Wren

In Celtic tradition the bird was known as the king of birds, a title recorded in a fable that appears in both Aristotle and Aesop, in which the wren wins kingship by hiding on the eagle’s back and flying higher when the eagle tires.

Druids reportedly used wren song for divination, and Saint Stephen’s Day on December 26 traditionally featured the Wren Day parade across Ireland and the Isle of Man, a custom still observed in Dingle.

The surname Wren has produced several notable bearers, most famously Sir Christopher Wren (1632-1723), the English architect who redesigned much of London after the Great Fire of 1666, including Saint Paul’s Cathedral.

His name, however, derives from the surname rather than influencing the given name directly.

Wren’s use as a given name is a 21st century phenomenon in the English-speaking world, part of a broader revival of nature and word names such as Sage, Fern, Lark, and Robin. According to U.S.

Social Security Administration records, Wren first appeared in the girls’ top 1000 in 2013 and has climbed rapidly, breaking into the top 300 within a decade.

Unlike Robin, which has lost ground, Wren has benefited from its fresh unfamiliarity and single-syllable brevity.

The name sees modest unisex use but registers predominantly for girls in the United States, Canada, Australia, and the United Kingdom, where it also entered the top 500 in recent years.