Annemarie Quill: Names fall victim to fickle fashion

NAME GAME: Kim Kardashian and Kayne West have named their son Saint.

"I think it's so stupid. It's the stupidest thing ever."

Earlier this year that is what Kim Kardashian had to say about rumours she planned to call her second child South West.

Instead they named their baby son, born this week, Saint.

There's a politics about baby names which all should know. When someone tells you what they are going to name their baby, never comment anything other except to say adorable or something along those lines.

The Department of Internal Affairs' annual list of the top names is always much scrutinised, and is a sign of how fickle fashions can be in names.

Charlotte was the most popular girl's name this year, but was 98th 100 years ago in 1915, while the most popular boy's name in 2015 - Oliver - didn't even register in 1915.

The most popular names 100 years ago were Mary and John.

You don't hear of that many Mary and John babies these days although those names are not on the list of 15 names which are on the verge of dying out altogether. A list of baby names previously considered to be among the most popular could soon be forgotten. The list, compiled by baby naming website Nameberry.com includes boy and girl names all of which have previously been ranked among the top most used baby names, reported NZME. The likes of Nanette for girls and Llewellyn for boys feature on the doomed list. As does Elmo - once popular as an Italian form of William. It shows how a name can go in and out of fashion quickly if it gets an association in popular culture - the furry red monster with the annoying voice from Sesame Street clearly did the name no favours. And SpongeBob's mate Gary the snail has not boosted the name's status. This week the UK's Daily Telegraph reported new statistics that showed how some names have slid in popularity. In the UK in 2014 only 33 babies were called Gary. Kirsty and Stacey had also fallen significantly.

Conversely the Daily Mail reported that Britain has gone from no girls reported with the name Harper to hundreds.

Rihanna, Hermione and Paris are also recently popular names in the UK reported the Mail.

Pet names too have changed dramatically over the years. It is all over for Rover. We recently reported the most popular pet names in the Bay to be Bella, Charlie and Poppy, reflecting the fact perhaps that these days pets are considered like an extra child.

One of the more bizarre annual name surveys claims to reveal names of children likely to be naughty or nice. Personalised stickers from company School Stickers which are given as rewards in schools were logged by popularity. This revealed that this year Leah is the naughtiest girls' name and Joseph is the naughtiest boys' name. The nicest girls' name is Anna, and for boys it is Harry, according to School Stickers.

No mention of Saint on the good list but the naming of the latest addition to the Kardashian clan could mean Saint will be on the popular list in future years.

Whether baby Saint can live up to the name remains to be seen. I am sure every wrong turn he takes will make for some terrible puns on his name.

It is going to make the directions he takes in life even more scrutinised. He might grow up wishing they had just gone with South.