Baby names inspired by Derry Girls are becoming increasingly popular

While Derry Girls helped revive ’90s nostalgia and long-forgotten fashion trends, it’s also inspired a new generation of baby names, according to an Irish baby store.

With the third and final season of the hit Channel 4 show set to air in April and May, research from Bella Baby suggests the names of the famous five characters are trending across the UK and Ireland.

The baby products retailer said that through an analysis of the most popular baby names and Google Trends, it has noticed that more and more newborns have been named after the stars of the quirky Northern Irish sitcom over the past 12 months.

According to the stats, the maiden name Erin, also the name of the leading lady of Derry Girls, has risen four spots in the last year and its overall UK ranking is 58 out of 5493.

The name comes from Éirinn, the dative of the Irish name Éire.

Another Irish name, Orla, also known as Erin’s confused cousin on the popular Derry programme, has risen six spots in the same period and is 72nd in the UK.

The traditional Gaelic spelling Órlaith comes from Órfhlaith, meaning “golden princess”, as it combines “ór” for gold with “fhlaith” for prince.

video of the day

Órla is just a shorter variant of this, but technically, taking the fada away from Órla means vomit in Gaelic – possibly a funny fit when it comes to the Derry Girls’ eccentric Orla.

The name Clare – played by Bridgerton’s Nicola Coughlan on Lisa McGee’s sitcom – has climbed 1,386 spots in the last year, and his overall ranking is 2,615.

From the feminine form of the Latin adjective ‘clarus’, it has the meanings ‘bright’ and ‘clear’, which goes well with Clare, the Derry Girls’ brainbox.

Both the names Michelle and James are Hebrew, and the former has risen 87 places in the last 12 months, to an overall ranking of 393 in the UK.

The name Michelle is the anglicised version of the French name Michele, the French feminine form of Michel, derived from the Hebrew name Michael meaning ‘who is like God’ and the cheeky character of the same namesake – played by Derry’s own Jamie-Lee O’Donnell – there is no lack of a superiority complex.

The character’s cousin James stayed the same in last year’s baby name rankings, finishing 24th out of 4608 in the UK and Ireland overall list.

It means “supplanter” or “replacement” and a fitting substitute for another Derry girl he is.