Would You Name Your Baby After a TV Box Set?

We’ve all heard of people naming their babies after influential figures in their life such as family members or close friends. But now, studies have shown that 52% of people are giving their baby’s unusual names and are turning to their favourite fictional characters for inspiration.

Some of the most popular names originate from a range of box sets and films that have spanned decades, including Star Wars and Game of Thrones.

Well, at 8Ball, we’re big fans of ‘nominative determinism’ – which is a handy little label given to the theory that a person’s name can have a significant role in determining key aspects of job, profession or even character. So when we hear about more babies than ever being called ‘Anakin’, we feel there is a sense of inevitably that one day they will become the ruler of an evil empire…or maybe they’ll just develop respiratory problems.

And although it might be ‘cool’ to give your little ones a bit of personality through their name, would you really want to call your kids after the oddball, Theon, in Game of Thrones? Not forgetting this is a character mockingly renamed as ‘Reek’…Well, that hasn’t put some people off…

The Office for National Statistics recently revealed some of its most popular baby names within England and Wales for 2014 – and there are a surprising amount that have come from the world of TV, film or literature.

We’ve taken a look at some of our favourites…and some of the most outrageous.

Game of Thrones

Leading the way with the highest amount of inspired TV names is Game of Thrones, which saw 836 babies given a characters name from the show.

‘Ayra’ was a clear favourite for the girls with 244 babies being named after Arya Stark. This was followed by 53 Khaleesi’s, who is a powerful female character, and we can only assume that their parents are hoping to be protected by dragons in their dotage. Brienne of Tarth inspired the names of four babies.

For the boys, ‘Theon’ was the most popular with 18 names, inspired by Theon Greyjoy. This was followed closely by ‘Tyrion’, which saw 17 named after the only genuine Lannister. Then there was Bran, which inspired the parents of 14 babies, and four Sandor’s after The Hound.

The name Aria was also extremely popular in 31st spot for the girls. According to some, it is a mixture of Arya from Game of Thrones, and leading character Aria Montgomery from the series Pretty Little Liars.

Star Wars

The new Star Wars film is set for release later this year, yay, and to coincide this, there’s been a spike in the name ‘Anakin’ (for those of you who don’t know, that’s Darth Vader when he was a Jedi). It’s made its way into the US top 1000 list of baby names ranking in 957th place.

Downton Abbey

Meanwhile, over in England there’s been a resurge of popular Edwardian names such as George and James. The hit drama Downton Abbey is apparently behind the increase of this with the show making people wanting to bring back these traditional names.

The dangers of naming your child after a TV character

We’ve put together some of the names we’d REALLY love to see some babies called! Check it out:

Red Dwarf: Kryten

Want a neurotic child that finds it difficult to process guilt properly? If so, Kryten would be a good name. However, they will enjoy cleaning and serving others, so even in the difficult teenage years keeping a tidy house would never be a problem. They may also have a strangely shaped head.

Blackadder: Baldrick

Naming your child ‘Baldrick’ carries with it a number of risks. Primarily, that they are likely to smell, but they will always have good intentions at the heart of the what they do. They are probably going to have a low IQ, and be full of terrible plans that are doomed to fail, but might also have a flair for the poetic:

Boom, Boom, Boom, Boom,
Boom, Boom, Boom,
Boom, Boom, Boom, Boom,
Boom, Boom, Boom

Sons of Anarchy: Jax

Your child will be a terrible actor. They’ll probably also have a fascination with motorbikes, leather vests, bad haircuts and they may keep misplacing their own children (which they will also give silly names).

Shop Sons of Anarchy T-shirts >

Orange is the New Black: Piper

Do you want a manipulative, conniving child that will inevitably end up behind bars with a questionable moral and sexual compass? If so, call them ‘Piper’, because this is what will definitely happen.

Shop Orange is the New Black T-shirts >

Peep Show: Hans

If you name your child after Super Hans, you will probably have a rebel on your hands. Expect a wild and untrustworthy character with an addictive personality and a bizarre obsession with letting snakes loose in the home. Possible occupations include musician, cult follower, white van man, publican or bathroom salesman.

Let us know if you have, or would, call your children after your favourite fictional TV character and how you think the name would influence their development!

Share and Enjoy

The post Would you name your baby after a TV box set? appeared first on 8Ball.co.uk.