More: The Most Successful Baby Names
Celebrity Names for Babies: How to Choose a Baby Name Destined for Fame
Famous people have a knack for stirring the pot when it comes to controversial baby names. Chris Martin and Gwyneth Paltrow paved the way with Apple, and Kanye West and Kim Kardashian followed suit with their picks of North, Chicago, Psalm and Saint. Kids of Hollywood A-listers and well-known celebrities are likely destined for stardom, unorthodox names notwithstanding, but how many non-famous kiddos are destined for the limelight based solely on their names? Will your child take a seat in the Oval Office (check out our president-inspired baby names)? Will your future daughter become the next modern-day Jane Eyre? According to USDirect’s How Famous Is Your Name tool, they may be more likely to become a famous actor, musician, athlete, politician or author based on their name. Spoiler: male names make up the lion’s share of famous names.
Which Names Have the Highest Number of Celebrity Namesakes?
John is the most popular famous name across all five categories. Unsurprisingly, John was the second-most popular baby name from 1919–2018. While not every John turned out famous, it certainly increased the chances for a John to become a celebrity. The top 40 most famous names across all categories are all traditional male names. The only category in which female names made an appearance more than five times is the actor category. In general, men still steal the spotlight in Hollywood—more men than women play the lead actor in movies. The names John, James, Robert and Stephen dominate the author category by a landslide. For most of history, male authors dominated the literary world. In fact, until women authors became more widely accepted, most women wrote under male pseudonyms. Jack and Jane made up the highest percentages of names in the male and female actor categories. For an industry where it’s not uncommon for a celebrity to take on a stage name, Jack and Jane are about as traditional as it gets.
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Names Destined for Fame, Broken Down By Occupation:
Actress Names
Amy Angela Anne Barbara Bea Elizabeth Ellen Jackie Jane Jean Jennifer Joan Julia Julie Katharine Kelsey Loretta Lucille Mary Meryl Patricia Kathy Sarah Sharon Shirley Susan
Actor Names
Alan Alec Anthony Bob Daniel Don Ed Glenn Hugh Jack James Jeff Jim Kevin Laurence Martin Matt Michael Peter Raymond Robin Robert Spencer Steve Ted William
Musician Names
Billy Bobby Chris David Don James Jimmy Joe John Johnny Michael Paul
Athlete Names
Allison David George James John Katie Michael Nathan Thomas William
Politician Names
Catherine Daniel David Edward Frank Henry James John Joseph Richard Robert Thomas William
Author Names
Anne Arthur Bill Bob Catherine Charles Clive Dan Daniel Danielle David Dean Donald Elizabeth George Harlan Harry Herman Irving James Janet Jim Jimmy John Jonathan Ken Kitty Laura Lee Mark Michael Mitch Nelson Nicholas Richard Robert Scott Sidney Stephen Thomas Tim Vince Walter William
Looking for more baby name inspiration or celebrity names for babies? Check out our baby names and meaning section.
