Boris, Karen and Donald: Why these baby names are so unpopular

Would you give your child one of these names? Photo / 123rf

Celebrities have long set the trend for the most popular baby names – but the most powerful man in the UK, it seems, lacks the same influence.

Boris is the most disliked name for a baby boy, a poll has shown – and in a blow to the UK PM Boris Johnson, is even more unpopular than the name Donald.

Karen, meanwhile, is the least popular girls' name, partly due to the fact it's now commonly used as a pejorative term for a middle-aged white woman.

A poll of 6,000 British parents and parents-to-be were asked to list the top three names they would never dream of calling their child.

Boris was the most rejected name for boys, with 76 per cent saying they would never name their son after Johnson – who was actually christened Alexander – while 83 per cent said they would not name their baby girl Karen.

Boris Johnson may not have many namesakes, according to a new survey. Photo / Getty Images

The study, by gigacalculator.com, found Donald was the second most hated name for boys, followed by Manson in third and Andrew in fourth. For girls, Isis came a close second, followed by Meghan in third place, with 61 per cent of parents saying they would reject the name.

The once-popular name Rose was in fourth place followed by Alexa in fifth – no thanks to Amazon, of course.

A study spokesman said: "Royal drama has clearly had an effect on the name Meghan – and perhaps Andrew."

Neither Boris nor Donald even ranked among the top 100 boys' names in New Zealand according to Government data from 1954-2019.

Meanwhile, Karen was near or at the top of the list of most popular baby girls' names from 1965 to 1970 and has gradually become less and less popular.