Olympics have Lasting legacy in Shape of Baby Boom
The feel-good factor generated by last summer’s Olympic and Paralympic Games will lead to a baby boom and a surge in Olympic-inspired baby names in 2013, according to parenting and pregnancy website BabyCentre.
Registration data obtained from the BabyCentre website for the last six months of 2012, shows a 15 per cent increase in women in the early stages of pregnancy signing up to the BabyCentre website in August and September – the period directly after the Olympics – compared to June and July, the period preceding the Games.
And not only have our Olympians inspired a generation, but it looks like they’ve helped to create – and name one – too.
Additionally, year-on-year figures show that August and September registrations were up nearly a third in 2012 compared to 2011.
Looking at traffic to the BabyCentre site, the main page for women wondering if they may be expecting – the ‘top 10 signs of pregnancy’ page – experienced a significant spike in traffic on 13 August, the day after the Olympic Closing Ceremony - a spike that was not exceeded for the remainder of 2012.
A survey conducted amongst 1,400 expectant BabyCentre members suggests that an Olympic baby boom will also impact on the names parents chose for their new arrivals this year.
Of the pregnant women surveyed that were still pondering names for their little one, Jessica (47 per cent), Bradley (18 per vent) and Ellie (18 per cent) were the most popular London 2012-inspired names under consideration.
Sarah Barrett, Managing Editor of BabyCentre said: “The numbers say it all, this year we will see an Olympic baby boom in the UK - what Boris Johnson said back in August 2012 was right.
"And not only have our Olympians inspired a generation, but it looks like they’ve helped to create – and name one – too.
“Jessica has been a popular choice for some time. In 2012, Jessica reached number eight in the baby name charts and we’re expecting to see it enter the top five this year.
"And whilst the name Bradley used to be popular in the early 2000s, it’s dropped out of the top 100 in recent years - but, thanks to Wiggins, we do expect to see it back in the baby name chart in 2013.”
Of the mums surveyed, nine out of 10 said that they expected to see an increase in Olympic-inspired baby names this year. For the girls, Jessica, Ellie and Victoria were voted most likely to be adopted by new mums in 2013 and for baby boys, the names Bradley, Oscar and Tom are all expected to experience a surge in popularity.
Have you named your child after an olympian? Tell us in the comments below or tweet us @FemaleFirst_UK