We Bet More Daughters Will Be Named Arya After Episode 3 of 'Game of Thrones'

After the third outstanding episode of HBO's epic series Game of Thrones (GOT), which aired last Sunday, April 28, 2019, in the U.S, it is clear Arya of House Stark will lead the GOT-inspired baby names, yes, ahead of Khaleesi or Danaerys, even Sansa or Brienne. You'll have to watch "The Battle of Winterfell" (Season 8, Episode 3) why many future girls will bear the name Arya.

Buzzfeed had even dedicated an article just compiling tweets of people who declared and promised to name their firstborn daughter (or boy) after the Stark girl.

"Arya knows who she is and that’s who she wants to be. She goes and gets it," Marina Lippincott, a self-confessed devoted fan the show told The New York Times. She even had a Game of Thrones-themed baby shower. "Nothing stops her — not even that she’s a small girl," she said of why she named her daughter Arya.

After we shared on Facebook the SmartParenting.com.ph article on the popular baby names from Game of Thrones, many Pinoy fans have already named their babies from characters of the show. "I named my daughter Arya. My daughter is a fighter. I almost lost her. Now she just turned 3 months and healthy," Facebook user Charm Fern wrote in the comments.

The name "Arya," however, has been around long before the show or the GOT books. But did you know it was a name originally given to boys and was not that popular? It was only considered as a name for baby girls when Game of Thrones started airing in 2009.

In the U.K., where the actress who plays the second Stark daughter, Maisie Williams, hails from, Arya was already the most popular Game of Thrones' baby name with 343 newborns carrying it in 2017, BBC reported.

U.S. statistics showed the name Arya has also steadily climbed up the list of popular baby names since 2010. It's on the 135th spot with 2,156 babies given the name in 2017.

Parents want to choose a baby name that embodies the values of a character, ones they hope their son or daughter will carry. For those with daughters, a character who inspires strength and power is attractive. And that's why many choose Arya, Khalessi, which earned the 630th most popular name in the U.S. in 2017, Danaerys, Sansa, Brienne, Lyanna, and Yara.

The story arcs of many of these female characters in Game of Thrones showed how they realized who they are and how they embraced their power. Even Cersei, who is certainly not the most loveable character, has had babies named after her because she is strong and rarely afraid.

If you're a parent to a baby girl, you would love for her generation to live in a society that's more inclusive, accepting, and genderless. And you can start with her name.