No one wants a baby Nigel, but is your name under threat of extinction?

BERYL’S in peril and we’re hearing a lot less of Lester as a roll call of once-popular names join Nigel on the extinction list.

Yesterday we revealed that no one is making plans for Nigel, with a total of zero babies given the moniker last year, according to figures released by the Office for National Statistics.

Now we reveal the names in danger of disappearing, while one famous Nigel argues for the name’s return.

Among the 696,271 babies born in England and Wales in 2016, the most popular names were Olivia, Amelia, Oliver and Harry.

But while Vernon, Dermot and Cilla might be associated with prime-time telly, no tots at all were named after those showbiz stars.

Nigel Farage has argued for the name’s return, writing: "I played no part in the fact the name was heading towards extinction. I take no blame for anything pre-2014.

"But what with the Brexit vote and my part in that, to call any child Nigel would be an unfair burden.

There are trends with names. Nigel rose in ­popularity in medieval times. Robert the Bruce’s brother was called Nigel.

"The name came back in the post-war baby boom. It lasts into the 1970s".

He continued: "Famous Nigels such as Nigel Benn and Nigel ­Mansell were of that era.

"In politics it suited me to have an unusual name – but younger supporters do not use the full word.

They say, 'Hello, Nige.'”
"If, in a few years’ time, Brexit is viewed as the best decision Britain ever made, Nigel may well7 come back into fashion."