Analysis of first names - English branches
Some interesting results emerged from an analysis of first names from christening and birth records for members of the English branches born in England (and English citizens who were registered overseas) from 1666 to 1899. The information is based on the data held as at November 2025.
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Elizabeth
Ann
Mary
Sarah
Emma
17
17
12
11
9
The most frequently used female names were:
The most frequently used male names were:
John
George
William
Joseph
27
21
15
10
Nationally, Thomas was one of the top three names for men from the thirteenth to the eighteenth centuries, but it does not appear in the English branches in the UK. By contrast, the Edinburgh & Borders branch in Scotland includes five successive generations of Thomas born from 1633 to 1791.
The high birth and mortality rates together with the limited range of first names meant that some couples re-used the name of a child for a new son or daughter after an earlier child had died. The Burton Joyce branch of the family includes three Williams born to the same parents, in 1831, 1835 and 1836. The last child survived to adulthood.
There was a greater variety in female names in the branches than for male ones over the period of analysis - 40 different names compared with only 26. In both cases, many of the first names only occurred once. The variety of names increased from 1900.
Some of the more unusual older first names in the English branches for men are Jarvis (1775), Amos (1871), Reuben (1874 & 1883), Cecil (1870) and Edwin (1894). For women, Phoebe (1801), Fanny (1868), Ada (1866) and Lois (1872).
From the start of records, most family members were given a single name in addition to their surname, but the quantity of people with at least three names in total increased significantly from the 1940s, peaking at 94% of the family members who were born in the 1970s. When this change is combined with the rare nature of the surnames it means that most members of the English branches born in the UK after 1940 have a unique name - which is unusual in a world of eight billion people.
Although Ann was popular, Anne was not - with only two recorded uses - although the two spellings might have been used for the same name.