Tomorrow would have been Elvis Presley’s 86th birthday. (Happy birthday, Elvis!)
You guys know what that means…time for the annual Pop Culture Baby Name Game!
Think back to the pop culture of 2021 — movies, music, TV shows, online shows, social media, video games, sports, news, cultural events, politics, products, brands, etc.
Which of these things had an influence on U.S. baby names, do you think?
More specifically, which baby names will see higher usage (or appear for the very first time) in the 2021 U.S. baby name data thanks to 2021 pop culture?
Here are some initial ideas…
- Amanda – poet Amanda Gorman (suggested by elbowin)
- Ariarne – Olympic swimmer Ariarne Titmus of Australia
- August – both Princess Eugenie’s baby and Mandy Moore’s baby
- Caeleb – Olympic swimmer Caeleb Dressel
- Chapel – Josh Brolin’s baby
- Cruella – the movie Cruella
- Divinity – Prince’s white dove (suggested by elbowin)
- Dolph – slain rapper Young Dolph
- Ender – Halsey’s baby
- Hidilyn – Olympic weightlifter Hidilyn Diaz of the Philippines
- Ice – Gucci Mane and Keyshia Ka’oir’s baby
- Janja – Olympic climber Janja Garnbret of Slovenia
- Javicia – actress Javicia Leslie (Batwoman)
- Jeh – Kareena Kapoor’s and Saif Ali Khan’s baby
- Jovita – late news anchor Jovita Moore
- Jupiter – Ashley Tisdale’s baby
- Kanan – the series Power Book III: Raising Kanan
- Kenna – Christina Milian’s baby
- Khai – Gigi Hadid and Zayn Malik’s baby
- Kizzmekia – virologist Kizzmekia Corbett (suggested by elbowin)
- La’akea – Ronda Rousey’s baby
- Lalisa – K-pop star Lisa and/or her song “Lalisa“
- Lilibet – Meghan Markle and Prince Harry’s baby (suggested by elbowin)
- Mare – the series Mare of Easttown
- Mauz – Frankie Muniz’s baby
- Mecole – football player Mecole Hardman
- MyKayla – Olympic gymnast MyKayla Skinner
- Nakano – Wilmer Valderrama’s baby
- Nevin – Olympic canoe racer Nevin Harrison
- Ozuna – singer Ozuna
- Phineas – Justin Timberlake and Jessica Biel’s baby
- Rauw – rapper Rauw Alejandro
- Raya – the movie Raya and the Last Dragon
- Rennie – Katharine McPhee and David Foster’s baby
- Ridley – Halsey’s baby (middle name)
- Robinette – Joe Biden’s middle name (suggested by elbowin)
- Shacarri – almost-Olympic sprinter Sha’Carri Richardson
- Shein – seemingly ubiquitous online brand
- Sterling – Patrick Mahomes’s baby
- Suni – Olympic gymnast Suni Lee
- Swavy – slain TikTok star Swavy
- Sylvester – Emily Ratajkowski’s baby
- Tessica – “Gorilla Glue girl” Tessica Brown (suggested by Ellyn)
- Tianwen – Chinese mission to Mars (suggested by elbowin)
- Wanda – the series WandaVision
- Warrior – Bindi Irwin’s baby (middle name)
Plus…
- Names from the movie Eternals (like Sersi, Ikaris, Makkari)
- Names from the movie Dune (like Chani, Atreides, Leto)
- Turkish names from any of the Turkish dramas being aired in Spanish on Univision/Telemundo
- Names from any new sci-fi/fantasy series (like Shadow and Bone, The Nevers, The Wheel of Time)
Some of the names mentioned in the 2020 game might be see increases in 2021 as well.
What other names should we add to the list? Let me know by leaving a comment!
I’ll post the game results after the SSA releases the 2021 baby name data (in May of 2022).
