Popular festive-themed names for Christmas babies including Holly, Sprout, Tinsel and - yes, really - Eggnog

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Whether you’re planning to start a family or welcoming a new addition this Christmas, here’s a list of the most popular festive-themed baby names for inspiration

New research has revealed the most popular Christmas-themed names for babies. Data analysts at Findmypast trawled through 14 billion digitised family records to, which include Holly, Tinsel, Sprout and even poor little Eggnog.

The records stretch all the way back to the 1500s, and plenty of surprising first names were discovered by the team. Topping the list is Ivy, with nearly 2.5 million (2,333,758) occurrences in the records.

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Ivy remains a hugely popular baby name today. According to the latest government data from the Office for National Statistics (ONS), Ivy is currently the fifth most popular and most popular festive-themed baby name for a girl in England and Wales.

The name shot up more than 2,000 spots in the space of a generation from 2,165th in 1996 to fifth in 2021, perhaps inspired by the birth of Beyonce and Jay Z’s first-born daughter Blue Ivy Carter nearly a decade earlier in 2012.

Other still popular baby names revealed in the top ten were Angel, which had the second most occurrences in the records (652,337) and Holly, which came fourth (459,150). Holly is also currently the 95th most popular (and second most popular festive-themed) baby name for a girl in England and Wales.

Breaking into the top ten were also a number of more unusual festive-themed first names, including Christmas (9th), Turkey (10th), Present (3rd), Santa (7th), Chestnut (8th) and Wine (6th).

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According to government figures, the most popular days to conceive a child in England and Wales are over the festive period from December 24 - 26, with most children being born nine months later in September.

The records stretch all the way back to the 1500s, and plenty of surprising Christmas-thmed names were discovered.The records stretch all the way back to the 1500s, and plenty of surprising Christmas-thmed names were discovered.
The records stretch all the way back to the 1500s, and plenty of surprising Christmas-thmed names were discovered. | Pixabay

So, whether you’re planning to start a family or welcoming a new member of the family this holiday season, here’s the full list of the most common festive-themed baby names to act as inspiration:

  • Ivy - 2,332,758
  • Angel - 652,337
  • Present - 459,150
  • Holly - 452,011
  • Star - 327,747
  • Wine - 311,116
  • Santa - 157,840
  • Chestnut - 141,666
  • Christmas - 131,926
  • Turkey - 27,550
  • Sleigh - 17,843
  • Pudding - 12,022
  • Crackers - 3,711
  • Reindeer - 3,190
  • Sprout - 2,827
  • Tinsel - 2,634
  • Mistletoe - 2,015
  • Snowman - 579
  • Bauble - 293
  • Nutcracker - 284
  • Mulled - 230
  • Eggnog - 37

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