Ready Baby One! Video games were once a fringe hobby — think teens relegated to arcades in the backs of bowling alleys — but now video game culture has permeated every aspect of popular culture, including baby names. Baby names inspired by gaming culture are a perfect homage to a favorite hobby, but this 2019 baby name trend goes beyond just a wink to other fans. Even if the larger population is oblivious about the true origin of your baby name choice, these beautiful and creative names will appeal to both the seasoned gamer and noob alike, (even to those who hadn't heard the gaming slang "noob" prior to this post). No prior knowledge of Fortnite required.
Ready to trade Call of Duty for Call of Doodie? (Ugh, sorry we had to.) There is a video game inspired name on this list for everyone, even for people who do not get the previous reference. Even people who haven't set foot near a video game controller since childhood can share in the naming inspo, thanks to a pang of nostalgia with names inspired by classic arcade games and treasured childhood favorites. That could be just one of the reasons that video game inspired names are trending for 2019 as the hottest new source of naming inspiration. According to Laura Wattenberg of Baby Name Wizard, "These are the new celebrity names, a growing source of inspiration that's only going to get bigger. New names arrive with each year's games."
This includes breakout names from recent releases of Final Fantasy, League of Legends, and the Diablo franchise. Also per Wattenberg, "even some names that you might not associate immediately with games are getting a boost from (video game popularity)."
Names that could stand on their own as classic baby names also have a secret nod to gaming; specifically, names boosted by the popularity of Mass Effect, Resident Evil and BloodRayne are mentioned in this list. So parents who are looking to level up their little ones for life should consider the ton of fun inspiration on this list.
NOCTIS
Noctis means "of the night" in Latin, but gamers will better know it as the name of a character in Final Fantasy. Noctis is the name of a male character in the game and started seeing popularity last year as a boy's name, but it could also be gender neutral.
XAYAH
Xayah is the name of the rebel character in the game League of Legends. Pronounced Zy-yah, it's a girl's name that could be shortened to Zy or ZZ.
CORVO
The boy's name Corvo has many origins. Corvo is a surname, the Portuguese word for "crow" and the name of the main assassin character in the video game series Dishonored.
LEORIC
Leoric is a boy's name that can use the adorable nickname Leo. Less adorably, the name originates with the mad King Leoric, a villain in the Diablo game franchise.
SHEPARD
Shepard is a boy's name that ranks in the top 1,000 baby names. It's derived from the occupational pastoral surname and is the name of the lead character in Mass Effect, Commander Shepard.
RAYNE
Rayne is a girl's name spawned from the titular character of the game BloodRayne. Outside of the world of games, it has a Scandinavian origin meaning "counsel; song" and can be used as a gender neutral name as well.
LEON
For anyone familiar with the Resident Evil franchise, Leon would be a great baby's name choice. For those less familiar, Leon is a boy's name meaning "lion" that would suffice for any offspring of Kings of Leon super fans as well.
ZELDA
Whether you're thinking Fitzgerald or the classic '80 arcade game Legend of Zelda, the name Zelda is an adorable pick for a baby girl. The popularity for this name is on the rise in 2019.
BLAZE
Blaze is a boy's name that is slowly rising in popularity. Could it be from from parents' asking their older child what to name the new baby and said child instantly referencing Minecraft? We don't have any facts to back this up, but if we had to guess it'd be yes, exactly that.
LARA
Nothing says early 2000s like Lara Croft Tomb Raider! From video games to movies, it seemed as if Lara was everywhere and she still has a place in pop culture (and our hearts) as a treasured baby name.
ASH
Ash is a popular boy's name for fans of Pokemon Go and it looks much better stitched onto a baby blanket than, say, Squirtle. Although the popularity of the name Ash is slightly down this year, it could definitely rise again should the game release a newer version.
WYNNE
The game Dragon Age has inspired this baby girl name. The game victoriously pronounces this name as "win," although the spelling could also lend itself to being pronounced "Winnie."
DAISY
This nostalgic name will instantly ring a bell with fans of Super Mario Brothers. It's not only a throwback but it's also rising as one of the top 300 baby names of 2019.
PEACH
There's no way to include Daisy on a list of video game inspired names without also dipping back into the Super Mario universe and including Peach. With the popularity of the Netflix show You with the supporting character named Peach*,* we think this name might get an extra boost.
JAYCE
Another name inspired by League of Legends, Jayce is a fresh take on the classic name Jason. It can also be a gender neutral name as it's sometimes used for girls too.
CECIL
Cecil Harvey is the main character in the Final Fantasy series, which makes it an obvious choice for video game name inspiration. Originally popular in the 1800s, this classic name is making a comeback.
HARVEY
This baby name was inspired by the last slide, Final Fantasy's Cecil Harvey. Although the first name may be an obvious choice, using a character's surname as your baby's first name is a different alternative.
CULLEN
Cullen is a great boy's name for fans of Dragon Age and Twilight alike. Even though the name spiked during Twilight's peak, it still has enduring popularity.
SKY
Hrothgar and Ulfric may not make great baby names for Skyrim fans, but luckily the title provides inspiration. The name Sky, sometimes spelled Skye, is a great gender neutral name option.
ADA
Ada is a popular girl's name that means "happy." It also is the name of one of Resident Evil's main characters, so it's a subtle nod to the game.
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