Have you thought about naming your baby after your favourite TV character? Cersei or Joffrey has a nice ring to it. File photo.
Canberra parents love to name their kids after royalty. Think of enduring favourite William, Canberra’s most popular boy’s name last year, which has made it to the top 10 list of ACT baby names for the past two decades.
Or 2017 and 2015’s favourite girl’s name, Charlotte, which spiked after the birth of Princess Charlotte of Cambridge, the second child and only daughter of Royal couple William and Catherine.
But in the last decade, a new royal name has taken the imagination of a particular Canberra family – but it’s a name not from this world.
According to Access Canberra, at least one little girl in the past decade has been named Daenerys, after the fictional Targaryen queen from George R. R. Martin and HBO’s television series Game of Thrones.
Since the first episode of the popular show was aired on 17 April 2011, 19 local babies have been registered sharing names with popular characters from the series.
Popular figure Arya (of House Stark) is the most popular ACT baby name from the show and the name Daenerys has been registered in the ACT.
Due to anonymity reasons, Access Canberra would not disclose specific numbers of birth registrations because only a few of these names have been registered.
Luckily, little Dany’s parents didn’t give her full title of “Daenerys Stormborn of House Targaryen, First of Her Name, the Unburnt, Queen of the Andals and the First Men, Khaleesi of the Great Grass Sea, Breaker of Chains, and Mother of Dragons” otherwise the name would have been knocked back.
Access Canberra’s baby name registrar is guided by relevant legislation which provides a definition of a prohibited name, including names that could be offensive or resembles an official rank or title.
For example, ‘Prince’ or ‘Princess’ are prohibited because they resemble an official title or rank. When parents try to register a prohibited name, the family are contacted and encouraged to find a suitable alternative.
So far in 2019, a total of 3,166 births have been registered in Canberra, with Harper and Zoe tieing for the top spot on girls names.
The everpresent Charlotte makes an appearance at number three while last year’s most popular name Amelia comes in fourth place. Chloe, Grace, Abigail, Matilda, Sophie and Ava round out the top 10.
Oliver, Jack and Noah are the three most popular names given to Canberra baby boys in the first six months of 2019, while William – which even made it onto the top 10 list of ACT baby names back in 1950 – comes in at number four.
2019’s top 10 baby names so far
Girls:
1. Harper and Zoe
3. Charlotte
4. Amelia, Chloe, Grace
7. Abigail, Matilda, Sophie
10. Ava
Boys:
1. Oliver
2. Jack and Noah
4. Thomas and William
6. Isaac
7. Henry and Lucas
9. Archer and George
Original Article published by Lachlan Roberts on The RiotACT.
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