UPDATE: From Leia to Luke, there are plenty of badass baby names to choose from in the Star Wars universe, and many worthy of bestowing upon the next generation. But we were pretty surprised to see that Kylo, the villain of Star Wars: The Force Awakens, has made the biggest jump up the baby names chart so far. While Kylo wasn’t even on the Social Security Administration’s 2015 list, the newly-released 2016 data shows that he’s definitely risen in popularity. In fact, a total of 238 parents named their sons after the villain last year, ranking Kylo in the top 1,000 names for the first time ever. Should we be concerned?
From out-of-the-box baby names to Disney-inspired monikers, we’re obsessed with reading the latest listicles on trending baby names — now including Star Wars baby names. With the never-ending hype around Star Wars (seriously, don’t mess with that fandom), we’re not surprised to see some of the famous monikers from the film popping up amongst the latest generation of Jedis.
Last year it was noted that the name Rey, played by actress Daisy Ridley, had seen an increase of 82 percent since 2014, moving up 11,000 spots on the list of popular girl names. This year she’s jumped 36 spots on the list — showing us the girl power is still on the rise.
All these Star Wars names has us thinking why we’d consider naming our future mini-me after some of our favorite characters.
1. Rogue
What better way to welcome a newborn into the world than to pay tribute to the growing Star Wars collection of films? Not convinced? Then you certainly haven’t seen Rogue One: A Star Wars Storyyet.
2. Jedi
We’re willing to bet with a name like, Jedi your kid would never get picked on — and Jedis represent all the good in the world! Who wouldn’t want that legacy for their little one?
Image source: Lucasfilm
3. Anakin
Before Darth Vader went on to do all kinds of evil, he was a Jedi Knight named Anakin Skywalker. If you’re secretly a fan of the dark side, this is a discrete way of paying homage to your fave Star Wars villain.
4. Finn
Ah, the Stormtrooper turned Resistance hero. Finn is actually not that odd of a name, it’s subtle enough to pass as a non-Star Wars name, but true fans will recognize it from The Force Awakens for sure.
Image source: Lucasfilm
5. Rex
If this isn’t your firstborn, chances are you’re familiar with Star Wars: The Clone Wars. The animated take on our favorite fictional universe features Captain Rex, who happens to have the perfect nerdy-chic name for a future child.
6. Han
Is there anyone better than Han Solo? First of all, this name is short, sweet, and to the point. Your little one won’t struggle learning to spell out their first name, but they may face a challenge when trying to write “Millennium Falcon.”
Image source: Lucasfilm
7. Amidala
This name actually has a nice ring to it, don’t you think? If you need a refresher (which we doubt you do), Amidala was the last name of Padmé, Luke and Leia’s mother. She was a politician and the youngest Queen ever elected — not a bad role model for your baby girl.
8. Luminara
You won’t have a hard time convincing your partner this is the perfect moniker for your baby — just say you have a new fascination with lanterns! They’ll never know it actually came from Star Wars: The Clone Wars.