In the series Game of Thrones, certain heroes have names that did not yet exist anywhere in the world. And that’s not all: a name that was struggling to take off has seen its popularity explode since the global success of the saga.
The success of TV series influences many young parents in the choice of baby’s first name. This is nothing new since we all have in mind the first name Angélique which established itself in 1974 in the top 20 for women since the series “Angélique, Marquise des Anges”. We can also cite the success of the first name Sébastien (since Belle and Sébastien), the heroine Eden who popularized this first name in Santa Barbara or even the actors of the series Beverly Hills, in the 90s, who propelled the first names Brenda to the top, Brendon and Dylan.
More recently, in 2006, it was the series Grey’s Anatomy which launched the career of the pretty female name Izzie and in 2012, the series Twilight brought to the fore the names Esmée, Jacob and Bella. Without forgetting the first name Arsène relaunched by the series Lupine on Netflix or the series Les Demoiselles du telephone which immediately placed the first name Alba at the top of the most trendy female first names in 2014.
Another series, which is enjoying worldwide success, will even create new first names, which until then did not exist anywhere in the world. Indeed, some names were simply invented for Game of Thrones. This is particularly the case for the first names of the heroines Daenerys and Sansa which were recorded for the first time in France in 2012, but they are still rarely assigned.
Another female name, which struggled to take off in France, will experience exponential growth since the release of the saga. Indeed, the first name Arya, which recorded less than 10 births between the years 2008 and 2011, continues to grow among little girls, until reaching its peak in 2022 with 621 births on the clock! The heroine Arya Stark, the youngest daughter of Lord Eddard Stark and Lady Catelyn Tully, therefore left no parents indifferent. In the series, this young girl of around fifteen, who prefers fencing and horse riding to sewing, appears rebellious and determined.
This feminine first name which means “noble, honored” in Sanskrit is a variation of the first name Aria, also worn by the heroine of the series Pretty Little Liars. Arya should therefore still experience a lot of success in the coming years, given its popularity curve which continues to skyrocket.