The Star Wars Effect
The Star Wars Effect
Does the epic Star Wars franchise affect the popularity of baby names in the United States and the world? Go to Sebulba and lay your money down, you bet it does!
By the YeahBaby.com editorial staff
Star WarsTM has been a cultural phenomenon for the past three decades. It has made it's presence felt in everyday life, with mass marketing of DVDs, books, and collectible figurines. Its effect on baby name popularity is evident, as we are able to view trends over the last 30 or so years.
The main hero of the initial Star Wars movie, Luke Skywalker, has a traditional name, going all the way back to Biblical times. While always a relatively popular name, Luke never finished higher than 350th during any decade of the 20th century, until the 1970's, when it climbed to 228. It has steadily climbed into the top 100 most popular boys names, and is currently the 42nd most popular boys name.
Harrison Ford (Han Solo) reached ''stardom'' with the success of the first Star Wars movie. The baby name Harrison, projects a similar trend, never finishing in the top 300 names until after the initial Star Wars trilogy. It climbed to 231 for the decade of the 90s, and is currently the 210th most popular boys name.
Will names like Anakin, Hayden , and Natalie become the next chart-climbers? Anakin hasn't cracked the top 1000 boys names yet, but has been climbing in popularity in South Australia. Hayden has been climbing in popularity as both a girls name and as a boys name. It is currently the 576th most popular girls name, and the 88th most popular boys name (it had never reached the top 100 before Star Wars Episode II - the first Star Wars movie featuring actor Hayden Christensen). While Natalie has always been a popular girls name, it has now cracked the top 20, possibly due in part to the popularity of actress Natalie Portman.
Liam (Neeson, who played Qui-Gon Jinn), has vaulted into the top 150 in popularity of boys names in 1999, the same year Star Wars Episode I was released. It has continued to climb. Ewan (McGregor, who played Obi-Wan Kenobi) has not cracked the top 1000 boys names yet in the United States, but is enjoying popularity abroad. With another appearance in Star Wars Episode III, perhaps Ewan will become the next name to climb the charts.
With the sixth installment of the Star Wars franchise opening in theaters on May 19, we are presenting the baby names of some of the most prominent actors and actresses to star in this epic franchise.
Mark Hamill - - Luke Skywalker
Harrison Ford - - Han Solo
Carrie Fisher - - Princess Leia Organa
Alec Guinness - - Ben Obi-Wan Kenobi
Ian McDiarmid - - Emperor Palpatine/Darth Sidious
David Prowse - - Darth Vader
James Earl Jones - - Darth Vader (voice)
Liam Neeson - - Qui-Gon Jinn
Ewan McGregor - - Obi-Wan Kenobi
Natalie Portman - - Queen Padmé Naberrie Amidala
Jake Lloyd - - young Anakin Skywalker
Hayden Christensen - - grown-up Anakin Skywalker
Anthony Daniels - - C-3PO
Kenny Baker - - R2-D2
Frank Oz - - Yoda (voice)
Pernilla August - - Shmi Skywalker
Christopher Lee - - Count Dooku/Darth Tyranus
Temuera Morrison - - Jango Fett
Daniel Logan - - Boba Fett
Samuel L. Jackson - - Mace Windu
Keisha Castle-Hughes - - Queen of Naboo
Ahmed Best - - Jar Jar Binks (voice)
Ray Park - - Darth Maul
Keira Knightley - - Sabé (queen's decoy)
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