Trends in baby names are constantly changing. How many Ethels, Mabels and Caspers do you see around anymore? A lot of factors play a role in naming children, as religion has long been a driving force (Johns and Marks FOR DAYSSS), while trends in pop culture also have an effect on a parent’s decision, even if they sometimes sound unusual to the rest of us.
A great example of pop culture affecting kids’ names is the popularity of the HBO medieval fantasy series Game of Thrones, whose characters have inspired some parents to buck the trend of Madisons and Dakotas, and keep giving their little ones monikers that are off the beaten path.
Using data from MooseRoots’ names topic, FindTheBest looked at all of the most prominent Game of Thrones names to see if there was a spike in the number of babies given any of these same names after 2011.
Arya
Arya had been slowly increasing in popularity since recorded data for the name began in 1986, but it saw a healthy bump in 2011 — 273 babies were named Arya in 2010, 387 in 2011, and 1,315 in 2013.Bran
Unlike his older sister, Bran saw a very small spike in popularity in the 1970s, before Game of Thrones even began, and stayed rather stagnant until 2011. After that, the name saw a steady rise to 11 babies in 2013.Tyrion
Who doesn’t love Tyrion? The babies and toddlers waddling around out there with his name are a lucky few.Khaleesi
There weren’t enough Khaleesis to register a blip on the map in 2010, but 28 baby Khaleesis joined our ranks by 2011, and 213 newborns were given the name in 2013.
These names aren’t exactly topping the annual lists yet, but it’s certainly interesting that there’ll soon be a Khaleesi managing a Starbucks or Theon moping behind a desk at some awful accounting gig. I just really would like to see the little bad-ass that gets named THE MOUNTAIN, because that kid is really gonna be jerk.
Source: KDVR
