Hey there Mabel: Retro names make a comeback

FORTY per cent of parents are opting for old-fashioned or retro names like Stanley, Ethel, Alfie and Beryl, with experts citing Downton Abbey as a huge influence.  

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MABEL and Stanley used to be found in bingo halls or on mobility scooters.

But now they are more likely to be spotted in playgrounds and pushchairs, as two in five couples are opting for old-fashioned baby names, according to research.

While parents have been selecting names such as Alfie and Grace for the last decade, the "extreme retro" trend has seen them vying for even more out-of-date options.

British PM David Cameron and wife Samantha appear to be following the fashion, naming their children Florence, Nancy, Ivan and Arthur.

Other celebrities who have opted for older names include Lily Allen who named her children Ethel and Marnie, Bruce Willis - who chose Mabel for his daughter - and singer Dido who decided to call her son Stanley.

The poll of 6227 by parenting site Netmums.com also revealed that one in eight families give all their children names beginning with the same letter, like Wayne Rooney’s sons Kai and Klay, and Kim, Khloe and Kourtney Kardashian. The trend is most commonly used with J and K names.

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However, 12 per cent of parents regret labelling their newborn with a fashionable name - with one in 50 fearing they’ve branded their child as the "new Sharon or Kevin".

Netmums founder Siobhan Freegard said: "The internet is making it much easier for parents to research unusual names.

"We’ve even seen parents putting up polls and crowdsourcing names for their children from others online. It’s clear that fashionable or wacky names are only going to get more common in the playground."

While 85 per cent of parents agree names are "vital" to how others perceive your child, that has not stopped parents making some unconventional decisions.

One in 12 of those surveyed had chosen a colour, with names including Blue, Grey and Red, while one in 50 decided upon an animal name including Bear and Tiger.

And despite potential difficulties, a further 28 per cent of parents have used unusual spellings for their child’s name such as Jaydn and Shanelle. Celebrities remain the biggest influence on names with 53 per cent basing choices on well-known stars.

Around one in five people found inspiration in their favourite books and TV shows while one in 10 used a family name.

Almost 15 per cent of parents claimed they had picked an unusual name as they felt normal names were "dull and overused" while 4 per cent hoped it would ‘make their child stand out’.

But names are becoming a parental battleground, with one in 20 mums seeing a name they had selected "stolen" by a friend - forcing three in five to change their minds.

The study also found parents thought the biggest name trend in 10 years’ time would be 50s comeback names - with Susan, Carol, Paul, David and even Beryl and Barbara coming back into fashion.