Americans share baby names that scream 'I'm British' - including Harry and Gemma
Popular baby names differ from country to country with many going in and out of fashion over the years. While all parents have different reasons for choosing a particular moniker for their child, we’re probably all influenced - subconsciously or not - by where we live.
According to research by the website Baby Center, Lily, Olivia, Liam, and Noah all sit in top positions in the UK and US in 2023, however, there are some names that people believe clearly say they’re from Britain or America.
In a thread started on the social media site Reddit, one person asked: “What names scream ‘I'm British’ to you?” The top reply, voted for more than 2,000 times, was Gemma. One person replied: “It’s definitely not as popular these days, I’m assuming because it was done to death when I was at school in the 80s/90s, I’m 40 now, and there were just so many girls named Jemma/Gemma at that time.”
Discussing that theory, one person wrote: “US name trends really aren't influenced by UK ones and vice versa. Jessica is very 70s and 80s in the US, but it seems to have gotten popular this last time much later in the UK. And Gemma has literally never been popular here, so Gemma would be adjacent like Emily and Emilia and Emerson in theory but didn't get used.”
Discussing their own version of the name Gemma, an American added: “It’s like Ashley, no one is calling their kid that anymore because it was once so popular. I worked with five at one point and three of them spelled it differently. No lie we had Ashley, Ashley, Ashlee, Ashleigh and Ashlie.” And another UK resident chimed in with: “Everyone in England has a friend, sister, cousin or niece named Nicola.”
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Discussing boys' names, one Brit joked: “While we’re at it - Harry. You know this is British because most Americans seem to say it like 'Hairy'. Also, the sheer amount of Harry's who are British, including Harry Potter.” And someone else suggested: “Nigel, Humphrey, George are all very British. Always makes me think of words like ‘smashing!’, ‘spiffing!’, 'Care for a spot of tea luv?'”
The name Louise started a small debate between users, with one person suggesting it was a peak UK moniker, stating that practically every girl had Louise as a middle name. However, a US resident replied: “Nah, that's huge in the US too.” But someone else countered, “I think it’s often Lou. BettyLou, MaryLou, etc., but those are older generation names.”
One name that was previously warned of going extinct in the UK, Gary, was also cited as being typically British, however, someone disagreed, adding: “When most people in America hear Gary, they think of SpongeBob's pet snail. Not British.”
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