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Here are the most popular Disney-inspired baby names

By Kelly Hayes
Published  August 14, 2024 9:18am EDT
Disney
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Naming a child is a big responsibility, and the options are endless. 

Some parents choose more traditional or family names for their little bundle of joy, while others seek out more unique ones – including some inspired by their favorite Disney characters. 

An analysis in June by BeenVerified.com looked at the Social Security Administration’s baby names data from 1980 to 2024 to see how Disney characters have impacted baby naming trends in the U.S. 

In years when a Disney film ranked in the top 50 at the box office, it was found that the likelihood of a name from that film at least doubling in popularity was "significantly" higher – occurring 5.9% of the time, according to Been Verified. 

"When comparing the popularity of names from top Disney films during their peak years to their popularity in other years, the likelihood of these names at least doubling in popularity was nearly three times higher, highlighting Disney’s significant influence on baby naming choices," the company said.

Most popular baby names of the 2010s

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Most popular Disney-inspired baby names

The analysis found the top 10 Disney-inspired baby names nationally, ranked by their percent change from the five-year average. 

  1. "Merida" (Brave)
  2. "Koda" (Brother Bear)
  3. "Moana" (Moana)
  4. "Finnick" (Zootopia)
  5. "Mirabel" (Encanto)
  6. "Ariel" (The Little Mermaid)
  7. "Flynn" (Tangled)
  8. "Raya" (Raya and the Last Dragon)
  9. "Camilo" (Encanto)
  10. "Elsa" (Frozen)

States most influenced by Disney names

FILE - In this handout photo provided by Walt Disney World Resort, Magic Kingdom Park (pictured) is seen on Oct. 8, 2014. (Photo by Matt Stroshane/Walt Disney World Resort via Getty Images)

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Some U.S. states appear to be more influenced by Disney names than others. 

The analysis also identified the U.S. states most influenced by Disney names, based on the number of babies given one of the top 14 Disney names per 100,000 births during the films’ peak years, according to Been Verified. 

"Esmerelda" topped California’s list of Disney-inspired girl names, while "Elsa" was found to be the most prevalent in Midwest states like North Dakota, Iowa, Minnesota, and Wisconsin, the Social Security Administration data showed.

Certain states were more likely than others to adopt names from popular animated Disney films. Nevada topped the list, followed by Arizona, Washington, Oregon, Illinois, and California.

Disney characters strongly associated with the ocean were most prevalent in Hawaii. Wilderness-inspired names like Koda, which translates as "the companion" or "little bear," from the native Souix dialect, are popular in Montana.

The top 10 Disney-influenced states are:

  1. Nevada
  2. Arizona
  3. Washington
  4. Oregon
  5. Illinois
  6. California
  7. Colorado
  8. Utah
  9. New York
  10. Texas