The Most Influential Music Star on Baby Names in England and Wales
Here at Home Leisure Direct, we sell a wide range of jukeboxes – including both new jukeboxes and vintage jukeboxes, with choices of CD jukeboxes, vinyl jukeboxes, and digital jukeboxes. When it comes to choosing a baby name, inspiration can come from anywhere, so with this in mind we analysed baby name data from Office from National Statistics (ONS) to discover how some of the most popular music stars have influenced recent* baby name choices in England and Wales.
Read on to find out more…
Our research included analysing 31 musicians’ names were analysed in total – 12 boy names and 19 girl names. The 31 names were chosen based on some of the most popular artists mentioned on Billboard’s Artist 100 (week ending 12th March) or Billboard’s Greatest of All Time list, and included the likes of Rihanna, Ariana Grande, Avril Lavigne, Ed Sheeran, Bruno Mars, Justin Bieber, and more.
Most Influential Since Artists' Debut
Looking at the most ‘influential’ artists – the ones which increased the average number of babies being given their moniker each year following the artists’ debut, the findings revealed the following:
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Miley, Rihanna, Kanye, and Beyonce were the most influential artists overall, as 0 babies were named the monikers in England and Wales prior the artists’ debut (starting from 1996, as per the available ONS data):
Miley Cyrus has influenced 3,379 name choices since her debut in 2007 – an average of 241 babies being given the moniker each year since her debut (in the 14 years spanning 2007-2020). Rihanna has influenced 1,613 name choices since her debut in 2005 – an average of 101 babies being given the moniker each year since her debut (in the 16 years spanning 2005-2020). Kanye has influenced 142 name choices since his debut in 2003 – an average of 8 babies being given the moniker each year since her debut (in the 18 years spanning 2003-2020). Beyonce has influenced 47 name choices since her debut with Destiny’s Child in 1998 – an average of 5 babies being given the moniker each year since her debut (in the 23 years spanning 1998-2020).
Other music stars which have influenced the use of relevant baby names include George Ezra (+1,324.6% increase to average yearly uses since debut year), Britney Spears (+1,025%), Kendrick Lamar (+766.7%), Ariana Grande (+578.2%), Dua Lipa (+575%), Drake (+475%), Bruno Mars (+124.4%), Ed Sheeran (+100%), Avril Lavigne (+57.1%), Lana Del Rey (+54.0%), and Billie Eilish (+37.3%).
Least Influential Since Artists' Debut
Looking at the least ‘influential’ artists – the ones which decreased the average number of babies being given their moniker each year following the artists’ debut, the findings revealed the following:
Music stars which had a negative influence on the use of relevant baby names included Megan Thee Stallion (87.8% decrease to average yearly uses since debut year), Lewis Capaldi (-80.6%), Charli XCX (-69.7%), Katy Perry (-69.2%), Nicki Minaj (-66.7%), Taylor Swift (-50.6%), Christina Aguilera (-50.5%), Lil’ Wayne (-50.0%), Anne-Marie (-43.8%), Adele (-36.4%), Justin Bieber (-35.4%), Travis Scott (-29.2%), Harry Styles (-25.0%), Alicia Keys (-17.4%), and Olivia Rodrigo (-14.8%).
Top Names Overall Between 1996-2000
Overall, based on the 15 names with the highest total counts in the 26 years spanning between 1996 and 2020, the top music star-inspired baby names included:
*RANK = within this specific research, not within overall ONS baby name data
Top Names in 2020
Looking at the most recent data, the 15 names with the highest counts vary slightly, with the following counts in 2020:
Sources and methodology
Office for National Statistics (ONS) - baby name data based on birth registrations in England and Wales (2020) - https://www.ons.gov.uk/peoplepopulationandcommunity/birthsdeathsandmarriages/livebirths/bulletins/babynamesenglandandwales/2020
*All baby name figures based on most recent birth registration data (2020), or for the whole time period spanning 1996-2020
31 musicians’ names were analysed in total – 12 boy names and 19 girl names – and names were chosen based on popular artists which featured in Billboard’s Artist 100 (week ending 12th March) or Billboard’s Greatest of All Time list, which had their music debut post-1996.
These included: Adele, Alicia Keys, Anne-Marie, Ariana Grande, Avril Lavigne, Beyonce, Billie Eilish, Britney Spears, Bruno Mars, Charli XCX, Christina Aguilera, Drake, Dua Lipa, Ed Sheeran, George Ezra, Harry Styles, Justin Bieber, Kanye West, Katy Perry, Kendrick Lamar, Lana Del Rey, Lewis Capaldi, Lil Wayne, Megan Thee Stallion, Miley Cyrus, Nicki Minaj, Olivia Rodrigo, Rihanna, Taylor Swift, Travis Scott and Usher.