The Frozen bug has spread to baby names as it's revealed that Elsa has climbed the chart of baby names.
Parenting on Female First
BabyCentre, the world’s number one site for new and expecting mums online, releases its mid-year baby names chart for the top 100 boys' and top 100 girls' names of 2014.
A hot new entry to the Top 100 has been inspired by the cult Disney animation, Frozen. The name Elsa enters the chart at 88, an increase of 243 registrations since 2013 showing the impact the highest grossing animated film in history has had, not just on junior audiences.
“Whilst the film’s popular heroine is called Anna, Elsa offers a more unique name and is also a strong female role model, says Sarah Barrett, Managing Editor for BabyCentre.
Sarah continues: “Elsa is the ice queen but she sees the error of her ways and is shown to be a sensitive, but strong and confident character. Just in the way the name Arya from Game of Thrones increased in popularity in 2013, films are hugely influential.”
Following conversations with Mums of Elsa’s, many parents revealed their choice of name was heavily influenced by their siblings.
Anna Hill, Vice President, Disney UK, comments: “We’re delighted that Elsa is a popular name for babies and it’s lovely to hear that for many families, it is actually their siblings who have chosen it. We’ve been bowled over by the response to Frozen - it’s now the fifth biggest film of all time and families are really connecting with Elsa’s fight to overcome her fears and the powerful strength of the family bond which has helped her to achieve this.”
As Prince George’s first birthday approaches, parents are now even less inclined than they were at the end of 2013 to jump on the Royal baby names bandwagon. Currently sitting at number 19, George has dropped from number 13, the lowest it’s been since 2000 in just five months, suggesting parents are put off by the prospect of being asked the inevitable question: ‘Did you name him after the Prince?’
New film releases (and perhaps Dad’s interests) continue to be an influence for boys too. The name Logan, featured in the film Wolverine is up 33 places to number 14 in 2014, one of the highest risers so far.
While Simon Cowell’s foray into parenthood was as surprising as the choice of name for his first son, Eric has shown to have the X Factor with parents across the UK since his arrival – this name is up by 284 points to 118.
“It remains to be seen how the ranking will change over the next few months as celebrities have their babies and we see more popular cultural influences,” says Sarah.
“We predict that we will continue to see that old-fashioned names for both sexes still going strong and holding their places in the chart, including Penny, Audrey, Edith, Bertie, Ronnie and Albert.”
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