linnea, Freya, Annika, Astrid and Britta more popular, according to 13 per cent of parents.

Meanwhile, the more bizarre name phenomenons include text-message abbreviation names like Ily - meaning I Love You - spotted by one per cent of parents - and three per cent who have seen US place-names including Texas, Miami, Arizona and Tennessee used as baby names.

However, the most common current trend is surnames as first names.

Two thirds of parents report this is on the rise in their area, with top names including Cooper, Grayson, Parker, Quinn, Jones, Carter, Mason, Jackson, Hunter, Riley.

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Traditional but not twee English names are undergoing a revival, with 61 per cent of parents embracing monikers including Sarah, Penelope, Emma and Lucy.

The rise of gender-fluid culture means Gender Neutral names are becoming more popular. Alex, Charlie, Elliott, Ellis, Max and Sydney are among the names spotted more often by 41 per cent of parents.

And while it may be the least-used letter of the alphabet, X names are in-vogue, with Jaxxon, Xanthe, Xander and Jaxton the most picked for new babies, and voted more popular by 35 per cent of parents.

Meanwhile, 16 per cent of mums and dads have seen a flood of babies with water names including River, Lake, Delta and Coast, while 13 per cent report meeting tots named after the film Frozen, such as Elsa, Kai, Anna and Olaf.

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However the study also showed the most disliked baby name trend is text-message names, shunned by 71 per cent of parents, followed by double-barrelled names such as Lily-Mae, which half of parents refuse to use.

A further 44 per cent wouldn’t name their child after a sports team while 38 per cent loathe unusual or unique spellings. And the Kardashian trend of using the same first letter for each child was turned down by 27 per cent of families.

Siobhan Freegard, founder of ChannelMum.com, said: “What’s in a name? Well rather a lot.

“Names reflect both changing fashions and our changing society, such as the rise in use of many beautiful Muslim names.

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“With 70 per cent of families believing their child is judged on their name, a vast amount of love, care and attention is poured into picking the right moniker

“Corbyn is the stand-out naming trend this year and a strong name encompassing both the surname as first name and political name trend.

‘’We expect to see lots of babies conceived at Glastonbury or over the election period named after the Labour leader.

“But remember a week is a long time in politics and your child will have to have that name for a lifetime, so make sure you are sure before naming them after any politician.”

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