How did “The Matrix” influence U.S. baby names?

The character Trinity from the movie "The Matrix" (1999)
Trinity from “The Matrix“

The Matrix — widely considered to be one of the greatest science-fiction movies of all time — was released in March of 1999. It was the fourth-highest-grossing film of the year, and went on to win four Oscars (including Best Visual Effects) in early 2000.

In The Matrix, the majority of humanity is unknowingly trapped inside a simulated reality created by sentient machines. This simulation is called “the Matrix” by the (relatively few) humans who live outside of it.

At the start of the story, a man living inside the simulation — a computer programmer named Thomas Anderson (who is also a hacker known as “Neo”) — becomes vaguely aware of the Matrix.

Neo (played by Keanu Reeves) is soon contacted by Morpheus (Laurence Fishburne) and Trinity (Carrie-Anne Moss) — two resistance fighters who have been freed from the Matrix. They offer him a chance to escape the simulation and join them in the war against the machines.

The character Neo from the movie "The Matrix" (1999)
Neo from “The Matrix“

So, how did The Matrix impact U.S. baby names?

Neo

After returning to U.S. baby name data in 1999, the name Neo more than quadrupled in usage in 2000:

  • 2001: 111 baby boys named Neo
  • 2000: 116 baby boys named Neo
  • 1999: 24 baby boys named Neo
  • 1998: unlisted
  • 1997: unlisted

Neo’s name is not only a match to the Greek prefix neo-, meaning “new,” but also an anagram of the word one, which is significant because Morpheus believes Neo is “the One” — the person who, according to prophecy, will destroy the Matrix and liberate mankind.

Morpheus

The rare name Morpheus debuted in the data in 2000:

  • 2001: unlisted
  • 2000: 5 baby boys named Morpheus
  • 1999: unlisted
  • 1998: unlisted
  • 1997: unlisted

The character’s name comes from the mythological figure of Morpheus, one of the dream-shaping sons of the Greek god of sleep, Hypnos. According to Ovid, Morpheus’ specialty was appearing in dreams as a human. (His bothers specialized in taking other forms.)

Trinity

Already being given to hundreds of baby girls per year, the name Trinity more than tripled in usage in 1999, then nearly tripled again (jumping straight into the girls’ top 100) in 2000:

  • 2001: 4,481 baby girls named Trinity [rank: 67th]
  • 2000: 4,284 baby girls named Trinity [rank: 74th]
  • 1999: 1,481 baby girls named Trinity [rank: 209th]
  • 1998: 481 baby girls named Trinity [rank: 525th]
  • 1997: 437 baby girls named Trinity [rank: 543rd]

The word trinity, which refers to a group of three, is strongly associated with the concept of the Holy Trinity in Christian theology.

(Another name based on a religious concept, Nevaeh, became trendy around the same time.)

Matrix

Like Neo, the name Matrix returned to the data in 1999:

  • 2001: unlisted
  • 2000: 6 baby boys named Matrix
  • 1999: 12 baby boys named Matrix (peak usage)
  • 1998: unlisted
  • 1997: unlisted

The word matrix refers to a place where something originates or takes form. Before the mid-16th century, it meant “uterus” specifically. In ancient Rome, the word referred to “a female animal kept for breeding.” It ultimately derives from mater, the Latin word for “mother.”

The character Niobe from the movie "The Matrix Reloaded" (2003)
Niobe from “The Matrix Reloaded“

The Matrix was followed by three sequels — not to mention three video games, several comic books, and more.

The first sequel, The Matrix Reloaded, and the first video game, Enter the Matrix, both came out in May of 2003. The second sequel, The Matrix Revolutions, was released six months later, in November.

Reloaded and Revolutions became the third- and the eighth-highest-grossing films of the year, respectively, and they (along with the game) featured a number of new characters, including…

Niobe

Noibe (played by Jada Pinkett Smith) was a Zion-born resistance fighter who captained the hovercraft Logos.

The name Niobe debuted in the data in 2003:

  • 2005: 20 baby girls named Niobe
  • 2004: 33 baby girls named Niobe
  • 2003: 21 baby girls named Niobe [debut]
  • 2002: unlisted
  • 2001: unlisted

The character’s name comes from the Greek mythological figure of Niobe, who was punished by the gods for her hubris.

