Study Finds Nearly Half Of Gen Z Parents Will Name Their Child After One Of These 6 Celebrities
There's about to be lots of baby Sabrina Carpenters and Jacob Elordis, according to this survey.
Juan Pablo Olaya Celis | Shutterstock With every generation, trends for baby names seem to change, sometimes drastically — after decades of Jasons and Jessicas have come untold hoards of Gunners and Bryïnnleighys and all kinds of other let's say "creative" names. But as Gen Z moves toward parenthood, the trend seems to be shifting toward a perhaps unlikely naming source: celebrities.
A study found that nearly 1 in 2 Gen Z parents plan to name their children after celebrities.
It's an interesting development given the way Gen Z has largely rejected Hollywood culture, at least compared to the generations before them. That's according to an analysis by the influencer marketing firm Socially Powerful.
They did a deep dive into global baby name data, along with surveys of future parents, to determine that about 46% of Gen Z parents are likely to look to famous folk for name ideas and to predict which celebrities will be their babies' namesakes. So which stars will do the honors?
Kim, Sabrina, and Olivia are the top celebrity-inspired girl names.
1. Kim
The analysis showed that Kim is far and away the most popular celebrity-inspired baby name worldwide, with superstar Kim Kardashian being the main inspiration, lending her name to some 1,726,724 babies across the world. Still, most of them are in the United States, where Kim K reigns supreme.
2. Sabrina
In second place is Sabrina, which the analysis theorizes is inspired by music star Sabrina Carpenter, who is rapidly becoming Gen Z's answer to Madonna. Nearly a million people worldwide bear the name, with Bangladesh interestingly being home to the most Sabrinas worldwide. Carpenter really wasn't kidding when she sang about how we're all "thinkin' about me" in "Espresso."
3. Olivia
We're in something of a golden age of famous Olivias at the moment, with musician Olivia Rodrigo already having established herself as a Gen Z touchstone. There's also Olivia Wilde and singer/actress Olivia Holt as well, and the analysis found this popularity is translating to baby names in a big way. It was the top girls' baby name of 2023 in the U.S., in fact.
If those names aren't doing it for you, though, don't worry — model sisters Bella and Gigi Hadid also made the list, as did Jenna Ortega and, of course, Taylor Swift. You may have heard of her?
Leonardo, Justin, and Jacob are the top celebrity boy names.
1. Leonardo
The study found that Leonardo is the top celebrity-inspired baby boy name worldwide, with approximately 1,650,030 namesakes across the globe. And sure, they could all be named after Leonardo Da Vinci, but it's more likely the Marlon Brando of our day, Leonardo DiCaprio, who is the real inspiration. Though even Leo was named after Da Vinci himself, so who knows?!
2. Justin
Justin may only be the 573rd most popular name in the world overall, but among celebrity monikers, it's firmly in second place. Most Justins live in the U.S., and many are probably named after Justin Timberlake. But for Gen Z parents, it's mostly about pop star Justin Bieber, who at 31 is not that much older than Gen Z himself.
3. Jacob
In third place for boys is Jacob, the popularity of which surely partly has to do with millennials' obsession with the "Twilight" series. But the most famous Jacob at the moment is "Saltburn" star Jacob Elordi, who, as a Gen Z'er himself, seems to be lending his name to a growing number of babies. Barry, the name of Elordi's "Saltburn" co-star Barry Keoghan, is in fourth place, by the way. Let it never be said that movie didn't make an impact!
John Sundholm is a writer, editor, and video personality with 20 years of experience in media and entertainment. He covers culture, mental health, and human interest topics.