Australian baby names you never hear anymore
There’s been an upswing in “unique” names in the past decade, but these are the Aussie baby names you’re less likely to hear now.
What’s in a name, hey? Quite a bit, surely.
While there’s been an upswing in “unique” names in the past decade (promoted by the Kardashian-Jenner family and their ever-expanding brood) and Ava, Charlotte and Noah remain popular, a thread in the “We grew up in Australia in the 70s & 80s” Facebook page attracted close to 1000 comments after it asked which baby names from that era we no longer hear down under.
And while they say everything that’s old will eventually become new again, we’d bet the days of when every name could be shortened – with a double z added in the middle (Dazza, Gazza, Bazza) – won’t be making a comeback any time soon.
Behold, some of the top “forgotten” names – and probably those of your parents’, or your own, closest friends – of ye (not quite) olden times.
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BRETT
“I had five Bretts and two Joannes in my class at school,” one man wrote on the thread.
“No one calls their baby Brett anymore.”
Well, no longer. Your kids are much less likely to have a classmate named Brett in their midst, with the name of Kim’s better half (and Sharon Strzelecki’s unrequited crush) on Kath & Kimnow ranking at 820 on What To Expect’slist of this year’s 1000 top baby boy names.
SHIRLEY
Everyone – and I mean everyone – surely has a great aunt, second cousin or well-meaning neighbour whose name is Shirley. But for people who are “currently baby naming”, this particular moniker – which apparently means “bright meadow” – hit its peak in the mid-1900s and has been on a downward slide ever since.
CLINTON
Naming your son after a “hilltop town” or the last name of the former president is no longer in vogue, it seems, coming in at number 1834 on a list of popular boy names in 2020.
“I named my son Clinton 14 years ago … not unheard of, but very rare in his age group,” wrote one woman, while several others put it forward as well.
SHARON
Shazza! While historically a masculine name, the popularity of this moniker (cemented in Aussie minds by the iconic, aforementioned Ms Strzelecki) was at its highest in the 1960s, when it was the 10th most popular female name in the UK. Unfortunately, Kath and Kim couldn’t save the moniker: it had dropped to 17th position by 1974 and has declined ever since.
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GREG
Judging by the comments on this thread, boy’s names that started with G – Gary, Geoff, Glen – were in their heyday back in the 1980s. Chief among them was Greg (or Gregory), which was boosted into popularity by the likes of actor Gregory Peck (making it one of the ten most common male names in the US). Sadly, the name is no longer as beloved as the former yellow Wiggle.
SANDRA
According to website Nameberry, “2012’s Hurricane Sandy blew away whatever style currency Sandra retained from its 1960s Sandra Dee heyday”. I don’t know about you, but I can’t imagine looking down at my future infant daughter and thinking she looks like a “Sandra”.
RELATED: ‘Old-fashioned’ baby names back in 2020
HONOURABLE MENTION: KAREN
Kazza! A lot of people suggested this one on the Facebook thread – but 2020 has proved the name Karen is far from lost in our collective consciousness.
It not only copped a barrage of online mockery this year – becoming the pejorative term to describe an “angry, entitled” white woman of privilege who will often want to “speak to the manager” to complain about the tiniest inconveniences – but research in early December showed it’s still one of the world’s most popular monikers.
There are about 3,049,118 Karens out there in the world, making it the 151st most popular name globally – plus, it nabbed third place on the list for the world’s most popular Festive Baby Names of 2020.
So hold onto your blunt haircuts, boys and girls – this one might just make a comeback yet.
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