'Game of Thrones' and 'Hunger Games' inspire baby names
Sure, plenty of fans may have admired calm stylist Cinna from Suzanne Collins’ “The Hunger Games” trilogy or spunky Arya from the “Game of Thrones” series by George R.R. Martin.
But enough to name their children after them?
The baby name website Nameberry is reporting that names from “Hunger Games” and “Game of Thrones” have experienced massive spikes in popularity so far in 2012, with the name Arya soaring over 800 percent in popularity and coming in at number one on Nameberry’s list of most popular names.
Meanwhile, the name Cinna – along with Senna, a female version – are both up 1,500 percent from their rankings last year, according to Nameberry, and came in at number seven on the list.
The name Theon, the moniker of a male “Game of Thrones” character who struggles when he is torn between two families, has also had a surge, ranking at number eight on the list.
Other literary names coming to the forefront include Gatsby after the titular character in the novel by F. Scott Fitzgerald, which came in at spot number 11 on Nameberry’s rankings. (Perhaps influenced by the Baz Luhrmann film version of the book due out late this year?) And as for TV, the website credits popular British period series “Downton Abbey” with the rise of the name Sybil, which is the fifth most popular name on the list. On “Downton,” Sybil Crawley is the youngest of three daughters who becomes a nurse during World War I.
In 2011, the Social Security Administration reported that Jacob, also the name of the loyal werewolf from Stephenie Meyer's "Twilight" series, was the most popular boy name of the year, while Isabella, the full name of "Twilight" protagonist Bella Swan, was number two for female names.
