Many parents look to books or ancestral names when deciding what to call their new baby.
But it seems a growing number are simply asking other parents what they have in mind for their children – and then stealing the idea.
A poll shows a quarter of mothers-to-be claim another parent pinched the name they had chosen for their new-born.
Competition to secure the best names has become so rife that some parents have even admitted keeping theirs secret.
Meanwhile, 14 per cent said they were frustrated by feeling unable to use names already claimed by other parents.
Researchers found some of the most likely girls’ names to be stolen were Lily, Ellie, Eve, Angel, Lavender and Poppy.
More bizarrely, they also found Tilly, Madison, Beau and Milan were popular with name-pinchers.
For boys, the most vulnerable names as Ross, Cameron, Gerard, Rory, Dylan, Logan, Farrell, Quinn, Noah and Harry.
