Baby Heisenberg? Breaking Bad inspires baby names

Independent

3 Dec, 2013 06:00 PM3 mins to read

George pushed out of the top 10 since the prince was born - while Skyler and Jesse are on the up

Breaking Bad and other hugely popular TV shows have inspired more baby names this year than the royal family, according to the latest lists released by website BabyCentre.

In the top 100 baby names for boys and girls in 2013, names like Skyler and Jesse from the hit drama about drug dealers and Carrie and Brody from Homeland have seen a surge in popularity.

By contrast, after Prince George's birth in July his name has been pushed out of the top 10, with parents apparently not wanting to follow in royal footsteps and be branded "Kate copycats".

Top of the charts for boys' names was Oliver, up three places from last year. Olivia was similarly the most popular name for girls.

Other usually popular royal names - such as William, Harry, Charles, Kate and Catherine - all dropped in popularity this year.

Breaking Bad's Skyler and Jesse increased in popularity by 70 per cent and 13 per cent respectively.

From Homeland, the name Brody was up by 40 per cent and entered the top 100 for the first time (despite actually being the surname of the lead male character played by Damian Lewis). The names of the show's female characters also shot up, with Carrie and Dana rising by 200 per cent and 66 per cent respectively.

The name Arya from Game of Thrones was a new entry to the top 100, up by 183 per cent, and the first baby Sansa was also registered with BabyCentre this year.

The charts are based on the 21,000 babies born this year who were registered by their parents to the BabyCentre website.

Sarah Barrett, managing editor for BabyCentre, said: "So much speculation about the royal baby and regal names could be responsible for the decline of many names associated with our royal family over the past 12 months.

"Inspiration for your baby's name can come from anywhere, which is why a show like Breaking Bad, which has been hugely popular, has influenced naming choices this year.

"Parents fear being labelled Kate copycats but will take inspiration from well-known characters in popular TV shows or films."