Am I on the way out?
YOU’D be amazed at some of the stuff that lands in my email box.
Some of it interesting, some of it newsworthy, some of it rude, some of it downright bizarre.
This has been an average week. But, to give some examples, I’ve received messages about ‘six dangerous foods’, ‘most goals scored by pink football boots’, ‘nine foods which cause a bad night’s sleep’, ‘nine edible flowers’ . . . and (cue drum-roll) ‘why I’m about to become extinct’.
The last one grabbed my attention , if only for its use of the word ‘extinct’.
The email clarified: “Despite there being more than 730,000 people with the name Robert in the UK today (and almost 40,000 across Wales) it seems the name is on its way to becoming extinct.
“Only 511 of you were born last year – the second lowest number since 1926.”
The downward trend has sparked a new campaign by a bakery with a name which begins with the letter R (you guess!).
They want to celebrate more of the nation’s most ‘Remarkable Roberts’.
The bakery’s PR guru said: “There are many famous Roberts flying the flag for their namesakes all over the world – such as British actors Carlyle, Coltrane and Pattinson and their US counterparts Redford, Downey Jnr and De Niro, and musicians Williams, Plant and Palmer.”
In the 1940s, Robert was firmly within the top five boys’ names in England and Wales before dropping into the top 20, where it stayed until the early ’90s.
Even in 1996, there were more than 2,600 babies born with the name, but since then its popularity has dwindled - down as low as 115 in the popularity charts.
According to baby name expert SJ Strum: “The name Robert means Bright Fame, so surely that is worth saving from extinction!
“It is making a quiet comeback online with mentions picking up on baby name forums, some even saying it has ‘sex appeal’.
“And there is no doubt Tiktok star Robert Georges has certainly given it plenty of teen swagger.” Interesting stuff?
As a 60-something digital dinosaur, I have to ask the question: what is Tiktok?