For the second year in a row, unimaginative parents named their kids Jackson and Sophia, the most popular baby names for 2013 and 2014. That information comes from BabyCenter’s Top 100 Baby Names of 2014 list and survey, which inspires actual human beings to say things like, “Jackson has staying power and is not a one-hit wonder, and Sophia is arguably the Jennifer of its generation. It’s clearly entered the baby name hall of fame.” Clearly.
Most relevant to our pop culture-addled brains is this:
According to BabyCenter, 20% of moms found naming inspiration from TV-show characters and 16% got names from celebrities, leading Murray to call this the year of the “binge-watching baby name.” Cited in the “Netflix effect”:
–House of Cards character names were up since 2013: Garrett (up 16%), Claire (up 14%), Zoe (up 13%), Remy (up 11%), Frank (up 19%) and Francis (up 5%).
–Orange Is the New Black characters were up since 2013: Galina (up 67%), Nicky (up 35%), Piper (up 28%), Larry (up 28%), and Dayanara (up 19%). (Via)
I was born in 1987, the year The Joshua Tree was released, but my parents hate U2, so it’s a total coincidence. Maybe the same is true of the 25% extra Larrys than there were last year. Coincidentally, in 15 years, expect a 25% increase in swirlies given to Larrys. Don’t doubt the “Netflix effect,” though. It’s real. The only thing that halts our binge-watching is having sex, and when you’re already thinking about Piper Chapman and Frank Underwood…
That’s why I’m naming my kid Bojack Kurpman.