Why 'Keira' and 'Mohammed' are hot British baby names

[quaoar]

They've had their heroes in the past, from statesman Lloyd George to filmmaker Lean, and from soccer star Beckham to rock star Bowie. But now the name that means "beloved" seems to have lost the nation's affection. For the first time in more than 50 years, David no longer appears in the list of top 50 baby names.



QUEEN VICTORIA: Fewer girls are being named after her.
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http://www.csmonitor.com/2005/0114/p01s04-woeu.html

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Nowadays, a British boy is far more likely to be called Kyle or Dylan than Peter or Paul, neither of which feature in the top 100. And significantly, Mohammed, with its differently spelled variants, is now the fifth most popular given name in the country, with more than 5,000 babies named for the founder of Islam last year.

According to recent surveys, many of Britain's old favorites, names which have ruled the roost for centuries, are being supplanted by an eclectic mix of the exotic and trendy. At the same time, traditional biblical names like David and John are falling on hard times, but a new crop of scripturally inspired names - like Joshua and Joseph - are climbing the charts.

Experts point to a number of reasons for the trend. They say parents still want names that express solid moral and spiritual values, perhaps because of the uncertainty of the times. But they also want uniqueness, bringing in a whole new slate of names to challenge perennial favorites.
< snip >

[SmokingJacket]

1. Too bad. I love the name David!

Much nicer than Kyle... no offense to all you Kyles!

[NYC]

2. Names go in and out of fashion.

[Bombtrack]

3. Kiera is kind of an ugly name

and I can already tell that the actress who's caused the name boom is not going to be considered nearly as hot in a couple years. She's losing that early college-age chick something something and her best feature is her artificial lip curl.