Last updated 14:08, Thursday, 08 January 2009

POPULAR CHOICE: Myleene Klass and her baby daughter Ava

By Claire High

WHAT’S in a name? Well quite a lot when you think about it.

If you only knew someone’s name and nothing else, you could quite accurately predict their gender, age and, in some instances, perhaps even their class.

Chances are a lady called Ethel might well have a few years on a youngster with a moniker such as Jai, Tai or Jayden – all names which seem increasingly popular in the last couple of years.

A quick name check of my colleagues in the features department at the Mail, only goes to prove my point – as well as one Claire (your’s truly), there is a Debbie, a Susan and two Peters.

The youngest of us is in his early 30s, while the eldest is mid-50s. But I bet you could already guess that?

Still not convinced? Well pop round the corner to the news department and you might spot Molly, Amy or Sam, our young reporters who are all in their late teens and early 20s.

Mind you only Amy’s name still makes an appearance in parenting group Bounty’s top 100 list of names for boys and for girls for 2008, though the name has slipped three places to 23 – perhaps due to singer Amy Winehouse’s fall from grace last year?

In Britain it seems that many of our name choices are dictated by the celebrity’s baby name choices – the most popular name in the North West last year was Ruby – surely no coincidence that this was the name singer Charlotte Church gave to her first child.

Ava – the name of Myleene Klass’s daughter – also jumped 15 places to 19th last year.

Meanwhile Take That singer, the lovely Mark Owen, recently called his baby girl Willow Rose and experts predict a huge increase in the popularity of the name Willow this year, as thousands will doubtless take inspiration from their favourite singer.

Royal names seem to be an enduringly popular choice for boys – both Harry and William are still in the top 10 boys names, for the umpteenth year running, though Beatrice and Eugenie are noticeable by their absence.

Apparently in America in 2008 there has been an upsurge in the number of parents calling their newborns Barack after the new president elect.

Not sure it will catch on here. We don’t seem to look to the world of politics when it comes to names for our beloved off-spring.

Even in happier times Tony didn’t make it into the top 100 list, so with the credit crunch biting hard, I don’t think poor old “Gordo” has chance of knocking Jack off the top spot for boys this year, do you?