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Somehow it doesn't surprise us: In German-speaking countries, "Game of Thrones" characters are becoming increasingly popular as children's names. How is it in Austria?
The Neue Osnabrücker Zeitung reports that birth certificates in Germany are increasingly bearing the names of famous "Game of Thrones" figures. We have known that Germans are generally a little braver in choosing a name than we Austrians, at least since Mother Wollny's legendary television appearance when she rounded up Sarafina, Jeremy-Pascal and the rest of the rascals.
Knud Bielefeld, passionate hobby name researcher and operator of the website www.beliebte-vornamen.de, recently reported to the German Press Agency that the name Jon (like Jon Snow) in particular is very popular with new parents. In the period of his research from 2006 to 2019, this name would have been chosen 365 times. Closely followed by Arya and Brandon (Arya & Brandon Stark).
According to Bielefeld's research results, the "GoT hit list" of children's names in the period mentioned looks like this:
- JON: Awarded 365 times
- ARYA: Awarded 250 times
- BRANDON: Awarded 185 times
- JAIME: Awarded 55 times
- SANSA: Awarded 31 times
- DANY: Taken 25 times
- BRAN: Awarded 20 times
- DAENERYS: Awarded 6 times
- TYRON: Awarded 6 times
- CERSEI: Awarded 1 time
Even the name Khaleesi has been given 16 times so far. The bizarre thing about it: It's actually not a real first name, but a title that Daenerys was given when she married a king from the Dothraki tribe. Some parents obviously don't care, because the "name" is still appealing.
Name hype in Austria too?
There are still hardly any records in Austria that would confirm that this hype spilled over to us as well. According to statistics from the City of Vienna, the name Anna is still number 1 among girls' names. Most of the boys' parents have chosen the name Maximilian to date. (As of 2018)
But as is well known, anything is possible. So wait and see and enjoy the last season of Game of Thrones full of excitement before it is time to "Khaleesi - clean up the room" in our children's rooms.
