Gandalf, Superman and Madonna to join British playgrounds

LONDON: Britney, Tiger, Gandalf and Madonna will join the usual Peters and Janes in Britain's playgrounds, while Harry Potter may drop in, according to a new survey of babies' names.

Other newly-fashionable choices include Snoop, after the US rap star, who may end up hanging out with Reebok and Adidas, said the survey of what parents are choosing to call their offspring.

"It seems that many are happy to take hero worship to a new level, naming our children after the stars we admire," said Sarah Malone of www.findmypast.com, the website which compiled the survey.

"The famous British sense of humour is alive, with six parents naming their son Gandalf, along with one Harry Potter and two Supermans," she added.

Sport is a big supplier of names, with 1,191 little Tigers emulating the US golf star -- the top male namesake overall -- while there are three David Beckhams, 39 Gazzas, two Reeboks and three children named Adidas.

Bizarrely, there are 26 Arsenals -- a mixture of boys and girls whose parents are presumably big fans of the north London football club.

From the world of music, Australian star Kylie Minogue has inspired the biggest gaggle of little girls, with 7,261. In contrast, Madonna only manages 288 namesakes, easily beaten by 1,611 Britneys.

Among actors Keanu Reaves has given birth to 1,120 little nominal offspring, while Bob Geldof's daughter Peaches has also produced a reasonable crop of followers, as has Apple, of which there are two.