Parents Are Actually Naming Their Babies After 'Game Of Thrones' Characters

Parents Are Actually Naming Their Babies After 'Game Of Thrones' Characters

As HBO's "Game of Thrones" skyrockets in popularity, so has the number of babies named after the show's characters. The latest data from the Social Security Administration reveals that 241 babies were named Khaleesi -- a word meaning "wife of the khal" that the series author George R. R. Martin invented for his "Mother of Dragons" character -- in 2013.

game of thrones baby
Photographer Karen Abad took pictures of her friend's baby dressed as different TV show characters -- including Daenerys Targaryen aka "Khaleesi of the Great Grass Sea" from "Game Of Thrones."

"Plenty of authors dating back to Shakespeare have invented names that caught on with parents," Laura Wattenberg aka "The Baby Name Wizard," wrote in a blog post about the Khaleesi phenomenon in 2013. "For instance, hundreds of American girls have been named Eowyn over the past decade after a Lord of the Rings character," she added.

But Emilia Clarke's formidable female character is not the only baby name influencer from Westeros.
  • The name Arya rose in popularity, with 1,135 baby Aryas born in the U.S. in 2013 -- up from 756 in 2012 and 387 in 2011.
  • Fan favorite Tyrion Lanniser's first name also shot up from 11 American baby Tyrions in 2010 to 20 in 2012 to 43 in 2013.
  • Khaleesi's actual name Daenerys did not appear on any SSA birth certificates until 2012 when there were 21 newborns with that name -- and then 67 in 2013.
  • There were 5 newborns named Theon in the U.S. 2006 and then three times as many in 2013. In England and Wales, 15 baby Theons were born in 2012, up from 4 in 2011.

As these charts from FindTheBest show, the "Game of Thrones" effect extends beyond Khaleesi's rise from baby name nonexistence. (Though why anyone would want to name their baby after Theon Greyjoy is beyond us.)

Khaleesi

Daenerys

Arya

Tyrion

Theon

Like Us On Facebook |
Follow Us On Twitter |
Contact HuffPost Parents

Before You Go

Corleone

Weirdest Baby Names

Popular in the Community

Close

HuffPost Shopping’s Best Finds

MORE IN LIFE