A slew of Mummy-movies have come out since The Mummy in 1999.
After going through the names of the main characters in all the films, I came away with several that might have influenced the baby name data (Imhotep, Pollux, Valina) but only two that I considered slam-dunks: Anubis and Mathayus.
The Mummy Returns (2001) was the second film in the series, but the first to feature the wolf-headed god Anubis. A year after the movie came out, the baby name Anubis debuted in the data:
- 2004: unlisted
- 2003: unlisted
- 2002: 10 baby boys named Anubis
- 2001: unlisted
- 2000: unlisted
Anubis was the god of “death, mummification, embalming, the afterlife, cemeteries, tombs, and the underworld” in ancient Egypt. “Anubis” is actually the Greek form of the name — in ancient Egypt, the god was known as “Inpw.” His name could have been derived from an Egyptian word meaning “royal child, prince,” or from a different Egyptian word meaning “to decay.”
The second film also featured a bad-guy character called the “Scorpion King” (played by Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson). In the 2002 spin-off movie The Scorpion King, this character was not only turned into a good guy, but also given a birth name: Mathayus. Right on cue, the baby name Mathayus debuted in the data:
- 2005: 7 baby boys named Mathayus
- 2004: 7 baby boys named Mathayus
- 2003: 11 baby boys named Mathayus [debut]
- 2002: unlisted
- 2001: unlisted
Mathayus was an Akkadian warrior, but the name “Mathayus” doesn’t seem to be Akkadian. My guess is that the movie-makers simply got creative with the Biblical name Matthias.
Which of these two names do you like more, Anubis or Mathayus?
Sources: Anubis – Behind the Name, Anubis – Wikipedia
Mathayus (MAHT-EYE-joos) is a strong and gentle name, a name for a leader and a shepherd, a name to shout or whisper. So yeah, I really like it. I think Matty as a nickname for a boy child and Matt when older, if they feel the name might be too heavy for them.
But it has a good flow and a musical sound when said in any form… OK, maybe if his name is Mathayus Anubis Thornberry and his mom is really mad at the vase he broke, it wouldn’t be quite so musical lolol
Hehe :)