Skip to content
Search AI Powered

Latest Stories

Popular Baby Names Influenced By Pop Star Dua Lipa And 'Star Wars', Study Finds

Popular Baby Names Influenced By Pop Star Dua Lipa And 'Star Wars', Study Finds
Dave J Hogan/Getty Images

Dua Lipa and Star Wars have led to sharp rises in associated baby names, new data has found.

The Office for National Statistics (ONS) said that since Dua Lipa achieved her first UK number one single the number of babies with the name Dua had doubled.


From 2017 the number of girls named Dua rose from 63 to 126 in 2019 – the highest number since annual records began in 1996, the ONS added.

It also found that in the boys' list the name Kylo appears to have increased in popularity since the release of the new Star Wars sequel trilogy, where Kylo Ren was a leading character.

The new data, published on Wednesday, found the number of babies named Kylo had risen to 67 in 2019 up from 10 when the films were first released in 2015.

The ONS said the name Taron has also increased in popularity with 48 boys born in 2019 being given this name, the highest number since records began.

This might have been influenced by the actor Taron Egerton who starred in the 2019 award-winning Elton John biopic Rocketman, the ONS added.

But since the Amazon Alexa became available in the UK in 2016 the girls' name Alexa has decreased in popularity – falling from 332 girls named Alexa that year to 39 in 2019.

More from News

Donald Trump; Pete Buttigieg
@Acyn/X; KC McGinnis/For The Washington Post via Getty Images

Clip Of Trump Mocking Pete Buttigieg As His Cronies Laugh Feels Like It's Straight Out Of 'Austin Powers'

A sycophant is a person who "acts obsequiously toward someone important in order to gain advantage." An acolyte is a "true believer who helps carry out orders like a henchman, sidekick, or disciple."

While the words often get used interchangeably, they don't mean the same thing.

Keep ReadingShow less
Screenshot of Prince Harry; Donald Trump
The Late Show with Stephen Colbert/YouTube; Win McNamee/Getty Images

Prince Harry Just Took A Hilariously Brutal Jab At Trump During Surprise Appearance On 'Colbert'

Prince Harry, Duke of Sussex, joined late-night host Stephen Colbert as a surprise for his opening monologue on Wednesday evening, and mocked President Donald Trump while he was at it.

Colbert was in the middle of ribbing the Hallmark channel and its string of royally-themed Christmas TV movies this year when he joked about how no one just "runs into a prince at their job." But then in walked Harry, who said he thought he was auditioning for a Christmas-themed Hallmark TV movie.

Keep ReadingShow less
Screenshot of Donald Trump
@atrupar/X

Trump Dragged After Making Ridiculous Claim About Randomly Finding Billions On The 'Tariff Shelf'

President Donald Trump was criticized after he claimed to reporters this week that officials in his administration suddenly found $30 billion they "never knew existed"—located on what Trump referred to as the "tariff shelf."

Tariffs are a tax on imported goods, usually calculated as a percentage of the purchase price. While tariffs can shield domestic manufacturers by making foreign products more expensive, they are also used as a tool to penalize countries engaged in unfair trade practices, such as government subsidies or dumping goods below market value.

Keep ReadingShow less
food prep
Katie Smith on Unsplash

Professional Chefs Share The Top Mistakes Average Home Cooks Make

With the expansion of cable television and then streaming services, a number of competition shows featuring amateur home cooks. Shows like Master Chef and The Great British Bake Off garnered huge followings and spawned numerous global and domestic spin-offs.

The food produced by these amateurs is beyond the talents of even some professional chefs. But what about the average home cook? What can they learn from the professionals?

Keep ReadingShow less
Robert F. Kennedy Jr.
ANDREW CABALLERO-REYNOLDS/AFP via Getty Images

RFK Jr.'s HHS Blasted As CDC Panel Considers Dropping Life-Saving Hepatitis B Vaccine For Newborns

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's vaccine advisory panel, the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP), met Thursday for the first of two days of discussions about childhood vaccine schedules and recommendations.

The panel focused on the hepatitis B vaccine and plans to vote on Friday whether to continue recommending it be given to all children at birth or to recommend something entirely different. The panel previously tabled making a decision on infant and early childhood hep-B vaccination in September.

Keep ReadingShow less