THE TOP BABY NAMES OF 2009

IT has emerged that Jack and Olivia were the most popular baby names of 2009. Jack, the moniker of Messrs Tweed, Nicholson and Straw, retained its title for the 15th year on the trot. Olivia secured a second successive stint as the girls' favourite having taken over from Grace in 2008. The highest climbers this year were Lucas, which raced 24 places up the charts to make number 15, and Maisie, which rocketed up a staggering 29 places to 41st. Layla also scored well, up 21 places to number 46 while Lexi leapt 18 spots up to number 43. Sienna, the name of movie stunner Sienna Miller, also rose by 15 places in the Top 100 list compiled from a national survey of 580,000 babies born in 2009 by parenting club Bounty. Lola and Madison also rose 10 places and 7 places respectively. The boys list also saw impressive improvements in the ranking of Sebastian, which was up 18 places to number 80 and Joel, which moved from number 93 to 79. Oscar, Noah, Aiden and Logan, are up 13 places from last year's position. Archie is up 12 places. This year's male losers include Rhys and Ryan who saw their popularity drop significantly. Rhys fell 14 places to number 59 while Ryan slumped 13 places to number 26. Alex, Matthew and Kieran also fell by ten places or more. Caitlin, Rebecca and Keira, thanks presumably after being named after English Rose actress Keira Knightley, yet all slipped down the female charts. And Eve, Abbie and Hannah also suffered a bad year.

Faye Mingo, spokeswoman for bounty.com said:- “Parents continue to be influenced by popular culture and celebrity trends relating to films, sports personalities and TV stars. The rise in popularity of the name Lucas could well be attributed to the EastEnders’ preacher turned murder character, played by Don Gilet. Parents also copying celebrities own choices of baby girls’ names. Take for example the popularity of Lola, the nickname of Madonna’s daughter which has continued to rise up the charts in the last decade and Lexi, the name of Amanda Holden and Alex Curran’s daughters.”

There were few changes in the overall top ten for both boys and girls. In the boys list Oliver came second, Charlie was third and Harry was fourth. That means Prince Charles's abbreviated first name gained a one-place advantage on the name of his youngest son. Alfie remained in fifth place, Thomas in sixth and Joshua in seventh while James clung onto ninth, but William rose two places from eighth at the expense of Daniel. The girls list saw Ruby keep second spot despite pressure from Sophie. Grace fell from third to sixth while Mia and Lucy also slipped slightly. Summer, who was a big climber between 2007 and 2008, fell four places. Amelia and Evie both climbed with Evie making the top ten for the first time.

Faye Mingo added that:- “In previous years there has been more movement in the top 10 boys and girls names. The economic downturn could be affecting the mood of the nation and those parents, who would usually be more creative and inspirational about the names they choose for their children, are sticking to safer options. Common baby naming tips often warn against naming your baby something too trendy, unpronounceable or difficult to spell. But, in general whatever name moniker you give your child they always grow up to make it their own.”

New entries in the bounty.com girls top 100 list include Alexandra at number 91, Taylor at 92 and Miley – after singer and actress Miley Cyrus - at 93. Other debutants were Mya, Kayla, Florence and Evelyn. New boys names include Caleb, Louie, Bobby, the name of the late Jade Goody's son as well as Gabriel.

New Year, New Opportunities For Graduates

A new guide for parents of recent graduates written by award winning career coach Denise Taylor was launched today by the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills. The guide aims to help parents support graduates in their search for work and understand the support available.

With the New Year approaching, many graduates will refocus efforts on their job search and the Government backed Graduate Talent Pool website is a great place to start. With around 6578 vacancies and two thirds offering payment, the site matches talented graduates to internship opportunities. Internships allow graduates the opportunity to develop their knowledge, skills and experience in a real working environment and give an insight into what a particular career has to offer as well as being one of the best ways for graduates to improve their employability.

Denise, author of How to Get a Job in a Recession, says:- “Now six months on from their graduation, many graduates may be in need of some family support in their job search. Despite their children being grown up, many parents of graduates are still naturally concerned about their prospects and want to be able to help.”

Minister of State for Higher Education David Lammy said:- “Internships can help graduates kick-start their careers and are part of a package of measures to support them and improve their chances of getting a long term and well paid career. The guide explains all of the opportunities available so that parents and graduates can discuss the options together. Higher education is a long term investment that pays back big dividends over a working lifetime and even in these difficult times graduates do better than those with lower qualifications.”

The ‘Parent Motivators’ guide is available to download for free at:- direct.gov.uk/graduates.