Bridgerton is back for its third season on Thursday and experts say the hit Netflix romance series has inspired a baby name craze. Can you guess which are most popular?
Experts have claimed that Bridgerton is inspiring a new craze of baby names just days before the new season.
Bridgerton is back for its third season on Thursday, with Irish actress Nicola Coughlan playing out the complicated life of wallflower Penelope Featherington, who’s always been a little unlucky in love. After a near two-year wait, Netflix viewers are keen to see if a romance with the mysterious Colin Bridgerton will perhaps unfold, as the trailer teased a turbulent friends-to-lovers plot.
With fans across the world now caught up in the hype, it’s perhaps no surprise that Bridgerton-inspired baby names are reportedly on the rise. This was unveiled by nursery retailer Kiddies Kingdom which analysed two years of government data to shine a light on the ‘Bridgerton effect’.
“A baby’s name is one of the first gifts they get, so it’s no surprise that many parents put so much time and effort into finding the right one,” Kirsty Carroll, a parenting expert at the firm, said. “Favourite TV characters, names of meaningful places, or even names influenced by beloved family members are great options.”
While you may expect ‘Penelope’ to be the most popular baby name, it was actually ‘Daphne’ which saw the greatest uptick; with an impressive 51% surge across England and Wales between 2020 to 2021. Played by Phoebe Dynevor, Daphne Basset is the eldest daughter of the powerful Bridgerton family.
She won the hearts of viewers in season one, having pursued a steamy romance with Duke Simon Basset, played by Regé-Jean Page. Although their story is set in the 19th century, Daphne’s name actually has a much greater history -translating to ‘laurel tree’ in Greek mythology.
The ancient tales suggest that tree spirit Daphne fell in love with Apollo – the god of music and dance. But this soon grew into an unhealthy obsession, with the river god Peneus transforming her into a laurel tree to save her.
Meanwhile, experts also believe the fifth child of the Bridgerton family, played by Claudia Jessie, may have inspired another new baby name craze. This refers to Eloise – an intelligent, bold woman who is completely uninterested in domestic or married life, unlike everyone around her.
In England and Wales, it’s claimed this name spiked by 27% , with its German origin translating to ‘famous warrior’.
Finally, ‘Colin’ the third Bridgerton child and love interest of the upcoming season, is another name that’s seen a 26% increase, according to the data. This name has two origins – both Gaelic and Old French – with the former translating to ‘cub’, and the latter translating to ‘victory of the people’.
Arguably, this may hint at what actor Luke Newton’s lead character will be like in season three – proud on the outside, but a massive softy in reality. In light of this, Kirsty added: “Parents expecting babies during spring who are looking for different inspiration can also look to popular culture and existing family traditions to find a name they like.
“When trying to come up with a baby name, it’s a good idea to start by deciding if you prefer commonly used or more unique names – this will help you reduce a potential list.”
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