Alarming baby name trend on the rise as parents unwittingly inspired by true crime are giving newborns the same monikers as famous murderers
The explosion in true crime documentaries and dramas over recent years means the names of infamous murderers, scammers and thieves are fresh in our minds - and making their way into baby name lists.
According to BabyCentre UK, names linked to headline-grabbing criminal cases, true crime celebrities and viral scandals are trending, even if parents might not realise the origins of the names.
The pregnancy app has revealed that monikers like Freddie and Rose are increasingly popular, as well as names like Ted - unwittingly reminiscent of serial killers Fred and Rose West and Ted Bundy.
SJ Strum, BabyCentre UK's baby naming expert and author, said: 'These names aren't being chosen because of crime. More often, parents are unconsciously absorbing popular culture, and these names creep into our minds via gripping TV, podcasts and viral content.
'It's a fascinating lens on how culture shapes language and by extension, baby names.'
But the rise true crime-inspired baby name trends comes alongside an increase in classic, celestial and high society-inspired names emerging this year, BabyCentre UK added.
SJ Strum said: 'Names flow in and out of style, and popular culture plays a huge role in shaping the baby names we see rising. We often choose names in tune with what's happening in the world around us as we welcome our little ones. For example, Evie, the newest addition to Peppa Pig's family, is a perfect short and sweet vintage pick that's now soaring in popularity.
'We've also seen an uplift in names honouring the late Queen, like Eliza, Elsie, and Elizabeth. Royal-inspired names remain strong year-on-year: from Charlotte, Zara, and Mia, to George, Harry, William, Charlie, and Archie. Even Princess has seen a surprising comeback, as the nation rallied around Princess Kate during her recent cancer treatment.'
The top names linked to some of the most scandalous true crime figures in BabyCentre's top 100 baby names 2025 are:
Anna
Inspired by the 'Fake Heiress' Anna Delvey, a con artist who posed as a wealthy heiress in New York from 2013 to 2017.
She defrauded major financial institutions, banks, hotels, and individuals out of millions of dollars and was the subject of the 2022 hit Netflix series Inventing Anna.
Arthur
Inspired by Arthur Leigh Allen, the only named suspect in the shocking Zodiac Killer series of murders that took place between the late 1960s to 1980s.
He repeatedly denied the allegations and died in 1992, and the identity of the Zodiac Killer remains a mystery until today.
Last year, he was discussed in a three-part Netflix docuseries titled This is the Zodiac Speaking.
Bella
Inspired by Australian wellness scammer Belle Gibson, who falsely claimed she was diagnosed with brain cancer but had cured it with alternative therapies and healthy eating.
Having conned millions of Instagram followers into believing her story, Belle successfully launched a recipe app and cookbook and claimed she was donating most of her profits to charity.
The Netflix series Apple Cider Vinegar tells the story of her rise and fall.
Erin
According to BabyCentre UK, the name 'Erin' has been unwittingly inspired by the high-profile murder case against Erin Patterson, an Australian woman who has been accused of cooking deadly mushrooms and feeding them to her relatives.
She was charged with the murders of her in-laws, Don and Gail Patterson, as well as Gail's sister Heather Wilkinson, who all became sick and died days after she cooked them lunch. She denies the charges.
The trial continues.
If these two names together ring a bell, it may be because of the infamous English serial killers Fred and Rose West.
Together, the pair committed at least 12 murders of girls and young women between 1967 and 1987 - including Fred's stepdaughter, Charmaine.
Fred died by suicide while detained on remand, before he could be sentenced, while Rose was sentenced to 10 life terms with a whole life order.
They recently became the focus of Netflix series Fred and Rose West: A British Horror Story.
Joseph
BabyCentre UK says the name 'Joseph' - while sounding innocuous enough - is a nod to Joe Exotic, the self-proclaimed 'Tiger King' who was the subject of a 2020 Netflix series of the same name.
He was suspected of hiring hit men to murder Carole Baskin, a rival to his big cat zoo business, and was convicted and sentenced to 22 years in prison for animal abuse and attempted murder.
