Pink is for girls’ names.
The “Barbie” movie has grossed more than a billion dollars worldwide — and eight months from now, there could be a million more Barbies saying “hi” to the world, info from one popular baby naming website suggests.
According to Nameberry, searches for “Barbie” have surged by 603% since April, when the trailer for the Greta Gerwig-directed summer blockbuster was released.
The film, which swept into theaters in July, stars Margot Robbie as in the titular role and Ryan Gosling as Ken.
Searches for Ken — or Kenneth — have seen a 293% increase during the same time period.
“Barbie and Ken are piquing parents’ interest, but this doesn’t mean that will translate into actual usage,” Nameberry’s editor-in-chief Sophie Kihm told People.
Prior to the film’s release, Kihm noted, Barbie had been a very popular name with Amish parents.
And while the spike in interest has been impressive, Kihm said the two names are not expected to crack the top 10 anytime soon.
“Barbie and Ken are both dated names that aren’t due to come back yet, so while there may be a slight bump from the movie, neither will be among the most popular baby names of 2023,” she explained.
Currently, Barbie ranks 1,896 out of 2,000 of the most popular names for 2023 on the website.
Kenneth enjoys greater popularity, coming in at 113 out of 2,000.
In a social media post, Kihm noted that Barbie debuted in the top 1000 in 1961, two years after the Mattel doll was released.
However, by 1969 the name had fallen off the charts again.
Kihm noted that Barbara — which is the name “Barbie” is often the nickname for — fell out of style in the 60s, when it came to be seen as old-fashioned.
“In 2022 [Barbie] was used for just 27 baby girls,” she noted.
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