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Twilight Takes Over the Nursery
Been meeting a lot of baby Bellas lately? How about Edwards? Carlisles? Alices?
Yes, New Moon is topping the box office these days, but the Twilight series also seems to be taking over the baby naming trend.
And it’s not just in Twi-hards’ heads. In 2000, the name “Bella” – the main character in the vampire series – was at 749 in the Social Security Adminstration’s baby name list. By 2008, it was at 122. Isabella, a common alternative, ranked second out of all baby names last year.
Edward has not had quite the precipitious rise, but it’s also a less unusual name, having been in the top 150 names for quite some time. Jacob – the Cullens’ archnemesis has likewise always been popular – it’s been number one with the SSA for the past eight years.
And if you’re a serious Twi-hater, here’s some bad news: the CEO of Babynames.com told Stuff she hasn’t seen an author’s work have this kind of impact on baby names since Shakespeare. Yes, she compared Stephenie Meyer’s fluffy vampire love story that makes grown women swoon to the bard himself.
So how did it happen? For one the names are pretty normal – with the exception of Reneesme (what IS that Ms. Meyer?) and thus sound good rolling off the tongue. The movies help too – they immerse the names in pop culture. Think the sudden boost in girls named Emma after Rachel and Ross’ little girl appeared on Friends.
And maybe there’s a little something to the practice of naming kids for what mom and dad were up to when they were conceived? Someone has to relieve all that sexual tension (warning, don’t click this link of you don’t want a New Moon spoiler).
Did you know any kids named for Twilight?
Image: Mega Plex Theatres
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[...] names in Scotland, of all places. Other popular names included Rihanna, Hayden, and—inevitably—all the main characters from “Twilight.” This is bad news for the poor girls who get saddled with Renesmee, but the silver lining for the [...]
Note to Self: Do Not Be Born in 2009 :: Agent Bedhead commented on Dec 22 09 at 2:09 pmAdd your take:
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