Moana, Elsa, & Beyond: How Fictional Heroines Have Impacted Naming Trends
Movies influence our lives far beyond simple entertainment. It turns out, they also influence the choices parents make about how to name their children — particularly their daughters.
With the sequel to Disney’s highly successful Moana coming to theaters this week, the MyHeritage Research team dove deep into the data to find out which movies had a strong impact on naming trends in the U.S. and elsewhere. We drew upon information from the U.S. Social Security Administration, the U.K. Office for National Statistics, Statistics Canada, the Swiss Confederation Federal Statistical Office, and Statistics Sweden. Here’s what we found.
Moana
Before Moana was first released in 2016, very few girls in the U.S. were given this name.
In 2015, only 18 American baby girls were named Moana; in 2014, it was just 16.
In the year the movie came out, however, 57 girls were named Moana, and in the following year, 2017, the number increased by close to 150% with 141 new American Moanas.
Number of baby girls named Moana in the U.S.
The name Moana actually caused quite a few complications for Disney. The Polynesian heroine was given different names in various regions due to trademark issues and cultural sensitivities. In Europe, the name was already registered as a trademark, particularly associated with a well-known brand in some countries. This led Disney to rename the character “Vaiana” in most European countries: “Vai” means “water” in Tahitian, keeping a similar oceanic theme to the original name, which means “ocean” in Polynesian languages.
In Italy, the name was changed to “Oceania” to avoid confusion with Moana Pozzi, a famous adult film star, completely inappropriate for a family film. Disney opted for this title in the Italian market to prevent any unfavorable associations while maintaining thematic focus on water and the ocean.
In France, the European version of the film’s name, Vaiana, also showed a significant effect. In the early 2000s there were very few French girls named Vaiana, and 6 years prior to the film’s launch (2010–2015) there were none. In 2016, the year the movie was released (in November) 17 baby girls were named Vaiana, and in the following year the number increased by 248% to 59 French baby girls named Vaiana. A year later, in 2018, the name’s popularity dropped by 56% to 26 baby Vaianas, and has remained stable since.
Number of girls named Vaiana in France
Elsa
Out of all the names of all the Disney princesses, the one that took the world by (ice) storm is that of Elsa, star of Disney’s blockbuster Frozen. To be precise, several minutes into Frozen, Elsa’s royal title formally becomes Queen, but either way her name easily takes the lead even over that of her little sister, Anna, who is technically the protagonist of the film.
Shortly after the movie’s release in November 2013, the name Elsa began to gain momentum in the U.S., becoming more popular than ever, as demonstrated by the dramatic spike in the following graph:
Number of baby girls named Elsa in the U.S.
In 2013 the name Elsa was given to 566 baby girls in the U.S. A year later, in 2014, it doubled in popularity, with 1140 American baby girls named Elsa.
Number of baby girls named Elsa in England
The same thing happened in England. In 2013, the name Elsa was given to 286 baby girls in England; a year later, in 2014, it almost doubled in popularity with 537 English baby girls named Elsa.
In Sweden, the name Elsa has ranked among the top 10 girls’ names since 2007. However, its first time in the top spot was 2014: the year the name reached its peak of popularity in other parts of the world, given to 841 Swedish baby girls. In 2015, Elsa was still ranked at number 1, with 864 Swedish baby girls given this name.
Ariel
Two other Disney princesses moved the needle in a statistically significant way.
The first one is Ariel, a.k.a. The Little Mermaid — the titular character of the movie based on the classic story by Hans Christian Anderson. There was a significant lift in popularity after the Disney movie’s release in the end of 1989, especially across the U.S.:
Number of baby girls named Ariel in the U.S.
In 1988, the name Ariel was given to 911 baby girls and ranked #277. A year later, in 1989, it jumped in popularity with 1285 American baby girls named Ariel. That number tripled in 1990: 3607 baby girls were named Ariel and the name jumped to #94.
Jasmine
The second princess who significantly impacted parents — this time in Canada — was Jasmine, the heroine of Disney’s Aladdin from 1992.
Number of baby girls named Jasmine in Canada
In 1992 the name Jasmine was given to 239 Canadian baby girls. A year later, in 1993, the popularity of the name jumped, with 329 Canadian baby girls named Jasmine.
Amélie
A live-action heroine who has had a considerable impact on the popularity of girls’ names around the world is Amélie. The titular character of this romantic comedy, a young Parisian waitress played by Audrey Tautou, inspired parents in the U.S., England, Switzerland, and other countries.
In the U.S. and England it was the English version of the name: Amelie. The movie’s entry into the American market was gradual, so in 2002 it was still under the threshold of 1000 most popular names. However, after its 2002 Oscar and Golden Globe nominations as best foreign-language film among other categories, the graphs began to climb.
Number of baby girls named Amelie in the U.S.
In 2003, the name appeared for the first time, ranking at #882 and given to 274 American baby girls. By 2005, 309 babies were named Amelie (ranking #828), and in 2006, 360 American baby girls were named Amelie, with the name ranking #762.
Number of baby girls named Amelie in England
In England the name Amelie jumped from only 32 girls given the name in 2001 to 250 in 2002. By 2003, it had increased in popularity tenfold compared to 2 years prior, with 347 English baby girls named Amelie.
Number of baby girls named Amélie in Switzerland
In Switzerland, the original French version of the name, Amélie, jumped from being used 29 times in 2001 to 80 times in 2002.
Out of the 80 newborn Amélies, over 66% (53 girls) were from the French-speaking region of Switzerland.
Dorothy
Surprisingly, the Oscar-winning movie The Wizard of Oz had no impact on the popularity of the name Dorothy, the protagonist of the movie played by the marvelous Judy Garland.
However, if we follow the yellow brick road back to where Dorothy’s story began, we might begin to understand: before it was a film, Oz was a book series. The first book, The Wonderful Wizard of Oz by Frank Baum, was published in 1900. It opens with the sentence: “Dorothy lived in the midst of the great Kansas prairies, with Uncle Henry, who was a farmer, and Aunt Em, who was the farmer’s wife.”
The name rose in popularity alongside the book series, with a new book added to the series almost every year. Among families in the United States, the name reached the #2 ranking in popularity between 1920 to 1927. It was also popular in Canada and New Zealand.
Therefore, by the time the movie was released in 1939, the popularity of Dorothy’s name was many years somewhere over the rainbow, so the movie had no effect.
Number of baby girls named Dorothy in the US
Arya
Arya, one of the main heroines of Game of Thrones (2011–2019) was yet another inspiration for the names of many American baby girls. The name became significantly more popular after the character Arya Stark gained widespread recognition and admiration in the TV series. Her strong, independent, and resilient character probably resonated with many U.S. parents, as demonstrated by the graph below:
Number of baby girls named Arya in the U.S.
In 2010, the name Arya was given to 273 baby girls in the U.S. and ranked at #942. A year later, in 2011, it was given to 387 American girls, and that number doubled in 2012, with 759 baby girls named Arya. In 2019, when the 8th and final season of Game of Thrones was released, the name Arya was given to 3050 baby girls and ranked #92.
The names we give our children carry stories, traditions, and sometimes, a touch of pop culture. As we’ve seen, movies and TV shows can leave a lasting imprint, shaping naming trends around the world. Are you curious to discover the stories behind your family’s names? Explore your heritage and uncover the fascinating history of your ancestors with MyHeritage today.
