Many parents take weeks or even months to decide on a name for their baby. How do you pick the perfect moniker for your little one, knowing it will stick with them for life?
Prospective parents can browse the top baby name lists, paying attention to which names are currently the most popular, but they might also consider keeping an eye on the other end of the scale to see which ones are falling out of favour.
As reported by The Mirror, one woman has shared why she's "relieved" her name might not be used any more. Carolyn Creel, a psychic medium and declutterer, recently learned from The Mirror that her name was one of those at risk of extinction with parents.
In fact, many baby names are set to go extinct in 2023 as hardly any registrations have been made for them over the past few years. As well as Carolyn, the list includes the likes of Debra, Gladys, and Meryl for girls, and Billie, Chandler, Greg, Stevie, and Walt for boys.
Carolyn said there was no upset or offence caused by this – instead, she felt quite the opposite. She has told of her relief at the name fading away as she'd suffered for years with people mispronouncing it and spelling it wrong.
The 57-year-old from Yorkshire said: "For me it’s quite a relief that Carolyn isn’t going to be used any more! Firstly, no one can pronounce it – I’m always called Caroline – and no one can spell it either.
"I’m not at all upset or offended, it’s just evolution. Look at all the names which are coming back in to fashion! My new granddaughter has just been named Nellie – you wouldn’t have seen that a decade ago."
She continued: "Now, I really don’t mind my name in general, I certainly don’t dislike it though the constant incorrect spelling of it can be annoying. This is especially the case in America as they pronounce Caroline as Carolyn. I like that it’s not a bog standard name though, it’s a little bit different and there aren’t loads of Carolyns about.
"I do think that as an adult, you just take it for granted that your name is your name, and don’t think too deeply about it. You grow into your name, and embody it."
There were 80 names in total on the list of those set to go extinct and it was put together by the team over at Pregnacare by Vitabiotics. To do this, they analysed government data from 1996 to 2022 looking at the number of babies born with each name every year and picked out those with fewer than three births
They then used this information to predict the names that will be the least popular in 2023 and are at risk of disappearing altogether. The full list includes:
Names for girls about to go extinct
1. Averly
2. Brydie
3. Carolyn
4. Cecile
5. Cheryl
6. Cheyanne
7. Christie
8. Collette
9. Debra
10. Delphina
11. Evaleigh
12. Flossie
13. Georgette
14. Gladys
15. Hally
16. Harpreet
17. Jackie
18. Jules
19. Julianne
20. Junie
21. Justina
22. Kenzi
23. Lilliah
24. Loxley
25. Luanna
26. Meryl
27. Norina
28. Olivine
29. Paignton
30. Peggie
31. Perl
32. Pixi
33. Ryley
34. Sharlene
35. Shelly/Shelley
36. Shyanne
37. Sigrid
38. Tammy
39. Teigen
40. Tessie
Names for boys about to go extinct
1. Alexandro
2. Billie
3. Brad
4. Braydan
5. Brent
6. Chandler
7. Darnell
8. Drake
9. Edmond
10. Elbert
11. Elija
12. Finch
13. Finneas
14. Fitzgerald
15. Frazier
16. Greg
17. Harrie
18. Izac
19. Jamiel
20. Kegan
21. Kennie
22. Kristopher
23. Lamar
24. Larenzo
25. Neville
26. Nial
27. Phillipp
28. Raymon/Ramon
29. Remie
30. Rhiley
31. Rhuben/Reuban
32. Roderick
33. Stevie
34. Stone
35. Tyreese
36. Walt
37. Wes
38. Wiley
39. Yusif
40. Zachery
