More people than ever are naming their kids after Game of Thrones characters

What does the name Arya mean to you?

If you think Arya Stark, the Game of Thrones character, you might be one of the thousands of people who have given this name to their offspring.

According to data from the US Social Security Administration, "Arya" was the 119th most popular girl's name in 2018, with 2,545 babies.

Picture: Social Security

It was by far the most common GoT-inspired name, although Khaleesi was also popular, with 560 instances last year, a further 19 named Caleesi and five more Khaleesie.

Yara, Lyanna, Shae and Renly were also used over 100 times.

In total, more than 4,500 children were given Game of Thrones names in 2018, increasing from 3,800 in 2017 and 3,200 in 2016.

People were quick to point out that "Aria" has long been a common name, so the phenomenon is more around the spelling than the name itself.

Others pointed out that the future might not be kind to trend-led pop culture names.

While HBO, which airs the show in the US, was a bit jealous it was being left out.

HT: NBC

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