English in Madrid

Muhammad overtakes Noah as most popular boy's name Muhammad was the top choice for parents naming their baby boys in England and Wales in 2023, with more than 4,600 children registered with the name. It has been among the top 10 names for baby boys since 2016, but has now overtaken the previous favourite, Noah, according to the Office for National Statistics (ONS). There is , however , a level of regional variation with Muhammad not appearing in the top 10 for three regions of England. Other spellings of the name Mohammed and Mohammad also made the top 100 list for England and Wales. The ONS considers each spelling as a separate name, with different variations of Muhammad proving popular in previous years. Olivia remains the most popular choice for baby girls, followed by Amelia and Isla. These top three have remained unchanged since 2022. Hyphenated names jumped in popularity for girls last year, standing at more than 19,140 names, up from around 12,330 the year before. ...

Source: Marc-Olivier Jodoin en Unsplas h Spanish parents fight for right to name their son 'Wolf'  New parents Ignacio and Maria are furious after be ing told that "Lobo" - meaning Wolf – was not an appropriate name for their newborn son.  Like many new parents, Ignacio and Maria, from the Madrid suburb of Fuenlabrada had already chosen a name for their first son before he made an appearance in the world on July 12. “We decided some months ago to call him Lobo, because of our love for this beautiful animal and because as a name it is unique and full of character. We want to bring   our son up  with values such as respect, love, equality, love of animals and nature, justice, kindness,” the baby’s father explained. But he was informed by the Birth registry in Fuenlabrada that he could not officially name his son Lobo because it “was offensive to the child”. “After ten days arguing with officials we were then told that it is because Lobo is a common s...

Source:  Alejandro Barba on Unsplas h Beckham baby: Why the middle name Seven?   David and Victoria Beckham have named their fourth child Harper Seven. Does their unusual choice of middle name reflect a modern trend ? The Beckhams' sons are Brooklyn Joseph, Romeo James and Cruz David, but for their first daughter, the celebrity couple have decided to hold back on her first name and go freestyle for her second.  As with the birth of their boys, the papers and internet are buzzing with theories on why the Beckhams chose Harper Seven.  Harper has become an increasingly popular name in the US, where the family are now based. It was the 887th most popular for a girl in 2004 but rose to 119 last year.  Seven has been the focus of speculation. There are suggestions it was because she weighed 7 lbs 10 oz , arrived at 0755 LA time and was born in the seventh month, but the number also has great significance for her father, who played number seven shirt for Manch...

Mothers ' in charge of baby names' Researchers found four out of ten fathers are forced to back down and let their partners select the name. It also emerged the average couple consider 12 names before selecting their favourite, but a quarter do not make their final decision until after the baby is born. The report, commissioned among 3,000 parents by Bounty Parenting Club, also disclosed that a third of couples fall out over their newborn's name. Faye Mingo, spokeswoman for Bounty, said: ''The name game is a debate which often lasts the whole nine months of the pregnancy and causes the most upsets as couples fail to agree on the best name for their new born. ''It's understandably one of the hardest decisions mum and dad will ever have to make – largely because we do judge a person by their name before we've even got to know them. ''As well as finding a name both partners like there are still loads of other factors parents h...

'Most unfortunate names' revealed What do you call some of the most unlucky people in Britain? Justin Case, Barb Dwyer and Stan Still. It sounds like a bad joke, but a study has revealed that there really are unfortunate people with those names in the UK. Joining them on the list are Terry Bull, Paige Turner, Mary Christmas and Anna Sasin. And just imagine having to introduce yourself to a crowd as Doug Hole or Hazel Nutt. The names were uncovered by researchers from parenting group TheBabyWebsite.com after trawling through online telephone records . Retired airman Stan Still, 76, from Cirencester, Gloucestershire, said his name had been "a blooming millstone around my neck my entire life". "When I was in the RAF my commanding officer used to shout, 'Stan Still, get a move on ' and roll about laughing ," he said. "It got hugely boring after a while ." But 51-year-old Rose Bush, from Coventry, West Midlands, said s...

Source: Jon Tyson en Unsplash Did you know that David Bowie was not born with that name? He was born David Robert Jones. Would he have achieved fame and fortune had he kept his original name? Here is a list of names with a clue. Can you guess how they are better known by? Allen Konigsberg swapped his wife for his adopted daughter. Camille Javal was an icon but now devotes much of her life to animals. Cherilyn Sarkisian was part of a double-act and accepted her Oscar in a revealing dress. Caryn Johnson's most famous roles are that of a psychic and a nun . Reginald Dwight was made a Sir after singing at a famous friend's funeral. Edith Gassion was nicknamed "the little sparrow ". Richard Starkey was part of the Fab 4. Frances Gumm dreamt about a land over the rainbow . Maurice Mickelwhite started his career in the 60s and is the butler of Batman. Thomas Woodward's "It's not unsual" was a hit over 40 years ago. What else do you kno...