Revealed
NAME SHAME
These are the shock meanings behind some very common baby names… and parents might not be too pleased
Emily, Leah, Molly, Calvin and Jacob have all been found to have unfortunate meanings
THERE is a lot to think about when choosing a name for your baby boy or girl.
To make matters even more complicated, has now revealed the very unfortunate meanings behind some of Britain’s most popular kids’ monikers.
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After scouring through baby name books, the lifestyle magazine discovered Emily, Leah, Molly, Rebecca and Claudia all have shocking meanings.
Emily is the English version of the Latin "Aemilia" which comes from the word for “rival”, while Leah translated into Hebrew means “tired or weary”.
Molly means “bitter”, Claudia derives from the Latin for “lame” or “disabled” and Rebecca is defined as “to bind or snare”.
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10 girls names and their unfortunate meanings
- Emily - from the Latin for "rival"
- Leah - from the Hebrew for "tired or weary"
- Molly - means "bitter"
- Claudia - from Latin for "lame" or "disabled"
- Rebecca - means "to bind or snare"
- Cecilia - from Latin for "blind"
- Lola - means "lady of sorrows"
- Mary - from Hebrew for "bitter"
- Deirdre - means "sorrowful" or "the sad one"
- Dolores - the Spanish name sadly means "lady of sorrows"
The pretty-sounding Cecilia means “blind” in Latin, Lola stands for “lady of sorrows” and Mary translates to “bitter” in Hebrew.
And the boys don’t get off lightly either.
Calvin is derived from the French “chauve” meaning “bald”, and the Scottish moniker Cameron means “crooked nose”.
Jacob means “supplanter” – someone who takes the rightful place of someone else.
We previously revealed the most popular boys' and girls' names in the UK in 2016, with Olivia holding on to the top spot.
6 boys names and their unfortunate meanings
- Calvin - derived from the French "chauve", meaning "bald"
- Cameron - the Scottish name means "crooked nose"
- Doyle - the Irish name translates to "dark stranger"
- James - means "supplanter", who takes the rightful place of someone else
- Tristan - means "sorrowful" or "sad"
- Kennedy - means "deformed head"
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Meanwhile Oliver has jumped a place to become the number one choice for boys, followed by Muhammed, Noah, Harry and Jack.
In second place for the girls was Lily (third most popular in 2015), then Sophia, Emily, Amelia and new entry Ava.
The research, conducted by global parenting site , showed more new parents are taking inspiration from the world of celebrity and showbiz and the great outdoors for their kids’ name choices.
Traditional, nature-inspired names like Lily, Poppy, Daisy and Holly have all seen their positions rise within the top 50.
Top 10 girls' baby names in 2016
- Olivia
- Lily
- Sophia
- Emily
- Amelia
- Ava
- Isla
- Isabella
- Isabella
- Sophie
Top 10 boys' baby names in 2016
- Oliver
- Muhammed
- Noah
- Harry
- Jack
- Charlie
- Jacob
- George
- Ethan
- Henry
George has risen four places to take a spot in the top ten for the first time since 2012, while Harry also continues to rise, appearing in the top five this year with a jump of two places from 2015.
Other royal names continue to rise – Charlotte has shot up ten places and Kate and Catherine have also seen a boost, though William has fallen slightly from 13th to 19th place.
