Celebrity baby names at risk of vanishing as major actors get snubbed in 2024

15 February 2024 , 09:59

784     0

The name Flo has declined in recent years (Image: Gareth Cattermole/Getty Images)

Despite dominating the limelight, it turns out there are some names of celebrity icons that aren't inspiring new parents.

Parents take inspiration from a number of places when it comes to naming their children - whether that be from popular culture or traditional baby name lists. While 2024 parents are predicted to plump for airy and earthy names such as Storm, Gale and Celeste, it would appear they are turning away from certain celebrity names.

In 2020, ONS data showed that Brits were taking inspiration from singers such as Dua Lipa and Mabel to name their babies. But according to leading parenting site BabyCentre's charts in 2023, a number of names, including Holly and Phillip, plummeted down the list of most popular names.

Not many parents are naming their babies Keanu (Getty Images for Netflix)

And it turns out the trend is continuing into 2024. According to BabyCentre's latest data, which looks at newborn names that have plummeted in popularity, there are certain celebrity monikers that are at risk of going extinct this year. Sharing the data exclusively with The Mirror, BabyCentre revealed which names declined most rapidly between 2022 and 2023.

Interestingly, quite a few of them share names with Hollywood megastars of the past and present. Taking the top spot is Flo, a shortened form of names like Florence and Flora, which means 'blossoming or flourishing'.

Keanu Reeves enjoys 'fish and chips for lunch' during surprise pub visit

This is surprising, because it's also the nickname of English actress, Oscar and BAFTA-nominee Florence Pugh - a name which is on everyones lips at the moment after her jaw-dropping performance in Christopher Nolan's 2023 biopic Oppenheimer. She will also star in Dune: Part Two, where plays alongside Timothée Chalamet and Zendaya.

However, while parents don't seem to like the shortened version, they do like the name in general, with Florence landing the 16th spot for most popular baby names in the UK for 2023.

Meanwhile, the boys name which is having the sharpest drop in popularity is Keanu, which means 'cool breeze' in Hawaiian. So despite being named one of the 100 most influential people in the world by Time in 2022, it turns out people aren't naming their babies after Canadian actor.

Keanu Reeves is most famous for playing Neo in The Matrix, the titular assassin in the John Wick films and as Ted in Bill and Ted's Excellent Adventure. Most recently he made a comeback in John Wick: Chapter 4, with the film going on to receive acclaim from critics. While the name was the 291st most popular name for boys in England and Wales in 2020, according to the NHS, it seems it has massively declined in recent years.

Other celebrity names seeing the biggest decline in popularity are Bruno (Bruno Mars), Buddy (Buddy Holly), Tiger (Tiger Woods), Vivienne (Vivienne Westwood) and Renee (Renée Zellweger).

Speaking about the findings, Chief Marketing Officer, Faye Mingo told The Mirror: "These names might have fallen out of popularity, but they could be the perfect choice for your new arrival if you want a unique baby name. Though these names are familiar, they're likely to be the only child in their class with the name!"

Here is a full list of names which are declining in popularity, and therefore at risk of being extinct in 2024.

Ariane Sohrabi-Shiraz