Luca
The name 'Luca' may be a variation of 'Luka', after Luka Magnotta of the viral true crime docuseries Don't F*** With Cats: Hunting an Internet Killer.
In 2010, Luka shared a video of himself cruelly killing two kittens, which sparked an online manhunt by amateur sleuths.
He went on to commit the grisly murder of a student from China named Jun Lin in 2012, for which he was convicted and sentenced to a mandatory life sentence and 19 years for other charges.
Teddy
The name brings to mind soft, cuddly bear toys, but BabyCentre UK believes 'Teddy' is also surprising spin on notorious serial killer Ted Bundy.
Bundy famously abducted, raped and murdered dozens of young women and girls between 1974 and 1978, and has been the subject of numerous true crime series and podcasts.
In 2019, he was portrayed by Zac Efron in the film Extremely Wicked, Shockingly Evil and Vile.
Ruby
Inspired by Ruby Franke, the subject of the viral documentary Devil in the Family which charted the vlogger's journey from creating content about her picturesque Mormon family to her imprisonment for child abuse.
She initially posted parenting content and videos of life with her husband and their six children, but after meeting a woman named Jodi Hildebrandt, things took a much darker turn.
Her daughter Shari Franke also recently wrote a book about their experience titled The House of My Mother.
Ronnie and Reggie
The names Ronnie and Reggie are particularly recognisable in the UK because of the Kray twins, Britain's most notorious gangsters.
Ronald Kray and Reginald Kray ran a gang called The Firm, based in Bethnal Green, from the late 1950s until their arrest in 1968.
They were involved in an array of crimes, including murder, armed robbery, arson, assault, and protection rackets.
Tom Hardy portrayed them both in the 2015 film Legend.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Times
15 minutes ago
- Times
Financial Ombudsman Service boss paid £230,000 after ousting
The ousted head of the Financial Ombudsman Service received a pay-off of almost £230,000, it has been disclosed in the annual report. Abby Thomas, who left abruptly on 6 February, was paid £229,869 in severance payments on top of her normal salary. The payoff included £100,000 for loss of office, £107,692 in lieu of notice and £22,177 for a period of gardening leave that began on the day she left, the FOS said. MPs on the Treasury select committee have hit out at the manner of her departure and criticised the FOS chairwoman Baroness Manzoor for refusing to answer questions on why Thomas left and whether she was forced out. The FOS, which rules on complaints by consumers about financial services firms and can set compensation orders, is under pressure to reform. Rachel Reeves has pledged to curb its powers so it no longer acts like a regulator after complaints from the industry that it has increased the cost of 'mass redress events'. It has been dealing with a significant rise in claims, mainly related to car finance loans, but also because of concerns about other consumer loans and more people complaining about banks' handling of frauds. Dame Meg Hillier, chairwoman of the Treasury committee, said this month: 'The handling of this situation by the senior leadership has been deeply disappointing.' Thomas, a former Virgin Media executive, served for less than three years. She has been replaced by James Dipple-Johnstone as chief ombudsman and Jenny Simmonds as interim chief executive. Manzoor is due to retire on August 1. The FOS received 450,000 new inquiries in the year to March, up from 330,000. The motor finance industry is braced for a judgment from the Supreme Court this Friday that could determine the scale of compensation payments for failing to disclose commissions paid to dealers.
