Superhero-inspired baby names are on the rise as more parents are naming their kids Thor, Harley and Rocket

Virgin Radio

11 Jul 2022, 11:02

Kids dressed as superheros and Chris Hemsworth as Thor

Credit: In The Book / Rex

If you’re stuck for some newborn name inspiration, have you thought about some superhero names?

It seems since the 2011 release of the first Thor film, and the latest Marvel movie, Thor: Love And Thunder, parents are turning to comic book and film characters for their baby names.

New research by In The Book has found that parents naming their child Thor has increased 50% since the first Thor film came out, and it’s not just a name reserved for boys either, with Thora becoming popular for girls too.

Analysing ONS figures, the numbers go back 25 years to see which superhero names have inspired parents the most.

At the top of the list is Neo from The Matrix, first released in 1999. In that year, no babies took on the Keanu Reeves' leading character name, but just one year after the action thriller came out, 48 babies were given the moniker.

Credit: In The Book

Movie audiences were first introduced to Rocket in 2014’s Guardians of the Galaxy, and only 12 months later, nine children were named after the raccoon bounty hunter.

Tony, after Iron Man’s Tony Stark, went up from 35 on the year of the first release in 2008 to 42 a year later, and Bruce, inspired by Batman’s Bruce Wayne, went up from 36 to 41 following the release of 2005’s Batman Begins.

For girls, The Incredibles character, Violet, inspired a staggering amount of baby names. 50 baby girls had that name in the release year of 2004, and a year later, 161 babies had that title.

Harley, inspired by Suicide Squad’s Harley Quinn, also saw a major jump, with 169 baby girls named after Margot Robbie's character in 2016, and 279 named Harley the year after.

The findings come after the latest Thor film, Love and Thunder, finally landed in cinemas.

Virginradio.co.uk caught up with director Taika Waitit at the blue carpet UK special screening, and the voice of Korg opened up about why Russell Crowe became one of the best things about the new MCU adventure.