We all have a friend named Bella who had a tough time in 2011 when Twight became a thing, or maybe you recently met a pre-teen named Arya. And surely you have met a Luke or Leia at some point in your life. But the latest name craze is throwing it all the way back to your grandma’s friend group, all thanks to Greta Gerwig (no, it’s not Lady Bird….yet).
According to Nameberry, the baby name database, searches for the name “Barbie” have gone up 603% since April, when the trailer first dropped. Similarly, “Ken” is also seeing a 293% increase in page views. Somewhere out there, Ken Jennings is fuming at the thought of being grouped among the commoners.
But even if people are searching “Barbie” to learn the origins, it doesn’t mean that we’ll have a ton of Barbies in college two decades from now. “Barbie and Ken are piquing parents’ interest, but this doesn’t mean that will translate into actual usage. As of now, Barbie is a predominant Amish name,” Nameberry Editor-in-Chief Sophie Kihm told People. Side note, the most popular baby girl name for 2023 might be “Luxury,” so use that information however you see fit.
The name stems from Barbara, which, according to Nameberry, means “foreign woman.” Perhaps that means someone from Barbieland, maybe? Barbara landed on the Top 10 list every year from 1927 to 1958, when the name slowly began to decrease in popularity. Only time will tell if the name really catches on in the 2020s. Who knows, maybe we’ll see some Julius Oppenheimers running around daycare next year.