Barbie and Ken Could Become the Latest Popular Baby Names

It’s Barbie’s world and we’re just living in it! Greta Gerwig’s Barbie is not only getting rave reviews from critics and audiences alike, but it also won its third weekend in a row at the box office and officially became the latest movie to reach $1 billion worldwide. Not only are people showing up to the movies to see Barbie, but they’re also considering honoring the doll in the biggest way possible. According to a new report from People, “Barbie” and “Ken” are on track to become popular baby names. The baby name website, Nameberry, spoke to the outlet and shared recent data that suggests new moms and dads are getting inspired by the characters played by Margot Robbie and Ryan Gosling.

“Barbie and Ken are piquing parents’ interest, but this doesn’t mean that will translate into actual usage. As of now, Barbie is a predominant Amish name,” Nameberry Editor-in-Chief Sophie Kihm shared with People. According to the site’s data, searches for the name “Barbie” have gone up 603% since the film’s first trailer dropped in April while “Ken” saw a 293% increase. 

Despite this increase in popularity, it’s too soon to expect to see “Barbie” and “Ken” on the list of the most popular baby names of the year. In fact, Barbie was ranked 1,896 out of 2,000 popular names heading into the year while Kenneth came in at 113 out of 2,000.

“Barbie and Ken are both dated names that aren’t due to comeback yet, so while there may be a slight bump from the movie, neither will be among the most popular baby names of 2023,” Kihm added.

Margot Robbie Predicts Barbie‘s Box Office Success:

While some are surprised that Barbie has hit $1 billion at the box office after only two weeks in theaters, the movie’s star actually pitched the film as a $1 billion dollar idea.

“I think my pitch in the green-light meeting was the studios have prospered so much when they’re brave enough to pair a big idea with a visionary director,” Barbie star Margot Robbie previously told Collider. “And then I gave a series of examples like, “dinosaurs and [Steven] Spielberg,” that and that, that and that – pretty much naming anything that’s been incredible and made a ton of money for the studios over the years. And I was like, “And now you’ve got Barbie and Greta Gerwig.” And I think I told them that it’d make a billion dollars, which maybe I was overselling, but we had a movie to make, okay?!”

What Is Barbie About?

In Barbie, to live in Barbie Land is to be a perfect being in a perfect place. Unless you have a full-on existential crisis. Or you’re a Ken. From Oscar-nominated writer/director Greta Gerwig comes Barbie, which hit theaters on July 21st. Barbie stars Oscar-nominees Margot Robbie and Ryan Gosling as Barbie and Ken, alongside America Ferrera, Kate McKinnon, Michael Cera, Ariana Greenblatt, Issa Rae, Rhea Perlman, and Will Ferrell. The film also stars Ana Cruz Kayne, Emma Mackey, Hari Nef, Alexandra Shipp, Kingsley Ben-Adir, Simu Liu, Ncuti Gatwa, Scott Evans, Jamie Demetriou, Connor Swindells, Sharon Rooney, Nicola Coughlan, Ritu Arya, Grammy Award-winning singer/songwriter Dua Lipa and Oscar-winner Helen Mirren. Gerwig directed Barbie from a screenplay by Gerwig & Oscar nominee Noah Baumbach, based on Barbie by Mattel.