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Who's top of 2008's baby-name pops?
TOPPING the charts as the most popular name given to bouncing baby boys born this year in Peterborough is Mohammed, a testament to the city's diverse cultural population.
TOPPING the charts as the most popular name given to bouncing baby boys born this year in Peterborough is Mohammed, a testament to the city's diverse cultural population.The traditional Muslim name hit the number one spot for the second year running above names such as Jack, Thomas and Harry in the list compiled by Peterborough Register Office.
Mohammed, the name of the seventh century prophet who founded the Islamic faith, entered the national Top 20 chart for the first time in 2004 and continues to be a popular choice for parents naming their newborns.
Interim superintendent registrar Rosalind Yardy (53) said: "It certainly does demonstrate the diversity of the communities in the city. I think next year we're going to see different spelling variations highlighting the cultural percentage of the population in Peterborough, and I think we'll see more European names."
Clinching the title of favourite girls' name is Lily, a feminine name from the word for the white flower.
The girls' names in the top three spots were close contenders – Lily won by two and Isabelle pipped Grace to the second spot by three.
Ms Yardy said: "I think people are starting to prefer traditional names – I don't think they're being swayed so much by celebrity names.
"I imagine parents are thinking more about the child having the name not only as a babe in arms, but also as a child and going into adulthood.
"It shows less people are jumping on the celebrity bandwagon and are thinking more about their choices."
Dropping from the fifth position held for the last two years, the name Joshua has slid to 15th place in this year's charts.
Jon and Donna Sandall, from Werrington, Peterborough, fell in love with the name and gave it to their son born on October 3, after months of searching for the perfect name.
Press officer Jon (26) said: "We spent ages thinking about the name, buying books and speaking to people who'd had kids recently.
"Tradition wasn't a massive factor for us, nor were the Bible's religious connotations, we just liked the sound of it.
"Although it's sort of old-fashioned now, it seems to have come back into vogue."
He added: "It's a name he will have for the rest of his life, so picking it was quite a complex thing.
"We also liked the name Jack, but we knew it was an extremely popular name and didn't want him to go to school and be in a classroom with 10 other Jacks, so we settled with it as a middle name."
Peterborough's most popular:
THE most popular names given to babies born in Peterborough's registration district this year, taking into account spelling variations. Last year's placings are in brackets.
Boys:
1. Mohammed (1)
2. Oliver (3)
3. Jack (2)
4. Daniel (-)
5. Charles/Charlie (8)
6. Alexander (9)
7. Thomas (4)
8. William (-)
9. James (10)
10. Benjamin (-)
Girls:
1. Lily (6)
2. Isabelle (-)
3. Grace (3)
4. Jessica (2)
5. Lucy (9)
6. Ruby (-)
7. Sophie (4)
8. Caitlyn (8)
9. Chloe (-)
10. Olivia (5)
Next page: Jack tops the national listJack tops the national list
EVER-popular boys' name Jack dominates a national Top 100 baby names chart, retaining the number one position it has held for 14 years.
In the list compiled by parenting club Bounty, Oliver and Harry scooped second and third place, and Olivia, Ruby and Grace topped the girls' name chart.
Although traditional names are still leading, proving old is gold, some celebrity trends are sneaking into the charts.
As Disney High School Musical films storm the movie charts, Zac, the name of lead actor Zac Efron, has made its Top 100 baby name debut, along with American favourite Cody.
Meanwhile, the usually popular name Amy has dropped three places to 23, which could indicate the demise of singer Amy Winehouse is affecting parents' choices.
Good old-fashioned name
Andy Plaice and Maria Thompson, from Gretton, near Stamford, not only chose a chart-topping traditional Christian name, but also an old-fashioned middle name for their blue-eyed baby boy.
Jack Arthur Plaice was born on the luckiest day of the year – August 8, or the 8/08/08, which is linked to good fortune by many cultures.
Maria said: "I've always liked the name, it's very traditional. We didn't want to go down the route of following celebrity trends.
"When you're naming a boy, you have to think of him as a man and give him the right name which won't embarrass him.
"There's no family significance, we just really liked the name Jack and it's very popular."
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Thursday 24 May 2012
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