It goes without saying that the popularity of baby names is hugely influenced by culture. If you make negative associations with a particular name, you’re probably not going to pick it for your offspring. Think of the naughtiest child in your class back at primary school, for example – would you ever consider choosing that name for your own kids? Probably not.
There are a group of names, it seems, that have taken a real nosedive in popularity over the past few months – all thanks to cultural associations. A survey of 1,434 parents carried out by ChannelMum.com revealed this was one of the main reasons they’d be put off a particular name.
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Alexa might have been one of the most popular girl’s names in 2016, but fewer and fewer parents are now opting for that moniker thanks to the association they have with Amazon’s virtual assistant.
And the same goes with Ryan for a boy. While it was all the rage in the 90s, the fondness has dipped thanks to the association with a certain budget airline.
ChannelMum.com’sy name expert SJ Strum explained it in more detail. “Although Alexa was a popular choice a few years ago, the rapid proliferation of Amazon Alexas is killing it off,” she said. “No one wants a daughter and a device with the same name. And this problem will only grow. If Facebook ever launches its rumoured AI personal assistant M, it will end the popularity of Emma, which is shortened to Em.”
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Here are the other names being rejected by new parents, according to Strum:
Girls’ names
Alexa – because of Amazon’s Alexa
Felicia – because of the ‘Bye, Felicia’ meme
Katie – because of Katie Hopkins
Kate – because of the newfound obsession with Meghan Markle
Scarlett – because parents prefer other shades these days, like Violet
Lauren – because so many reality TV stars have the name, it seems
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Boys’ names
Stan – because of the hashtag #Stan, which stands for ‘stalker fan’ in the world of Twitter
Harvey – because of Harvey Weinstein
Christian – because of the Fifty Shades connotations (plus it’s deemed too religious by some)
Ryan – because of Ryanair
Ollie – because it’s the name of an American pet food brand caught up in a YouTube challenge where humans ate dog food (don’t ask)
This article originally appeared on Harper’s BAZAAR UK.