I’ve been writing blogs about choosing a baby name for a long time now. With the coronation of King Charles fast approaching, I got thinking – will you choose a commemorative name for your baby to mark the occasion? I did some searching and there is some fascinating research on commemorative baby names through history.
As a nation, we have often been influenced by big national events and famous people when naming our babies. These days it’s not unusual to choose a celebrity’s name or a character in a film/tv series. However, in the past, parents sometimes chose names that reflected big events that were going on in the world.
The Victorians
Queen Victoria and the events of her era, were very influential on baby names. Her own name and those of her children became popular during her reign. As did the names of politicians of the time. More unusually, between 1880 and 1902, babies were named after battles in the Boer War. Names included Pretoria, Bloemfontein and Ladysmith.
People named their babies for celebrations as well as war. In 1887 and 1897, on Queen Victoria’s Golden and Diamond Jubilee, newborns were called Victor/Victoria, Diamond or Jubilee.
The poignant names of World War I
The tradition of ‘Battle Baby Names’ really kicked off during the first world war. Tragically, mums would name their children after the battle their father had died in, or the month of his death.
The top battle names between 1914 and 1919 were Verdun (901), Ypres (71) and Mons (58). Famous Generals and wartime heroes were also commemorated with names like Kitchener and Cavell.
Wonderfully though, post November 11th, the names Victory, Peace and Poppy became popular. One baby in Scotland was actually named May Peace Reign.
If you’re interested in reading in more depth about this, try this fascinating article
https://blog.nationalarchives.gov.uk/battle-babies/
So how can we commemorate these extraordinary times?
As a newborn photographer, I’m sure I’ll continue to hear some amazing and poignant baby names, that reflect the recent events we’ve been through. Do you remember the newborn that was called ‘Sanitiser’ to remember the lockdown? It may be a bit easier to call your little one Charles or Charlotte to commemorate the coronation!
You can see all the blogs I’ve written about choosing a baby name here
https://hushabye-photography.co.uk/?s=names
What name would you choose?
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