The modern name Lux debuted in the U.S. baby name data during the first year of the 21st century:
- 2003: 14 baby girls named Lux
- 2002: 16 baby girls named Lux
- 2001: 9 baby girls and 5 baby boys named Lux [dual-gender debut]
- 2000: unlisted
- 1999: unlisted
Why were expectant parents seeing the Latin word for “light” as a viable baby name around that time?
Likely because of the character Lux Lisbon (played by actress Kirsten Dunst) from the movie The Virgin Suicides (1999), which wasn’t given a wide theatrical release until May of 2000.
Set in a suburb of Detroit in the mid-1970s, The Virgin Suicides followed the five beautiful Lisbon sisters: Therese, Mary, Bonnie, Lux, and Cecilia. They were the teenage daughters of strict Catholic parents, and therefore off-limits to the neighborhood boys “who loved and lusted after” them (and from whose collective perspective the story was told).
Lux Lisbon — the “most perfect” of the sisters — was the only one to lose her virginity (to high school heartthrob Trip Fontaine, played by actor Josh Hartnett) during her short life.
The film was based on the 1993 novel of the same name by Jeffrey Eugenides.
What are your thoughts on the name Lux? Do you think it works better as a girl name or as a boy name?
Sources: The Virgin Suicides (film) – Wikipedia, The Virgin Suicides review – Roger Ebert, SSA
Image: Screenshot of The Virgin Suicides