Times
28 minutes ago
- Times
NatWest faces questions over links to collapsed 79th Group
NatWest is facing scrutiny over its relationship with a collapsed £200 million investment group which insolvency practitioners suspect was a Ponzi scheme. 79th Group attracted thousands of investors from the UK and overseas, before collapsing into administration in April, two months after the City of London police announced an investigation into a 'suspected widespread fraud'. The company has denied wrongdoing. Insolvency practitioners estimate 79th Group owes more than £200 million to about 3,700 people. Some investors have life savings at risk. The matter was raised in parliament this month. The 'main account' of the group was held at NatWest, according to administrators from Kroll and Quantuma. It is understood that the relationship originated at the bank's Southport branch, which is near 79th Group's Merseyside head office. The bank also holds an outstanding charge over a 79th Group entity which was first registered 20 years ago. That company went into insolvency in May. Investors' funds were paid into a 'treasury account [and then] transferred out to other entities', administrators said in a recent report to creditors. They are investigating the 'flow of funds'. Investors' money does not appear to have been 'ring-fenced' and was instead 'pooled' in group accounts. No formal loan accounts appear to have been recorded or board minutes yet identified relating to the management of investors' money, insolvency practitioners have claimed. The bank declined to answer a series of questions over its banking relationship with 79th Group, including how much money was received and processed by the bank; whether it had continued to receive investor funds after the arrests; whether it had failed to detect serious irregularities; and whether NatWest was investigating. A NatWest spokeswoman said: 'Combating fraud is a top priority and we are committed to preventing criminal activity. We will not make any further comment on this case.' Contractual agreements between the group and investors stated that funds would be used for specific projects, including a £250 million holiday park in north Wales and a mining venture. City of London police said in February that four people had been arrested and that 'a large amount of cash, luxury watches and jewellery were found during searches of properties, all of which were seized'. All people arrested have been released on bail and inquiries continue. There have been no charges. The Times reported this month that 79th Group's board included a former senior HM Revenue & Customs official who was in charge of combating fraud for the tax office. Andy Cole, former director of specialist investigations at HMRC, was a non-executive adviser. There is no suggestion of wrongdoing by Cole or that he is being investigated. He has not been arrested. Administrators from Grant Thornton have told 79th Group investors that 'we believe this is a Ponzi', the term for a fraudulent investment scheme in which early investors are paid with money from later investors rather than legitimate business activities. Banks have a regulatory duty to counter the risk that they might be used to further financial crime. Lenders face strict 'know your customer' and anti-money laundering rules; adherence requires due diligence, transaction monitoring and reporting of suspicious activity. Three sets of insolvency firms are engaged on the case. Administrators are liaising with NatWest over the outstanding charge owed to the bank, which has said it is not in a position to release it, according to its report. In 2021, NatWest was fined £264.8 million for anti-money laundering failures related to the gold trading business Fowler Oldfield. This month Barclays was fined £39.3 million for failing to tackle financial crime risks in its dealings with Stunt & Co, which received £46.8 million from Fowler Oldfield.
Daily Mail
an hour ago
- Daily Mail
Beloved ITV detective show slapped with 'trigger warning' for crime scenes in 'woke' move
ITV 's Inspector Morse has been slapped with a 'trigger warning' in a move that has been branded ' woke '. The popular series now features a pre-warning for crime scenes throughout the show, which seems to have caused a stir with people online. The streaming giant also advises there are 'satanic images' in one episode of the drama. It then has a parental lock on the episode, titled Day of the Devil. Inspector Morse first aired from 1987 to 2000, with a total of eight series. Other episodes also feature a warning over crime and violence. The popular series now features a pre-warning for crime scenes throughout the show, which seems to have caused a stir with people online Speaking about the update, Senior MP Sir Alec Shelbrooke slammed: 'This is another example of soft-touch Britain seeping into everything. 'We're just going to be laughed at as a country if things like this continue, because nobody's prepared for the real world where there are no.' Daily Mail has contacted ITV for comment. In the past, it has said about general alerts: 'Programming that contains politically sensitive or distressing themes, content, or language has carried appropriate warnings since our launch.' Just a few weeks ago, Netflix bosses axed an iconic moment from Pride and Prejudice to avoid 'objectifying men'. The unforgettable scene of Mr Darcy - played by Colin Firth - emerging from a lake was all the rage in 1995. But show bosses have confirmed it will not resurface in the forthcoming version of the rom-com. According to reports, many fans will be disappointed as the famous BBC scene is said to have 'got millions of women hot under the collar'. A source told The Sun: 'It is also credited for sparking subsequent moments of male objectification on screen - likes Aidan Turner's famous topless scything scene in Poldark.' It's claimed that Netflix bosses 'don't want a repeat'. The saucy scene soon became one of the most favourite TV scenes, however it didn't actually feature in Jane Austen's original 1813 story. Arguably the most iconic wet shirt ever worn sold at auction for £25,000 - double its estimated sale price.
