NEWS EYE: Baby names reveal depth of covid impact

Friday 05 March 2021

The recently released list of 2020's most popular baby names tell only half the story, News Eye can reveal.

When diving into the full names given to babies, the impact of the pandemic - and also popular culture - runs deep.

It seems that parents have been deeply affected by the many messages, guidelines, rules, regulations, signs to do this and warnings not to do that - so much so, that it’s influenced the choice of names for the group of new-borns known as ‘corona-babies.'

‘Eva’, for instance, was in the top ten of girls names last year but, when adding middle names, the actual choice of parents was, in fact, Eva Wear-A-Mask-Or-Get-Lost.

Another popular name was Polly, but a deep dive into the official registration documents shows that Polly Meraise-Chain-Reaction was the unabridged choice of parents.

The same goes for other popular 2020 choices:

• Flo was actually Flo Test-Device.
• The full name for Amber was Amber Region.
• Adding middle names, Astra was officially Astra Zeneca.
• Willow was short for Will-Ow Ners-Of-Venues-Please-Respect-Social-Distancing.
• Niamh was for Niamh Me-Alone-And-Keep-Your-Two-Metres.
• Sonny was a short version of Sonny Tise-Your-Hands-Before-Entering.
• Isa was actually Isa Laychun-For-Two-Weeks, Please. 
• Locke was, in fact, Locke Down-Inevitable-If-You-Continue-to-Party.

Eminent baby-name expert Sir Kitt Breaker said that clearly the pandemic had had a profound impact on new parents and their naming choices. 

“We now have a generation of corona-babies who will always remember the unusual year of their birth, not only with their unique name but also because of their lack of Christening presents,” he said. 

One young couple, speaking to our News Eye reporter, shared the dilemma of naming their son.

“When we saw his plump little face for the first time, we wondered, is he a Reg U-lation or a Guy D-line? We just couldn’t decide? Reg or Guy? Guy or Reg? In the end, we went on gov.je to establish he was just a Guy D-line, so that’s what we called our gorgeous boy.”

Also, with George and Lucas being the top two most popular boys’ names, it appears that Star Wars heavily influenced the names of babies born in 2020, possibly as dads remember with fondness IV-VI and, less so, I-III. 

A nursery nurse confirmed to News Eye that George and Lucas were just the tip of the Hoth iceberg when it came to islanders giving their children names related to the famous cinematic franchise.

Pictured: Did parents binge-watching Star Wars films or the Mandalorian influence their 2020 baby naming habits?

“Yes, just look around this room of new-borns,” she said, pointing towards a line of tots in cots. “Over there you have young C3 Priaulx, next to R2 Dutot, Boba Fiott, Chew Becquet, Obi Wan Quenault-Bee and Kylo Renault.

“And by the window, you have the twins: Diego Barr and Admiralak Barr.

“Much as I like Star Wars, I’m looking forward to normal names, like Harry, Ron, Hermione and Albus being popular again.”