What’s in a name?

Well, according to William Shakespeare, not all that much: a rose by any other name would still smell every bit as sweet, and so on. However, in Anne of Green Gables, we were offered a slightly different philosophy on names, when the titular character declared: “I read in a book once that a rose by any other name would smell as sweet, but I've never been able to believe it. I don't believe a rose WOULD be as nice if it was called a thistle or a skunk cabbage.”

To be honest, we’re tempted to agree with her: names have power. They can tell us if we’re a descendant of the Vikings, call to mind a feminist icon, and (allegedly) spell career success. It is, perhaps, for these reasons that we find ourselves so strangely captivated by lists of unusual baby names, even if we have no children of our own (nor ever intend on having any).

And it is why, when a new study unveiled the baby names which are at risk of extinction, our ears (however unwittingly) perked up.

Friends fans, take note: these 24 baby names are at risk of going extinct in 2017