Mum with ‘extinct’ name sad to see it vanish ‘like dinosaurs’ and calls for a resurgence

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A mum with an ‘extinct’ name was saddened to learn it had fallen so far out of favour, with no registrations at all this year, and hopes to see it make a much-deserved resurgence

Stacey Dennis was saddened to learn her first name was on the brink of vanishing altogether, set to go ‘extinct’ alongside the likes of the once popular Lindsey and Kelly. After finding out her name had been included on a list of monikers that clocked up precisely zero registrations in the UK this year, Stacey, 37, now hopes it will one day make a comeback, urging people to ‘be more Stacey, be less Karen’.

As a child, mum-of-one Stacey wasn’t all that keen on her name, as she couldn’t find a keyring with her name on it. Once she grew up, however, she grew to like having a name you don’t hear all the time.

Although there are plenty of iconic Staceys out there, from Stacey Dooley to Stacey Solomon, the name hasn’t had much love in recent years, with American-style monikers having fallen out of favour in the UK. The mum didn’t know of any other Staceys growing up, and still doesn’t know of many.

Speaking with the Mirror, Stacey, from Pontefract, said: “I always get called Tracey, and I’m like, ‘It’s Stacey!’ And there are a couple of variations, and you can’t really shorten it.

“I like it now as an adult, I’ve gotten over myself, but as a kid, I didn’t, just because it’s not as popular. As an adult, I do, probably for the opposite reasons of why I didn’t like it as a kid.”

She added: “It sounds a bit classier than Tracey, I guess!”

Although Stacey is unsure of the exact story behind her name choice, she says her parents Steve and Shirley – now also an endangered name – gave her a name beginning with ‘S’ to match her older brothers. She was very nearly named Shelley, but her older cousin was given the moniker first.

Stacey was surprised to see her name included on the list, adding: “I didn’t think it was that bad! I thought it was quite a nice name. I’m not surprised really at Barbie being on the list. But no Staceys in a year, what’s happening there?

“I think we should start flying the flag for Staceys, maybe it’s a campaign I’ll have to do!”

Interestingly, Stacey – who is a graphic designer by trade – now runs her own business, Love Layla, which stocks various name-related merchandise. This includes merch centred around ‘Karen’ memes, as well as products relating to the name Gary, which Stacey says is ‘the new Karen’.

Stacey has previously fielded ‘ironic’ complaints from disgruntled ‘Karens’, many of whom aren’t too keen on the negative connotations of the now-dwindling name.

Addressing younger people who might feel self-conscious about having a lesser-used name, Stacey urged them to ‘just embrace it’ and to ‘enjoy the uniqueness”.

She continued: “I’m really sad to see Staceys are going the same way as the dinosaurs. I want to see ‘bring back Stacey!’ I want to see loads of people named Stacey next year!”

Going forward, Stacey is now even considering starting up a hashtag, with a campaign encouraging people to ‘not be a Karen, be a Stacey instead’.

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