Beer and great sporting moments are inspiring baby names

New parents find inspiration in sport, music and beer when naming their babies (photo: Adobe)

New parents are turning to beer, music and sport for baby name inspiration.

"What's in a name?” Juliet famously asks in Shakespeare’s iconic tale of star-crossed lovers.

Rather a lot of thought and deliberation, it seems, especially when considering what to call our children.

From sporting moments and famous faces to family tradition and the sway of fashion, much is at play in this process.

Parents can spend a long time thinking of a name for their baby (photo: Adobe)

Some parents are influenced by drama when considering their child’s name.

The UK’s most popular baby name from TV is Jax from ‘Sons of Anarchy’, according to a study by Confused.com.

Its silver screen equivalent is Logan from the film, ‘X-Men’, with 1,679 babies bearing the name in 2020.

Musical inspiration

Others look to the world of music and perhaps their own idols for a namesake.

The research, which analysed Office for National Statistics (ONS) data, unveiled Willow, Florence and Ariana as the most popular music-inspired baby girls’ names for 2020.

Willow was popularised by the singer Willow Smith; Florence, known from the band, Florence + the Machine; and Ariana, made famous by singer Ariana Grande.

Top of the boys’ list was Zayn, inspired by One Direction’s Zayn Malik. The name, meaning ‘beauty, grace,’ was the fastest rising in popularity in 2016 - the year after Zayn left the boy band.

This was followed by Lennon, in honour of the late great Beatle, John, and Hendrix, after legendary guitarist, Jimi.

The most popular boys’ names this year are Noah, Oliver, Leo, Theo and Finley, according to the ONS.

Olivia heads up the girls’ list, followed by Amelia, Isla, Ava and Mia. It remains to be seen what impact the passing of Queen Elizabeth II may have on this roll call in the near future.

Sporting glory

Sport is a source rich in namesakes for future generations; between 2000 and 2021, tennis player Andy Murray inspired more baby names than any other sports star, with 492 infants being given his surname as their first name, according to Betsperts.

Its research also revealed the famous sporting moments that have inspired UK baby names - with Gerrard rocketing by more than 300 percent in the year after Steven Gerrard captained Liverpool to Champions League victory in 2005.

‘Thierry’ almost doubled following French forward Thierry Henry’s involvement in Arsenal’s invincible season of 2003/04.