After the huge success of the Barbie movie, more and more parents have decided to name their children Barbie. The increase is shocking – 300%! We can’t even imagine teachers in the classrooms being like, “Barbie? Barbie? Ken? Barbie? Barbie?” one day. Let’s discover the meaning behind Barbie and Ken’s names and when they initially gained popularity.
The Barbie Name Buzz
Apparently, many parents have been inspired by the movie and the iconic plastic dolls. There has been a 300% increase in searches for Barbie in the month of July on BabyNames.com. Ken is also becoming a popular one, with a 200% increase in searches for the same month. That makes sense, right?
Sadly, despite the release of the rare Allan dolls on eBay, whose character was played by Michael Cera in the film, not many people seem to have searched for his name. Babynames.com founder and CEO Jennifer Moss shared that “Nobody is looking for poor Allan though, as his name searches have not increased.”
Sorry, Allan.
So, What Does Barbie Mean?
The website reveals that Barbie means ‘stranger’ and Ken means ‘handsome.’ It is well-known that Ruth Handler, the creator of Barbie, named the iconic doll after her daughter, Barbara, while Ken was named after her son, Kenneth. The name Barbie became popular in America after the doll’s release in 1959. Between 70 to 100 parents per million named their daughters Barbie in the 1960s.
Kenneth or Ken started gaining popularity before the 1920s. Back then, the name was in the top 25 most popular boy names. When Ken and Barbie became a pair in 1961, searches for his name increased significantly in 1963.
The Barbie movie has recently surpassed $1 billion at the global box office. Only 17 days after its release, it is now officially the fastest Warner Bros film to have achieved this so far. The movie even surpassed classics like Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2, whose previous record was 19 days. The director of Barbie, Greta Gerwig, is now the only solo female filmmaker to have created a billion-dollar film.