Persephone

Persephone (played by Monica Bellucci) was a human-like computer program living inside the Matrix with her husband, the Merovingian.

Usage of the name Persephone more than doubled in 2003:

  • 2005: 47 baby girls named Persephone
  • 2004: 43 baby girls named Persephone
  • 2003: 45 baby girls named Persephone
  • 2002: 19 baby girls named Persephone
  • 2001: 22 baby girls named Persephone

The character’s name comes from the Greek mythological figure of Persephone, the wife of Hades and (thereby) the queen of the underworld.

Link

Link (played by Harold Perrineau) was the Zion-born operator of Morpheus’ hovercraft, the Nebuchadnezzar.

The name Link saw slightly elevated usage in 2003:

  • 2005: 7 baby boys named Link
  • 2004: 15 baby boys named Link
  • 2003: 13 baby boys named Link
  • 2002: 8 baby boys named Link
  • 2001: 6 baby boys named Link

Sati

Sati (played by Tanveer K. Atwal) was, like Persephone, a sentient computer program. Introduced in the second sequel, Sati was a little girl whose parents (also programs) had created her without a purpose, putting her at risk of deletion.

The rare name Sati returned to the data briefly in 2004:

  • 2006: unlisted
  • 2005: unlisted
  • 2004: 7 baby girls named Sati
  • 2003: unlisted
  • 2002: unlisted

The character’s name comes from the Hindu goddess Sati, whose name means “truthful” or “virtuous” in Sanskrit.

Zion

Zion wasn’t a character, but a place — the last human settlement on planet Earth. The vast underground city was depicted onscreen in both Reloaded and Revolutions (after having been only mentioned in the original film).

Usage of the name Zion, which had been declining for several years, began increasing again in 2003:

Boys named ZionGirls named Zion
20051,120 (rank: 293rd)248 (rank: 988th)
20041,008 (rank: 311th)212
2003879 (rank: 329th)137
2002828 (rank: 333rd)125
2001867 (rank: 324th)143

Of all the Matrix-related names above, which one would you be most likely to use in real life?

P.S. Blade Runner, Star Wars, and 2001: A Space Odyssey are also considered to be among the greatest science-fiction movies of all time.

Sources:

Images: Screenshots of The Matrix and The Matrix Reloaded

Why did Nelly debut as a boy name in 2002?

Nelly in the music video for "Dilemma" (2002)
Nelly in a music video

In 2002, the name Nelly appeared as a boy name for the first time in the U.S. baby name data:

  • 2004: unlisted
  • 2003: 7 baby boys named Nelly
  • 2002: 5 baby boys named Nelly (gender-specific debut)
  • 2001: unlisted
  • 2000: unlisted

Why?

Because of St. Louis-based rapper and singer Nelly (birth name: Cornell Haynes, Jr.).

Nelly was particularly successful in 2002. He’d already scored a couple of top-ten hits — “Country Grammar” in 2000, and “Ride wit Me” in 2001 — but 2002 was the year that two of his songs spent a total of 17 weeks atop Billboard‘s Hot 100 chart.

  • “Hot in Herre” ranked #1 for seven weeks straight, from late June to mid-August. It was knocked out of the top spot by…
  • “Dilemma” (feat. Kelly Rowland), which also ranked #1 for seven weeks straight, from mid-August to late September. It regained the top position for another three weeks, from mid-October to early November, after being temporarily dislodged (by a different Kelly — recent American Idol winner Kelly Clarkson with her debut single “A Moment Like This”).

Both “Hot in Herre” and “Dilemma” went on to win Grammy Awards (for Best Male Rap Solo Performance and Best Rap/Sung Collaboration, respectively) in early 2003.

What are your thoughts on the name Nelly? Do you like it more as a boy name or as a girl name (à la Nelly Furtado)?

P.S. The song that “Hot in Herre” ousted in mid-2002 was “Foolish” by Ashanti. More than twenty years later, Nelly and Ashanti got married (in late 2023) and welcomed a baby boy (in mid-2024) named Kareem Kenkaide Haynes. His middle name is Ashanti’s father’s name.

Sources:

Image: Screenshot of the music video for “Dilemma”

Where did the baby name Jabraylin come from in 2013?

