Would you call your child Maverick or Thor? The unlikely rise of baby name maximalism

Name: Main Character Energy

Age: The phrase is a 2021 TikTok currency, but the concept was explored for the first seen in the 2006 film The Holiday, with Kate Winslet's character invited to "be leading lady" in her own life.

Appearance: Distinctive and dramatic.< /p>

A bold claim for a 2021 TikTok hashtag. Do you realize this is positively precambrian in the TikTok years? Aha, but the main character energy (behaving like you're the protagonist of a movie) has recently been revived to describe a new trend in naming babies. According to SJ Strum, Baby Name Podcast Host, people are increasingly naming their children after major movie and TV characters.

It Is there a baby naming podcast? Here, I'm listening to one where French students in medieval history explain their thesis subjects; it is absolutely common. Also, a podcast with an episode called "Is Omelette an OK Baby Name… Discuss" deserves our respect.

That's ridiculous - just ask my sons, Benedict and Rancheros. What kind of main characters are we talking about? Strum says Maverick has been growing in popularity since the new Top Gun movie. There are also more Thors and Marilyns, and at least one Villanelle.

Yuck. I suppose little Villanelle's parents don't believe in nominative determinism? You hope. Apparently there are more Jeffreys too since Netflix's Dahmer series.

Pff, there are a lot of famous Jeffs. Maybe parents were thrilled with their Amazon Christmas deliveries? Are we sure that Jeff Bezos is a more auspicious namesake?

You make a fair point. What other main character names are popular? Well, apparently Wednesday "is on the baby name lists" after the release of Tim Burton's new Addams Family series.

Wednesday Nickname Hump? No. Strum says it has "a unique, whimsical sound" and you can shorten it to "Ness", which makes it "more portable", but she also warns it's "a pretty boring day". p>

Don't people ridicule their children with these types of names? Not to mention a lifetime of disappointment. You would definitely need to be a special kind of person to handle being called Thor or Maverick. Strum agrees it could be a burden growing up with a cult character name. She tends to recommend "names that match parents' life experiences - such as special places, common interests, [an] inspiring person".

The classic celebrity approach: Brooklyn Beckham, Chicago West, Jupiter Sheeran… I don't think even Ed Sheeran is rich enough to father a child on Jupiter. None of this would be possible in France, of course, where they have banned parents from calling children Nutella and Griezmann Mbappé, among others.

Very sensible. What would be your main character's baby name?