Happy Fandom Friday! Each week, I highlight an aspect of the various fan communities that have sprung around movies, TV shows, books, games, or even memes, if the level of dedication is awesome enough.
Baby name lists are not unsurprising at the end of each calendar year, but 2010's penchant for blessing newborns with pop culture-saturated monikers deserves notice. While most of these names didn't make it into the top 100, they've soared in popularity over the last few years, thanks to television series with compelling characters. But if parents really have fictional namesakes in mind, then according to this list they expect their children to...
Spontaneously break into song: Quinn, Finn, Jenna, and Lea did well this year, thanks to parents who are (we assume) diehard Gleeks.
Drink, smoke, sell, and screw: Betty is popular for the first time in years, joined by Jane and Helen. And for the guys? Don is pretty low on the roster, but Freddy and Roger have both risen up the ranks.
Be innocent and then suddenly not: Tiana, Aurora, and Ariel are gaining traction. As is Demi, though after the starlet leaves rehab, we'll see how many parents reconsider that name.
Become parents themselves, really quickly ... The ladies of MTV's 16 and Pregnant/Teen Mom have definitely influenced the rankings this year — Maci, Farrah, and Ebony all rose by more than 30 percent.
...and give their own kids inscrutable names: Like it or not, Sarah Palin's offspring are getting some respect, at least where their names are concerned. Bristol, Willow, and Piper are now viable options for your friends. Be very afraid.
OK, so a few names that could be attributed to pop culture phenomena did break the top 100. The second most popular boys' and girls' names, in fact, were Isabella and Jacob — and before all you who hated on my Harry Potter/Twilight article opens your mouths, of course the names existed long before Stephenie Meyer wrote her epic. But you have to give her props. Ryan made it up there, perhaps for People's Sexiest Man Alive? Lower on the list were Levi and Taylor (for girls, but we blame Swift and Lautner).
Would you ever look to pop culture to name your kid? (Confession: When Firefly premiered in 2002, I briefly considered Malcolm and then realized that my hypothetical offspring might get beat up on the playground.)
(via Entertainment Weekly)
[Baby Center]
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