Barbie became such an overnight sensation following its release last month that it might end up giving us a whole new generation of real-life Barbies and Kens. Searched for baby names inspired by the film’s leading duo experienced a huge surge in popularity thanks to the film’s success.
According to People, searches for the name “Barbie” have gone up 603% since April, when the trailer for Greta Gerwig’s hit film was initially released. The name “Ken” has also experienced a significant surge, with a 293% increase in page views.
Nameberry’s Editor-in-Chief Sophie told 9Honey Parenting that something like this could happen ahead of the film’s release, but she’s expecting these names will only experience a modest rise.
“Pop culture often introduces parents to new names they’ve never encountered or allows them to see a name in a new light. Often, it influences parents subconsciously... For pop culture to boost a name, the influence and the name have to be right,” explained Kihm.
She also told People that piquing parents’ interest won’t necessarily translate into actual usage. Kihm is expecting these names to experience a slight bump due to the movie, but neither will be among the most popular baby names of 2023, with Barbie only ranking at 1,896 on the list of 2,000 most popular baby names heading into 2023.