Learning made fun

Meet Our New South Wales Musical Minis Franchisee, Hannah

We are delighted to announce that Hannah Frost has taken over the Musical Minis South Wales franchise from Jo Weaving. We would like to thank Jo for all her hard work and support over the 15 years she has had the franchise. Jo has left behind a great legacy in the area and we are thrilled that Hannah will be continuing to bring lots of fun to the children of  South Wales in the future.

This is what Hannah has to say….

Hi my name is Hannah Frost and I'm excited to introduce myself as the franchise owner for South Wales. I'm a Mum of two boys, Dominic who is 5 and William who is 3 years old, and I came across Musical Minis classes when Dominic was a baby and Jo Weaving ran the classes. My husband and I live in Barry, South Wales with our two boys and I've taken them both to Musical Minis classes from when they were 12 weeks old until they were ready for regular Playgroup sessions. It was an amazing introduction to both music and other children which helped them both so much with their co-ordination, speech and their confidence in themselves.

I have a background in music, having been introduced to classical music by a school teacher, I went on to learn to play the piano and sing. This love for music has stayed with me and I met my husband as we both studied Music at Goldsmiths College, University of London. I have worked with children before in a nursery in Penarth, in this role I co-ordinated the music and thoroughly enjoyed seeing children enjoy songs, instruments and putting actions to the songs. I'm so happy I get to see this enjoyment again and again in Musical Minis classes.

South Wales Musical Minis sessions are currently running in Barry, Bridgend, Dinas Powys and Penarth. Hannah will also be continuing the intergenerational sessions which have been established in Care Homes in Barry and Dinas Powys.

Please visit http://southwales.musicalminis.co.uk/ or email [email protected] for more information.

Musical Minis Top 10 Names In 2018

Following our tradition of tallying the names of children attending Musical Minis classes, the list below shows the most popular names for children attending in 2018. It isn't necessarily children who were born in 2018. Furthermore, it doesn't include children who attend Children's Centre sessions, or nursery/ school sessions or care home sessions. This is the 9th year we have issued the Musical Minis top 10 names.

The numbers in brackets shows the name's position in 2017.

Top 10 Boys Names:-

1 Henry  (7)
2 Jack (2)
=3 Harry (3)
=3  Finley
5 George (5)
=6 Charlie
=6 Joshua
8 Freddie
=9 Benjamin
=9 Samuel

There are 6 names which have dropped out of the top 10 boys names this year. They are Oliver, William, Thomas, Jacob, Harrison and Hugo. They have been replaced by Finley, Charlie, Joshua, Freddie, Benjamin and Samuel. Charlie has made in back into our top 10 after missing out last year (2017)  but it was in the 5 previous years (2012, 2013, 2014, 2015 and 2016. Joshua has become more popular - it appeared in our top 10 in 2010 and 2011 and then dropped down. Benjamin made a brief appearance in the top 10 in 2011 but hasn't appeared since. Finley, Freddie and Samuel have never appeared in the Musical Minis top 10 before. Henry has become more popular over the year and moved up the top 10, whilst the other names that appeared last year (Jack, Harry and George) remained in the same position.

Top 10 Girls Names:-

1 Emily (1)
2 Isla (=3)
=3 Ava
=3 Isabella
5 Amelia
6 Charlotte 
7 Isabelle (2)
8 Sophie (=3)
=9 Grace (7)
=9 Jessica (=9)

There have been 4 new entries in the top 10 girls names this year - Ava, Isabella, Amelia and Charlotte. As well as this year, Ava has been in the top 10 in 3 previous years (2011. 2013 and 2016) since we started name tables 9 years ago. Isabella appeared in 2012. Amelia appeared in 3 previous years (2010, 2013 and 2016). Charlotte has been in the top 10, in 4 previous years (2010, 2011, 2012 and 2013) but had a 4 year gap before entering again this year - perhaps due to Princess Charlotte being born in 2015. Rosie, Alice, Lucy and Olivia have dropped out of this year's top 10. Isla has gained popularity over the year and moved up the top 10 whilst Isabelle, Sophie and Grace have moved down it. Emily and Jessica have remained in the same position as last year.

The names are counted according to the spelling and it is noted that there are various spellings of the same name, particularly with girls names. For example, Isabella, Isabelle, Isobel, Isobelle and Isabel are counted as 5 separate names despite being very similar.

From the popular names to the unusual names, from Aaliyah to Zoe (in our A - Z for 2018), there is a huge variety of names. This year we have noticed many more unique names that only one Musical Minis member has across the whole UK.

Names are obviously a personal choice by the parents. What one person loves, another might not. If you would like to know how popular your child's name is or fancy finding a unique name for your baby, just let me know.

Emily is the only girls name which has appeared in the top 10 for all 9 years since we started analysing the names. Girls names seem to be much more varied and move in and out of popularity - in the 9 years we have analysed there are 28 different girls names in the top 10. Boys names seem to be more static in the list in the 8 years we have analysed there are 22 boys names in the top 10. In the last 9 years, Jack, Harry and George have all appeared in the top 10 every year. Oliver and Thomas appeared every year apart from this year so perhaps we are starting to see a change with boys names.

Once again it is my 25 year old daughter, Emily, who has created the list of names. Her name has been in the top 10 girls names for the 9th year in a row - 7 of these years in the number 1 position. She is still happy being called Emily, so parents of Emily's we have chosen well!