Last updated 21:21, Thursday, 21 August 2008

THIS week I have been reading about the latest trends in babies’ names.

It came as no surprise to discover that names such as Percy, Norman, Ethel and Gertrude have fallen out of fashion - so much so that only two boys were given the name of Norman in 2005 and not a single girl was called Gertrude.

But then, names have always gone in and out of fashion.

My own family tree, for instance reads like the Old Testament, packed with Abrahams, Solomons, Isaacs, Susannahs and two or three called Moses.

Both my grandfathers were William, a name that is apparently always in fashion; but my mother was christened Doris, which even though it is the name of a beautiful Greek sea nymph, is one which I am always glad was not inflicted on me.

Instead, my own name marks me down firmly as a child of the fifties, when I shared classrooms with Christines and Lindas, Janices and Sandras, Keiths and Peters; while my sister, born a decade earlier, had friends called Brenda and Maureen, Sheila and Norma and went to school with umpteen Brians and Kenneths.

Today’s birth announcement columns welcome baby Demi-Jade or Chanice-Marie; while celebrity culture has led to a boom in babies called Sienna or Keira, and even Chardonnay has caught on as a girl’s name, although conversely I don’t think there are many Merlots or Tempranillos around.

The latest addition to our family is baby Evie, whose name is catching on, even though it is a version of Eve, the most ancient of all names for a girl.

Its counterpart, Adam, was one I had in mind for my own first child, although my husband vetoed it on the grounds that it was the name of the worst boy he taught at the time and he didn’t want to be constantly reminded of him (apparently, this is a consideration with many teachers).

I would like to report that the name we chose instead, on the grounds that it was a little bit different, has been welcomed by its recipient, but 30 years on, he still hates it.

For our second child, I was minded to stick with tradition and call him after my dad - but he was given his mother’s maiden name as a Christian name and I don’t think Number Two Son would have appreciated having to go through life as Carruthers Kerrush.