In the UK, the number of babies named “Dua” has doubled since Dua Lipa came on the scene
Mike Marsland/WireImageBack in 2017, when Dua Lipa scored her first U.K. number-one single, people were still mispronouncing her name, which means “love” in Albanian. But now, people seem to be naming their babies after her. According to B…
By ABC Audio on August 26, 2020
Mike Marsland/WireImageBack in 2017, when Dua Lipa scored her first U.K. number-one single, people were still mispronouncing her name, which means “love” in Albanian. But now, people seem to be naming their babies after her.
According to Britain’s Office for National Statistics (ONS), between 2017 and 2019, the number of baby girls named Dua has doubled from 63 to 126. That’s the highest number of instances of the name since the ONS began keeping records in 1996.
And it seems Elton John is having an effect on baby names as well, albeit indirectly. In 2019, 48 boys were named “Taron,” the most since records began in 1996. The ONS speculates that this is because of Taron Egerton, who portrayed Elton in the Oscar-winning biopic Rocketman.
But it’s not just music that influences baby names; pop culture figures into it as well, at least in the U.K. Since 2015, the number of baby boys named Kylo — likely inspired by Adam Driver‘s Star Wars character Kylo Ren — has increased from ten to 67.
By Andrea Dresdale
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