When my wife Nina told me we were going to be first-time parents, one of the first things I started thinking about was a baby name. Sure, I also thought about parenting styles, how I could rewatch all of “Star Trek” with him, and the potential for starting a band. But baby name ideas was top of the list. It had to be something personal, a bit unique, and hold meaning. I wanted a name from pop culture.
But is that really a good idea?
I’m a nerd so there was no getting around it — geek baby names. I tossed around ideas from sci-fi, literature, and classic movies. In the end, two things were certain: The baby name would have to mean something to both Nina and I, reflecting both our backgrounds and interests. Also, it wasn’t going to be Jean-Luc Oxley.
As we found out, sourcing baby names from pop culture isn’t so easy. It can be a double-edged sword.
This article on parenting, pop culture, and baby names comes from KUOW’s “Meet Me Here” podcast featuring Pam Redmond and Sophie Kihm with the baby name website Nameberry. Listen to the full episode below, or on your favorite podcast app.
If you ask Pam Redmond, creator of the website Nameberry which is all about baby names, choosing a pop culture name has a lot of “potential downsides.”
“You’re forever married to the image of that name, that character, that actor,” Redmond said. “You might outgrow it. It might outgrow you. I personally would not do it. I might do it as a middle name. I’ve heard of someone giving their child the middle name of Solo, because they were a huge ‘Star Wars’ fan.”
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For example, shortly after “Game of Thrones” debuted on HBO in 2011, parents in Washington state started naming their baby girls Khaleesi (the royal name for Queen Daenerys Targaryen, one of the show’s more popular characters). And after “Star Wars: The Force Awakens” hit movie screens, baby boys were being named Kylo, a name invented for the villain of the film. It could be argued that Khaleesi didn’t end up so well by the show’s finale, and Kylo did some pretty bad things.
Nameberry Editor-in-Chief Sophie Kihm has a different opinion: “I would say, go for it. I think it’s cool.”
Kihm feels the “risks of pop culture really souring a name are low,” adding that parents have little control over who their child ultimately becomes, so a name is one opportunity to influence them.
“This is your chance,” Kihm said. “I would take it.”
She also notes that in our modern era of endless streaming, instant access, and social media, pop culture is becoming “atomized.” More and more parents are choosing baby names from very niche interests. One micro trend Nameberry has noticed is baby names from anime. So far, only one anime name has broken into the United State’s top 1,000 baby name list, which is maintained by the Social Security Administration.
“The only one that is in the top 1,000 right now is Jiraiya, for boys, which is from ‘Naruto,’ but there are a bunch of other names that are from different anime series that are rising in popularity in much smaller numbers,” Kihm said. “Even 10 years ago, parents who were interested in something like anime probably would have chosen a name without connections to a series, just for fear of it seeming too out there … But people are really immersed in their own communities now, so I think they feel safer to make these choices. They feel like their communities would totally get it.”
In “Naruto,” Jiraiya is one of the “legendary three ninjas” and is a mentor to the title character. On the other hand, he’s also referred to as the “pervy sage,” which goes back to the point about potential downsides.
Picking a name can be a tall order. After our conversation with Kihm and Redmond on “Meet Me Here,” it became clear that parents often come up with a similar equation for picking a baby name. Here are a few thoughts:
- Pick a baby name that holds personal meaning. Sure, a name might sound cool, but does it relate to you in any way? Arwen sounds like a great name, but are you really that much of a “Lord of the Rings” fan? Are both parents fans?
- Parents often rediscover names over time. Names from past generations are often dug up, dusted off, and used as a way to stand out while also maintaining a sense of history.
- Is your baby from two different cultures? Nameberry has seen a trend of “traveling light names,” when it comes to parents from different backgrounds. These are names that can relate to multiple cultures and are easy to pronounce in both languages. They also have a bonus of giving a worldly, globetrotter impression.
Baby names: The Madison effect
I’m not alone. A lot of parents have taken names from pop culture. Digging through baby name records from the Social Security Administration, you will find moments when pop culture made it onto a birth certificate. Perhaps there has been no greater splash over from pop culture than the name Madison.
