Thousands of U.S. Children Were Named After ‘Game of Thrones’ Characters in 2018

To absolutely no one’s surprise, Game of Thrones-inspired baby names are becoming increasingly popular.

According to newly released data from the Social Security Administration, more than 4,500 children born in 2018 share the same name as characters from the hit HBO series; this figure doesn’t include more traditional names like Jon and Jaime. NBC News‘ Joe Murphy points out that this data is based on the 29,000 distinct names given to U.S. newborns last year, and does not include names given to less than five babies. 

Among the most popular girl names were Khalessi, Yara, Lyana, and Brienne, while boy names like Tyrion, Jorah, Ramsay made good showings. The most common GoT name of all, however, was Arya, which was identified as the 119th most popular female name of 2018 in fact—a 16-point increase from 2017. It’s also important to note that Arya is an international name that translates to “noble one” or “noble goddess,” and had appeared in the data well before HBO series’ premiere. This is also the case for Tyrion and Jorah.

You can check out the all of the GoT names that appeared in the 2018 data below. Other pop culture-related names that surged last year were Thanos (Avengers) and Kilo (Star Wars).

Arya: 2,545 names

Khaleesi: 560

Yara: 434

Lyanna: 319

Shae: 125

Renly: 102

Jory: 72

Tyrion: 58

Brienne: 33

Jorah: 30

Sansa: 29

Catelyn: 21

Ellaria: 17

Oberyn: 15

Nymeria: 15

Ramsay: 15

Theon: 14

Aerys: 14

Gregor: 11

Shireen: 11

Talisa: 11

Sandor: 10

Khal: 9

Olenna: 9

Rennick: 9

Daenarys: 8

Bran: 8

Beric: 8

Brynden: 8

Myranda: 8

Bronn: 7

Samwell: 7

Myrcella: 6

Aegon: 6

Benjen: 6

Ghita: 6

Martyn: 6

Meryn: 6