Luna, Matilda, Darcy and Dorien – novel names inspired by books
Hunger Games star Jennifer Lawrence is pregnant with her first child, which has got fans thinking which character from the films and books have inspired the most baby names?
New research from Flowercard analyses UK and US government data from 2000 to 2019 to reveal the baby names inspired by the books and films.
Jennifer Lawrence’s feisty heroine Katniss has inspired more than 150 baby names since 2000.
However, the most popular Hunger Games inspired name overall was Effie, with 2,039 babies being named after her in the UK and US.
Gale was found to be the most popular male Hunger Games inspired name with 101 US boys named after the character.
It’s not only the Hunger Games that has inspired a baby name trend though.
The likes of Harry Potter and Matilda have also influenced a generation of children.
Top 10 literary baby names
1 Luna, Luna Lovegood from the Harry Potter Series by JK Rowling
2 Matilda, Matilda Wormwood from Matilda by Roald Dahl
3 Holden, Holden Caulfield from The Catcher in the Rye by JD Salinger
4 Arya, Arya Stark from A Song of Ice and Fire series by George RR Martin
5 Juliet, Juliet Capulet from Romeo and Juliet by William Shakespeare
6 Rhett, Rhett Butler from Gone with the Wind by Margaret Mitchell
7 Romeo, Romeo Montague from Romeo and Juliet by William Shakespeare
8 Dorian, Dorian Gray from The Picture of Dorian
Gray by Oscar Wilde
9 Darcy, Fitzwilliam Darcy from Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen
10 Atticus, Atticus Finch from To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee
Even though the final Harry Potter book was released in 2007, Luna Lovegood continues to hold a special place in our heart as most influential literary character with 44,720 namesakes across the UK and US.
Published in 1988, 29,281 more Matildas have roamed around the world since 2000.
Other popular boys’ names inspired by books include Caspian from the Chronicles of Narnia by CS Lewis.
You can thank Philip Pullman’s His Dark Materials for the popularity of Lyra and Charles Dickens for Estella, the heroine of Great Expectations.