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Before 1984, Madison may have shown up as a boy’s name, but it wasn’t popular. Then the movie “Splash” was released into theaters, starring Tom Hanks and Daryl Hannah. Hannah played a mermaid who took human form in New York City where she fell in love.
When Hanks’ character asks what her name is, she looks at a street sign and says “Madison.”
“Well, Madison is not a name,” Hanks replies.
The next year, 10 girls were named Madison in Washington state. Soon, hundreds were born each year. Since then, more than 8,700 Madisons have been born across the state. It remains popular. In 2023 alone (the most recent SSA data), 5,160 Madisons were born in the USA.
“There’s also a chance that the name could go the route of Madison and become so ubiquitous in the culture that it loses the tie to the original character,” Kihm said. “I think there are Madisons that have been born in the past 20-plus years who have never seen or even heard of the movie ‘Splash.’”
A few other standouts:
- More than 100 Khaleesi girls were born in Washington state since “Game of Thrones” debuted in 2011. GOT also gave us the name Arya. More than 700 Aryas have been born in Washington since the show first aired.
- After “Batman: The Animated Series” first aired in 1992, introducing the character Harley Quinn, the name Harley became increasing popular for baby girls. There have been nearly 500 Harleys born in Washington since then.
- “Star Wars” didn’t just give us Kylo (more than 100 Kylo baby boys born in Washington since “Star Wars: The Force Awakens”). It first gave us the name Leia. There have been nearly 300 Leias born in Washington since 1983. After “Rogue One” was released in 2016, the name Cassian caught on for boys. There have been 41 Cassians born in Washington since then.
- The first “Mortal Kombat” video game was released in 1992. The very next year, seven baby boys were named Raiden in the United States. Its popularity has grown considerably with 747 Raiden boys born in the U.S. in 2023 alone. It has also crossed over to baby girls. Raiden didn’t show up in Washington until 2002. There have been 437 baby boy Raidens born in Washington since then.
- The name Logan experienced a dramatic rise in popularity as a first name after the 1970s. It was previously found as a surname. But in that decade, the movie “Logan’s Run” was released. Also, Wolverine was introduced in Marvel Comics, a character whose real name is Logan. Since the ’70s, nearly 10,500 Logans have been born in Washington state. The name also experience a brief crossover as a girls name in the ’90s.
- It’s a small blip on the baby name radar, but after Netflix released “Wednesday” on Nov. 23, 2022, six Wednesdays were born in Washington state in the roughly six weeks that followed.
- After the “Wizard of Oz” was first published in 1900, the name “Dorothy” shot up in popularity nationally and locally. In Washington state, Dorothy ranked among the top five names for girls between 1910 (as far back as records go) and 1928.
What’s in a baby name?
It’s worth noting that pop culture has changed through the generations. Go back 100 years ago, and popular culture was drawn mostly from newspapers, politics, and religion. Since then, there has been an explosion of mass media from the radio to TV, movies to comic books, recording artists, and social media. No matter the generation, it seems people were driven to choose names with meaning. What we draw meaning from has evolved and can be quite personal.
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“People are looking for names that have deep personal meaning, and they are also looking for names that are different,” Redmond said. “If you are looking for a name with meaning today, you might not be looking for a biblical name, or a saint’s name, or a family name. You might not be looking in traditional places because you might want a name that breaks with that convention.”
Which brings me to Superman.
Ever since I was a child, Superman has been a big part of my life. First, my parents told me that they found me in a crashed spaceship behind their house. (True story: It was their way to avoid talking about where babies come from.) Over the years, I gravitated to Superman’s moral code and Clark Kent’s ethics. I found virtues and lessons in the pages of comic books. I would eagerly watch Superman fly across screens big and small. I donned Clark Kent glasses for most my life, I became a newspaper reporter, and I often wear my underwear on the outside of my pants. The influence of that character and what he stands for has always been felt.
Perhaps that’s why Nina and I kept coming back to the name Clark. Clark Oxley arrived in June, when we found his spaceship behind the house.
