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Kimberley French / Summit Entertainment
Isabella and Jacob are both in the Top 5 baby-name lists for 2011.
It's no surprise to those who read our earlier story, but when the list of BabyCenter's most popular baby names was revealed this morning on TODAY, both Isabella and Jacob were high on the list.
Isabella, as in Isabella "Bella" Swan, the human heroine of the "Twilight" books and films, was No.3 on the girl name list.
And Jacob, as in smoldering Native American shapeshifting werewolf Jacob Black, was #5 on the boy name list.
We checked out BabyCenter's full list of the top 100 names for each gender and found a few more "Twilight" references. Bella itself is #26, but we didn't spot any of the other main characters' names. Give them time. We expect Edward, a long-established name before Stephenie Meyer picked it up, to get a little more popular, though doubt Renesmee will ever really take off. (In the new movie "Breaking Dawn," a pregnant Bella is mocked for inventing that as a baby name Not that that stops her.)
Am also doubting that another popular book-turned-movie franchise, "The Hunger Games," will have quite the effect on baby-name trends. Author Suzanne Collins was very creative in her character naming, and Katniss, Gale, Peeta and Prim probably have a way to go to be fully accepted by new parents.
Our TODAYMoms blog has a full post on the naming report. The Aiden-Jayden-Caden trend continues.
Do you know anyone whose name was influenced by a fictional character? Tell us in the comments.
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In other news, people are still idiots.
You just proved that. Idiots post when they shouldn't.
Oh come on "Isabella" and "Jacob" have been popular names for decades.
Someone needs to tell this writer (let me take a really wild guess...:writer Gael have you been on the planet more than 2 decades...have you ever looked at that list before this year?)
Wow, such a strong rebuttal, nyunionmember. What is that, 3rd grade level? The "I-know-you-are-but-what-am-I?" sort of statement?
*cough* Google ad hominem.
@AP - I was commenting entirely on the idiocy of naming a child based solely off of being a fan of a series of books/movies. If someone decided to name their child Han Solo or Keyser Soze, you're think that it was a good, well-thought-out choice?
Jacob has been near the top of the list for years! Twilight had something to do with it? Doubt that...
Twilight has been out as a book for years. How far back are you talking about?
Further back then that. Jacob is traditionally a Jewish/ Christian name.
I'm sure the popularity of Jacob has been somewhat influenced by Twilight...but I agree, it's been popular for a while. On another note, I used to love the name Jasper, but now I feel like I can't name my kid that because of Twilght! And, I'm a Twilight fan.
What a completely ridiculous story: Both Isabella and Jacob are biblical names....
Jacob has been number 1 on many years popularity lists before Twilight was even published. Isabella has been a perennial top 10 for a couple decades now, again well before Twilight. Now if you tell me that Edward, Alice, Carlyle, Esme, etc. suddenly became popular, then I'd say Twilight had a big influence on the popularity of baby names, including Jacob and Isabella. I named my son "Robert" in 2010 after my father, and I was worried that Robert would suddenly be a popular name because of Robert Pattinson from Twilight, but lo and behold, Robert didn't become more popular of name than it already was. Same with Kristen and Taylor. No increase in popularity. Thus, I see little to no evidence of parents naming their kids after movie characters/actors. And also, why would that be a bad thing or not well thought out? In the early to mid 70s the name Jennifer became huge because of the movie "Love Story". That's why you meet alot of women in their mid 30s to early 40s named Jennifer. I don't remember anyone being concerned they were named after a movie character, and now years later, very few people would even remember that's why the name became so popular.
fyi - 2011 isn't over yet, the list only contains information from people who visit the site mentioned, therefore this not a reliable list and not newsworthy - besides the fact that people are still idiots
Isabella has been popular for years, what's your point? When you see a name like Renesmee become a top baby name, maybe THEN you can attribute it to Twilight as that's a name I have never heard or seen before prior to Twilight.
Why would anyone name their child after a fictional character and have that poor child grow up permanently branded with a flash-in-the-pan fad? Shows just how obsessed we are with celebrities and pop culture and fads.
I love movies too, but I would never name my child Indiana Jones or Obi-Wan just because I do.
I have a friend who named her little boy Cullen. RIDICULOUS! I don't mind Isabella or Jacob, but do it for the right reasons, not because you are in love with a fictional character.
Wow, the fact that these names are being credited to a vampire movie is ridiculous, as if we would have never heard about them otherwise. I also know someone who named their son Cullen and eventually Twilight will become a thing of the past, probably even one of those "i was really into that?" things. These parents truly don't realize they are taking a risk at helping other kids make fun of theirs.
What ever happened to naming a baby after Grandma? I am still waiting for 'Little Mary' to be born! ;-)
I named my younger daughter Jordan after the hyper genius girl in the movie "Real Genius" (before I found out I was having a girl!). I had been looking for a name that would fit either a boy or girl equally well, and my husband didn't like any of the other "gender-neutral" names, but we both liked Jordan so that's what she got. Not long after that, we saw another movie (Cocktail) with a female Jordan character and liked it too, so basically she was named after both movies. (My older daughter Annie was named after a cat I had in childhood! So naming a baby after a movie character isn't THAT weird!)
The characters in The Hunger Games are, at least in district 12, named mostly after plants. I've seen several men named Gale who are older than the books, as well as Primrose and Rue. Katniss is less popular, but still a great name. I have an Anya and an Alexander, and it had nothing to do with Buffy the Vampire Slayer. I have a niece named Isabella (Bella) Rose. Not because of Twilight.