What are British babies called?

We get a list of the most popular baby names of the year at the end of December. They don’t change much.

The most popular boy’s name is Jack. It has been the most popular name for 15 years now. The next name is Oliver, followed by Charlie, Harry and Alfie.

The most popular name for baby girls is Olivia. It has been at the top for two years now. The next name is Ruby, then Sophie, Chloe and Emily.

The top girls and boys’ names are all quite old. Most of them were popular about a hundred years ago. One name which should appear in the top names is Mohammed. It is very popular. But Muslim families did not want to take part in the survey.

Names which are becoming more popular include Lucas for boys and Maisie for girls.

Rewards from the Queen

One unusual thing about Britain is our “honours system”. Twice a year the Queen announces a list of people who have done good work. This can be as volunteers or in their jobs.

They will go to Buckingham Palace to get their “honour”. There are several different sorts of these. They could be given the title of Sir or Dame, or could just get a medal and some letters after their name.

The New Year honours list includes lots of ordinary people who have worked hard. The best-known person on the list is probably the actor Patrick Stewart, who appeared in Star Trek as Captain Picard. He now becomes Sir Patrick Stewart.

New underwear for men

Marks and Spencer is a chain of shops which sells most underwear in the UK. It is about to start selling T-shirts for men which make them look slimmer.

This could be very popular after the Christmas holiday when many people eat too much. The new T-shirt is very tight and pulls in any fat.

No baby for Van Morrison

The website of singer Van Morrison said he had become a father to a new baby in his 60s last week. This surprised lots of people. One of the people it surprised was Van Morrison himself.

The singer, who is very private and hates publicity, had to announce that the story was not true. Someone had attacked his website and put up a false story.

by Susan Young
susan@englishuk.com