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Research released today by findmypast.com, the leading UK-based family history website, has discovered that more and more of us are naming our children after our heroes from the worlds of music, showbiz and sport.

For girls born after 1984, Kylie is the most popular 'musical' name, with 7,261 young ladies named after the diminutive diva. In contrast, the more outrageous Madonna only manages 288 namesakes, also being beaten by both Shakira (2,614) and Britney (1,611). However, the most popular 'up and coming' girls name is Kiera, with 6,074 being named since Ms Knightly came to our attention in 2002.

Amongst showbiz stars, Keanu Reeves can rest assured that he has the most number of namesakes amongst the UK population, with 1,120 little Keanu’s residing around the country – dwarfing the 426 Dre’s who come second in the 'showbiz names' list.

Unsurprisingly, sport features heavily in the list, with 1,191 Tiger's pushing Mr Woods into overall top spot for male namesakes. In addition there are three David Beckhams, 39 Gazza's, two Reeboks, three Adidas and a mix of 26 boys and girls named Arsenal.

Says Sarah Malone, Marketing Executive at www.findmypast.com, "It seems that many of us are happy to take hero worship to a whole new level, naming our children after the stars we admire. However, it would appear that the famous British sense of humour is alive and well, with six parents naming their son Gandalf, along with one Harry Potter and two Supermans. Even celebrity kids are inspiring ordinary parents around the country, as we also have 28 Brooklyn's, two Apples and 472 Peaches."

Findmypast.com provides easy, online access to a wide range of historical records and a high level of advice and support to professional, amateur and novice family historians. You can check out how many people share your name at http://www.findmypast.com.

The full list, female:

The full list, male:

For further information, please contact:
Vicky Perry/ Erica Gyualafia
Lansons Communications
0207 566 9708/9714
vickyp@lansons.com/ericag@lansons.com

About findmypast.com

• April 2003: www.1837online.com became the first website to put the complete indexes to all the births, marriages and deaths in England & Wales from 1837-2004 online. Previously, the only way to perform such a search would have been either to travel to the Family Records Centre in London or to visit certain record repositories and libraries. The births, marriages and deaths searched are scans of originals – enabling you to view a piece of history from your own home.
• August 2004: 1837online.com added the WWI, WWII and Consular records to the website, allowing users to search for British nationals who were born, married or died overseas between 1761 and 1994.
• March 2005: 1837online.com published the fullest available transcriptions and images of the original documents of the 1861 census
• December 2005: 1837online acquired the records of the National Archivist website, including passport applications and death duty records.
• January 2006: 1837online also added 'Soldiers Died in the Great War' records, detailing soldiers killed during WW1.
• February 2006: The most comprehensive transcription of 1891 census was also made available, along with scans of the original documents.
• April 2006: Living Relatives database is added, which allows you to search the current electoral roll, telephone directory (business and homes) and directors' details to find living people.
• June 2006: 1837online.com added to the military collection records such as the National Roll of the Great War, Army Roll of Honour and Commemorative Scrolls.
• August 2006: 1837online.com added a Cross Database search feature that allows you to search across all the datasets in just one click.
• September 2006: 1837online.com added the 1841 and 1871 census.
• November 2006: 1837online.com re-branded its name to www.findmypast.com