The Boar war is a good example of how battles and Military men can influence baby names.
The year 1900 saw nearly 50 children named Mafeking registered in England & Wales, split between the sexes, and some with the additional name Baden after Colonel Robert Baden- Powell. This initial flurry of interest soon died down, as the following year there were only 2 "Mafeking" births registered .
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Siege_of_MafekingThere was a similar pattern to the popularity of Ladysmith as a first name; 24 in 1900 registered in England & Wales, then very few afterwards.
There were too many children called Baden, Baden Powell, Baden Cecil, (after the prime ministers son Lord Edward Cecil) and Baden Kitchener to count.There was a little peak of Kitchener's in 1902, named for Field Marshal Horatio Herbert Kitchener.
The popularity of Kitchener as a first name rose considerably in 1914 with the start of the Great War, as Kitchener had become Secretary of State for War, but quickly waned followed his death in 1916.Lord Kitchener's father, b. 1805 had the middle name Horatio, presumably named for Admiral Nelson. After all, the battle of Trafalgar took place in October 1805. So the son was named for both his father and Nelson!
