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The name is Bond, James Bond... or Sean or Ursula

Genesreunited.co.uk historians use birth records to reveal James Bond’s influence on baby names 50 years on

He is a debonair, tuxedo-wearing spy, while she will forever be remembered as the woman that came out of the sea wearing nothing more than a bikini and a smile.

So entranced were couples watching the silver screen 50 years ago that thousands of parents named their babies after the film stars.

James Bond, played by Sean Connery, sipped at his first martini in 1962 and two years later 1,309 more babies were named Sean than before his debut appearance.

Historians at genealogy website genesreunited.co.uk have discovered that the number of babies named James after the suave international spy increased from 5,086 in 1961 to 6,255 in 1964 as Bond became a household name.

It was not only boys' names that the genesreunited.co.uk historians found to be influenced by the Bond films, the Bond Girls won the hearts of the nation too. After Ursula Andress starred as Honey Ryder in Dr No the number of babies named Ursula by 1964 had increased by 45%.

Rhoda Breakwell, head of Genesreunited.co.uk, said: "We were amazed to find out the influence Bond has had on our nation over the past 50 years. Going back through the original birth records held on the site we were able to see how we are a nation of Bond fanatics."

At 0.07 this morning Adele released the official title track to the eagerly awaited new Bond film Skyfall on her website. Adele joins a famous host of Bond girls and according to the trend, 2013 birth certificates should see an increase in Adeles as well as Naomies after the latest Bond girl Naomie Harris stars alongside Daniel Craig.

The film itself is set to be released later this year on 26th October.

- Ends -

Notes to editors:

The figures used have been calculated from the birth certificates available on genesreunited.co.uk.

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Notes to the Editor - About Genes Reunited

Genes Reunited was launched in 2002 as a sister-site to the Internet phenomenon Friends Reunited. Since then it has grown to become the UK's largest genealogy website.

It marked a revolution in genealogy and ancestry by combining them with Internet social-networking. Members are able to build their family tree by posting it on the site and investigating which ancestors they share with other members. They can also search historical records such as census, birth, death, marriage and military records.

It currently has over 11 million members and over 750 million names listed. One new name is added to the site every single second.