If you want to call your new baby something different, forget about Brooklyn, Apple or Sunday. Virtually no parents - not even celebrities - are choosing old-fashioned names such as Norman, Gertrude or Edna.
Old lady's names such as Amelia and Charlotte are back in fashion along with old men's names such as Jack and Fred. But it seems that some old names are beyond the pale.
In 2005, the last year for which full records are available, only two boys in England were registered with the name Norman (one in Shropshire, one on Tyneside). According to a new survey by gurgle.com, a social networking site for new parents, there were two girls named Edna and no Gertrudes.
The Daily Mail prints a full list of the declining names.
The decline of these old favourites appears to break the 100-year rule of naming cycles, under which grandparents' and great-grandparents' names become trendy again. In 1907, almost 2000 boys were called Norman and more than 1,000 girls were named Gertrude.
There has also been a sharp decline in the once-common name, Richard.
So why is Norman no longer the norm, and what's so dicky about Richard?
