Popularity of forenames.

[SRD]

I've been puzzling as to why the name Winifred seems to have become suddenly popular in the early years of the 20th century, maybe it's only in the Sussex area that I'm currently studying but has anyone else noticed it? I wonder if anyone has any explanations as to why Winifred should suddenly become so popular?

[Northern Lass]

Moved to Misc.

[snoopysue]

I read an article some years ago about the use of forenames (albeit a Danish article, but I suspect the principles apply). One of the conclusions was that when the last generation to have a particular forename dies out, it then becomes popular again.
The other thing they looked into was whether the forename you were given was likely to affect your chances in life - the conclusion was that it did, although they asked the Danish footballing brothers Michael (late of Swansea FC fame) and Brian Laudrup whether they had experienced different treatment. Michael is considered a better class of name than Brian - the later being associated, rightly or wrongly, with lower intelligence, dice hanging from the rear view mirror etc etc, and if they were female would have danced round their handbags! The brothers said that they hadn't experienced any difference in the way they were treated, and felt that their accompishments were purely a result of their respective talents.

[gardener]

There seems to have been a national peak too


Winifred births in each year (from Ancestry BMD)

1895 92,634
1896 98,793
1897 105,539
1898 112,753
1899 120,137
1900 126,618
1901 131,840
1902 136,692
1903 141,737
1904 134,547
1905 147,474
1906 145,962
1907 143,699
1908 140,412
1909 135,712
1910 136,794
1911 123,213
1912 109,123
1913 94,930
1914 67,931
1915 65,674

[SRD]

The Brian thing was to do with a series of TV ads featuring a gormless character called - 'Brian'.

[snoopysue]

The Brian thing was to do with a series of TV ads featuring a gormless character called - 'Brian'.

Don't know whether they had that ad in Denmark - if it's old probably not, as 25ish years ago there was only one Danish tv channel and that was ad free!

[SRD]

That's interesting, do they have the name Brian in Denmark?

[snoopysue]

That's interesting, do they have the name Brian in Denmark?

yep!
Most english names are used, and strangely (in my mind at least), is when people are christened with what to me is a diminutive - so Dan instead of Daniel, and Tommy or Tom instead of Thomas. For some reason the danes can't get their heads around it. When I first moved here, I said to call me Sue instead of Susan at work, the reply was "Oh you mean like Sue Ellen" - Not surprisingly I'm known only as Susan at work.

[gardener]

Only Brians here are foreign. There is a government department to prevent the use of names which don't obey Icelandic grammar rules.
There is a Bambi though

[SRD]

Sorry to harp on about it, and the Danes also see Brian's as being dim-witted do they? Here it's only been since the ads, before that, although it had gone out of favour being more popular in the between war years, it tended to be used by aspiring lower middle classes, for some reason or the other there were quite a few teachers, actors, scientists, usually grammar school types etc.

[snoopysue]

Only Brians here are foreign. There is a government department to prevent the use of names which don't obey Icelandic grammar rules.
There is a Bambi though

There are approved names in Denmark too, so no silly popstar's giving weird names. Although there was one poor child who had to wait several years before he officially had a name. His parents wanted to call hiom Christopher - no problem there. I Denmark it's normally spelt Kristoffer, so this kids silly parents decided they wanted to spell it Christophpher (may have been with a "K" rather than "Ch"). It took long enough to get approval that the child in question got used to not officially having a name.
And then there are surnames - if you've got a rare surname, it's protected by law, so the rest of the family have to agree, if someone wants to share their name! Not a problem in Iceland though, where everyone is someone's daughter or son! That's an option now legal again in Denmark (not easy for family historians though!).