Hollywood influences American taste in countless ways — impacting everything from clothes and cars to coiffures. Turns out, in plenty of cases, it even affects how parents name their children. Sifting through more than a century’s worth of meticulous Social Security Administration (SSA) data, which charts the popularity of baby names, offered The Hollywood Reporter strong proof of the connection between celebrities and fictional characters and the monikers that end up on birth certificates.
Suddenly seeing Scarletts on every playground? Johansson’s ingenue to A-lister career trajectory is largely responsible for making that happen. What’s the deal with all of those Archers in mommy-and-me class? There are a lot of hardcore fans of a certain eponymous FX cartoon on TV. Ever wonder why there are hardly any little Lindsays anymore? Thank Lohan for turning her name toxic.
Read on for 100 examples of how pop culture has blossomed on the branches of family trees — and perhaps your own.
Contributors: Eli Flesch, Devon Jefferson, Tori Latham, Candice Lim, Hannah Malach, Jason Pham, Maya Richard-Craven, Madi Schulz, Meg Zukin, Dale Chong, Jennifer Drysdale, Alexis Faber, Carmen Triola.
