The Children's Mutual Reveals The Most Popular Baby Names In The UK

Released on: September 24, 2009, 7:01 am
Author: The Children's Mutual
Industry: Financial

According to research by The Children's Mutual, leading Child Trust Fund (CTF) provider, Jack and Olivia have maintained their position as the most popular baby names in the UK for a second year.

Jack leads the pack at the head of the Top 10 boys' names, which have remained the same for the past two years. However, a review of almost 150,000 new CTF account holder names revealed that the girls' names are more imaginative, varied and less traditional than the boys' names.

With newcomers Amelia and Evie entering the list this year, the Top 10 girls' names has had new entrants for the last three years despite Olivia clinching the top spot for the last two. Ava, Freya and Isabelle have entered the Top 20 for the first time. However in contrast, there have been falls for Grace, Lucy, Katie and Megan during 2009.

Within the top boys' names there are some signs of influence from celebrity names, with Lewis racing into the Top 20 and both princes' names, William and Harry, staying in the Top 10. Harry Potter also appears to have had some influence, with Harry and leading actor Daniel Radcliffe's first name both having moved up the chart.

Tony Anderson, Marketing Director at The Children's Mutual, said: "We've had lots of new children on our books in the past 12 months, with almost 150,000 new accounts opened, and it's always interesting to see how the trends in babies names change each year. We realise that choosing a name can be daunting for parents as they want to give their child the best start in life.

"As well as the choice of name, parents should also be considering their child's future and how they plan to save for important milestones such as university or a first car. If parents top up their child's CTF monthly by £24 - the average amount saved by customers - these 2009 babies could receive a lump sum of over £9,750* when they reach 18."

Child Trust Funds are designed to provide a tax efficient, long term savings vehicle for all eligible children. Each eligible child (born on or after 1 September 2002) receives a £250 (£500 for low income families) Child Trust Fund voucher from the Government when their parents register for Child Benefit. The Government will make a second contribution of £250 (£500 for low income families) when the child reaches seven and potentially a third in the child's teenage years.

Parents, family and friends can then add to this account up to a maximum value of£1,200 each year.

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Notes to editors
Research based on 149,847 new customers joining The Children's Mutual August 2008-09.
* Projected value based on £24 monthly investment (plus initial £250 Government voucher and another £250 at age 7) for 18 years in a stakeholder CTF account - assumed investment return of 7% per year with charges of 1.5% of CTF account value each year. Projected values cannot be guaranteed because the value of shares goes up and down. Final payout could be more or less than this.

About The Children's Mutual - Home of the Child Trust Fund
The Children's Mutual's mission is to help parents, grandparents, family and friends fulfil their hopes for today's children. The Children's Mutual is the only UK company which specialises in long term savings for children and is now the choice of 1 in 4 parents for their child's CTF, with more than 700,000 accounts. This expertise has led several financial institutions and family-focused high street retailers to choose The Children's Mutual as their stakeholder Child Trust Fund provider.

The Children's Mutual has won the Moneyfacts Award for Best Child Trust Fund Provider every year since its 2006 launch.

The Children's Mutual PR contact:
Katie Donlan
Consolidated PR
22 Endell Street
London
WC2H 9AD
020 7781 2376
www.thechildrensmutual.co.uk