Stop what you're doing: we’ve just reached peak Corbyn. We thought we hit it this weekend when the Labour leader became the star of Glastonbury, what with the chants of “Oh Jeremy Corbyn” and reports that he drew a bigger crowd than headliners Radiohead.
But no. So how do we know Corbynmania has reached new heights?
Apparently more than 50% of parents would consider naming a child Corbyn after the Islington North MP, according to a survey by Channel Mum. 15% said they would also consider the name Jeremy.
The survey of 1,305 parents across the UK suggests the beginning of a bizarre politically inspired baby name trend that could overtake the recent craze for animal-themed names.
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Siobhan Freegard, founder of ChannelMum.com, said: “Corbyn is the stand-out naming trend this year, and we expect to see lots of babies over the election period named after the Labour leader,” reported the Huffington Post.
The trend is revealing because names “reflect both changing fashions and our changing society”, Freegard added. However, she cautioned against naming a child after a politician on a whim. “Remember a week is a long time in politics and your child will have that name for a lifetime, so do consider the effects of naming a child after any politician.”
Fewer of those surveyed said they would consider the name May (38%) but its popularity is stronger and more stable than Theresa, which only 4% of parents would choose for a newborn. The names Boris (as in Johnson) and Diane (as in Abbott) also proved unpopular.
A third of parents said they would consider the name Cameron. One can only hope they weren’t considering picking it as a tribute to the disgraced former prime minister.
Nearly a quarter (23%) of parents said they had noticed other parents choosing politically inspired names in recent times – could the seemingly never-ending cycle of national ballots be to blame?
Other current baby name trends highlighted by the research included surnames as first names (noticed by 66% of parents), traditional English names (61%), gender-neutral names (41%), and names with an 'x' in them (35%).
The survey also made some predictions about upcoming baby name trends. Along with political names, Channel Mum reckons there will be an increase in Viking/Scandinavian-inspired names, "tough" names, Muslim names among non-Muslim families, '70s-inspired names and names inspired by places in the US. Hey, anything's better than baby Boris.
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