Are you curious about the effect that popular culture has in the real world? Well in this article we are going to break down some interesting statistics that shows the effects that popular culture has on the names we give our children.
***Click on the link if you want to change your name to match a TV or Movie characters.
So let's get into the numbers.
According to the Office for National Statistics “since 2016, when the Amazon Alexa was first available in the UK, the girls’ name Alexa has decreased in popularity from 2016 when there were 332 girls named Alexa to just 39 in 2019.
In contrast, a girls’ name that may have increased following the rise to fame of a celebrity is the name Dua. Dua Lipa, the popstar, had her first UK number one single in 2017. In that time, the number of girls named Dua has doubled from 63 in 2017 to 126 in 2019; this is the highest number since our annual records began in 1996.”
When it comes to boys, the names Taron and Kylo have increased amongst the population. This is probably due to actors Tara Egerton who starred in the popular 2019 Elton John biopic, Rocketman. The increase in children named Kylo was most likely due to the character from Star Wars, Kylo Ren.
Source: Office of National Statistics 2019 birth registration data
The popularity of actress Margot Robbie seems to have surged in 2018 due to her work in the film, Mary Queen of Scots. In fact, “the number of Margots has more than doubled since 2015 resulting in the name entering the 2018 top 100 names for girls for the first time.”
Meanwhile the Beckhams continue to have a huge effect on popular culture. “Since the birth of David and Victoria Beckham’s daughter, Harper in 2011, the number of girls named Harper has increased, rising 831 places to be ranked the 27th most popular name for girls in 2018.”
Popular TV shows also have a major effect on the culture. In 2018 “Arthur surged into the top 10 boys’ names for the first time since the 1920s, and Ada jumped into the girls’ top 100 for the first time in a century too." The surge in the popularity of these names is assumed to be inspired by two characters in the BBC TV drama Peaky Blinders.
Source: Office of National Statistics 2018 birth registration data
Did you know that the name of the main character in sleeping beauty was Aurora? Well most people didn’t know that until the 2014 film Maleficent came out. Since then the name has seen a surge in popularity. In fact in 2017, it cracked the list for 100 top girl names in the UK.
Noah entered the top 10 baby boys’ names for the first time on record in 2015, following a gradual increase in popularity that has continued into 2017. This is most likely due to the Russell Crow film, Noah that was released in 2014.
Source: Office of National Statistics 2017 birth registration data