High school football player Ja'Braylin Thomas
Ja’Braylin Thomas

The rare name Jabraylin popped up in the U.S. baby name data for the first and only time in 2013:

  • 2015: unlisted
  • 2014: unlisted
  • 2013: 8 baby boys named Jabraylin [debut]
  • 2012: unlisted
  • 2011: unlisted

Why?

There may not be a reason. The name may have emerged naturally as a respelling of Jabraylon or Jabraylen, both of which had previously appeared in the data.

That said, if there is an influence, it could be high school football player Ja’Braylin Thomas — a 6-foot-6, 320-pound offensive tackle from small-town Texas. He was being recruited by college football programs during 2012, so his name was mentioned on several sports websites that year. (He ultimately opted for the University of Houston, though it looks like he didn’t play much once he got there.)

What are your thoughts on the name Ja’Braylin? How would you spell it?

P.S. The name Braylin (by itself) was given to 174 baby boys and 105 baby girls in 2013.

Sources:

Image: Screenshot of a Houston Athletics YouTube video

What popularized the baby name Venetia in the late 1950s?

Actress Venetia Stevenson (1938-2022)
Venetia Stevenson

According to the U.S. baby name data, the name Venetia — which was the fastest-rising baby name of 1956 — saw its highest usage in the late 1950s and early 1960s.

  • 1963: 28 baby girls named Venetia
  • 1962: 45 baby girls named Venetia
  • 1961: 56 baby girls named Venetia
  • 1960: 89 baby girls named Venetia
  • 1959: 84 baby girls named Venetia
  • 1958: 99 baby girls named Venetia
  • 1957: 84 baby girls named Venetia
  • 1956: 45 baby girls named Venetia
  • 1955: 7 baby girls named Venetia
  • 1954: 11 baby girls named Venetia

What was drawing attention to the name during those years?

Pin-up model and actress Venetia (pronounced ven-EE-sha) Stevenson.

In August of 1955, several memorable photos of 17-year-old Venetia and her boyfriend, actor Russ Tamblyn, were published in Life magazine. (In all four photos, acrobatic Russ was upside-down, usually in mid-air.)

Russ Tamblyn and Venetia Stevenson (in 1955)
Russ & Venetia

Several months later, on Valentine’s Day of 1956, the couple got married at the Wayfarers Chapel in Palos Verdes, California.

They were in the news again when they divorced in April of the following year.

In mid-1957, television host Ed Sullivan teamed up with Popular Photography magazine to find the “Most Photogenic Girl in the World.” The winner? Venetia Stevenson, who beat out 1,691 other contenders. She was presented with an award on an episode of The Ed Sullivan Show in early August, then featured on the cover of Popular Photography in September.

Venetia Stevenson in "Popular Photography magazine (Sept. 1957)
Venetia in “Popular Photography“

From 1958 to 1961, Venetia appeared on about a dozen TV shows (including Cheyenne, Colt .45, and 77 Sunset Strip) and in around 10 films (including one in which she co-starred with Audie Murphy).

She quit acting upon marrying Don Everly of The Everly Brothers in 1962. (She’d met Don and Phil on Ed Sullivan.)

Venetia Stevenson was born Joanna Venetia Invicta Stevenson in London in 1938 to film director Robert Stevenson and actress Anna Lee. (Her birth was reported in the papers, and there was a corresponding spike in the number of baby girls named Venetia in England and Wales that year.) The Stevenson family relocated to Hollywood in 1939.

The Latin word “Venetia” originally referred to an ancient region in northeastern Italy (roughly equivalent to the modern region of Veneto). The region was named after its inhabitants, the Veneti.

What are your thoughts on name Venetia?

P.S. During the 1960s, Venetia Stevenson and Don Everly welcomed three children: Stacy Dawn, Erin Invicta, and Edan Donald. Erin, who was in a tumultuous relationship with Guns N’ Roses frontman Axl Rose for several years, inspired Rose to write the hit song “Sweet Child o’ Mine” (1988).

P.P.S. Here’s a suspicious fact: In the spring of 1959, Don Everly and his first wife, Mary Sue, welcomed a baby named Venetia Ember. Where did her first name come from? “Venetia Stevenson, whom Don had met in New York when the brothers were there for an Ed Sullivan gig in 1957.”

Sources:

Images: Clippings from Silver Screen magazine (Oct. 1956), Life magazine (1 Aug. 1955), and Popular Photography magazine (Sept. 1957)