How To Write Historical Romance Novels

Regency Names for Boys and Girls -First and Middle

" A List of Regency names for boys and girls- First names only or middle names. "

As I have said, I hate coming across anachronistic names. I have been asked several times by other people for a list of the most popular names so as well as my own researches here's a list of the top 50 given names compiled from the research of Leslie Alan Dunkling who has written a number of books on names, including the excellently informative work 'The Guinness Book of Names' which I thoroughly recommend for excellent research and a good laugh at times as well. Below is a table with the top 50 names given at birth in 1800

Eight out of ten babies before the twentieth century tended to be named from among the top ten names; this is apparent in the letters of Jane Austen where the same names tend to occur. Girls are more likely to be given names outside this list than boys. Note that many of the girls' names are actually derivative; only Harry on the male list, a diminutive of Henry is so. Female names had already diverged enough that eg Ann and Hannah, Harriet and Henrietta were already separate name

Diminutives used for everyday which may have also been given at birth:

Elizabeth: Eliza, Lizzy, Liza, Beth, Betty, Betsy

Mary: Molly, Polly, Minney

Margaret Maggie, Meg, Peggy

Catherine/Katharine: Kitty, Kate

Frances: Fanny

Sarah: Sally

Ann: Nancy, Annie, Nan, Nanny

Male

Female

1 William

26 Mark

1 Mary

26 Fanny

2 John

27 Michael

2 Ann[e]

27 Eliza

3 Thomas

28 Ralph

3 Elizabeth

Grace

4 James

29 Jacob

4 Sarah

Sally

5 George

30 Andrew

5 Jane

30 Rachel

6 Joseph

31 Moses

6 Hannah

31 Lydia

7 Richard

32 Nicholas

7 Susan

32 Caroline

8 Henry

33 Anthony

8 Martha

33Dorothy

9 Robert

34 Luke

9 Margaret

34 Peggy

10 Charles

35 Simon

10 Charlotte

35 Ruth

11 Samuel

36 Josiah

11 Harriet

36 Kitty

12 Edward

37 Timothy

12 Betty

37 Jenny

13 Benjamin

38 Martin

13 Maria

38 Phoebe

14 Isaac

39 Nathaniel

14 Catherine

39 Agnes

15 Peter

40 Roger

15 Frances

Emma

16 Daniel

41 Walter

16 Mary Ann

41 Amy

17 David

42 Aaron

17 Nancy

Jemima

18 Francis

43 Jeremy

18 Rebecca

43 Dinah

19 Stephen

44 Joshua

19 Alice

44 Barbara

20 Jonathon

45 Alexander

20 Ellen

45 Joan

21 Christopher

46 Adam

21 Sophia

46 Joanna

22 Matthew

47 Hugh

22 Lucy

47 Deborah

23 Edmund

48 Laurence

23 Isabel

Judith

24 Philip

49 Owen

24 Eleanor

49 Bridget

25 Abraham

50 Harry

25 Esther

Marjorie.