Data suggests modern pop culture is becoming a larger influence on how people are naming their babies

When thinking of Cersei, the mind immediately goes to the incredibly popular TV show, 'Game of Thrones', which had a main character by the name of Cersei Lannister.

Yet, the name has been popping up on popular baby name data lists for the past seven years for young girls.

Cersei is simply one name people have picked up on and are now using it for their baby's name, this begs the question: is pop culture influencing how we name our children becoming more common?

Popular baby names is something which is continually evolving and it is clear modern pop culture is becoming a larger influence in people naming their children.

According to baby name data from the NSW Government, in the year 2000, the most popular boy name was 'Joshua,' and the most popular girl name was 'Jessica'.

There was probably no specific reason for this; Netflix, Stan, Binge and other streaming services simply did not exist meaning there were no series being binged by expectant young couples.

Jump to 2021, and the names 'Anakin' or 'Luke' have become quite common. Wondering where you have heard these names before? That's right, they're two main characters in the 'Star Wars' franchise.

In fact, according to an interview the creator of 'Star Wars' George Lucas had with the New York Times in 1997, Mr Lucas created the name Anakin purely for the franchise.

As a result of the extreme popularity of the franchise, there are now more Anakins running around, with the name continuing to pop up on popular baby name data.

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2020 was an interesting year for streaming, with everybody being locked down in their homes as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, there wasn't much to do than stream your favourite shows on Netflix.

One of the most popular shows of all time and most streamed show online is the 2008 to 2013 series 'Breaking Bad'.

Official data from Stan (the Australian streaming service which holds the show) highlights that in 2020, there was a boost in viewership of the show, being a result of the lockdown.

In the show, there is a storyline where the main character's son changes his name to 'Flynn'.

Flynn is again, not an incredibly well-known name, however jump to the NSW Government popular baby name data and in 2021, Flynn was in the top 100 for most popular baby names for boys.

It's hard to say if this was a direct result of people watching the series, but when you do the math, the data does indicate more people in Australia binged the show in 2020 and in 2021, more people were naming their sons the same name.

But it is not just movies and TV shows that are influencing how people are naming their children, celebrities have also been a major influence.

One of the biggest actors in the world right now is Leonardo DiCaprio, starring in major movies and winning awards.

Over the past four years, according to NSW Government baby name data, Leonardo has been in the top 100 list of popular baby names for boys.

For girls, the same can be said for the name 'Harper', which has seen a huge resurgence in popularity.

Trends suggest this could be a result of famous soccer player 'David Beckham', naming is daughter Harper in 2011, with the name growing in popularity again after the fact.

It is extremely evident pop culture is becoming a far more common way people are naming their children, so look out, in the year 2045, Australia could have Prime Minister Anakin or America could have President Hermione.