Expecting a baby can mean decorating a whole nursery room, buying toys, a video baby monitor and more and making sure you’ve got the right baby monitor so that everything goes smoothly when you bring your little one home.
However, before all that planning there’s the difficult task of choosing your baby’s name. Baby-name inspiration can come from the most unlikely of places, and iconic fictional villain names are influencing new parents in the US and UK.
Babysense, the experts in baby breathing monitors, investigated the best villain-inspired names for you to add to your list of possibilities, by finding the number of baby boys and girls born in the US and UK since 2000, with these evil character names.
The most popular villainous baby names
1. Dexter: 19,940
Dexter is unquestionably the most popular baby name inspired by a villain. Since 2000, there have been almost 20,000 baby boys from the US and UK who were given the name.
Originally a Latin name meaning ‘right-handed’ the name Dexter rose to popularity following the success of the TV show with the same name.
Fitting the theme of the list, the show follows the life of protagonist Dexter, a serial killer in Miami dubbed the ‘The Bay Harbor Butcher’.
2. Lucius: 2,647
A common baby name choice for parents who prefer villains to heroes is Lucius. This magical name inspired those of 2,647 babies across the UK and USA since 2000.
With a name derived from the Latin word for ‘light’, the character of Lucius Malfoy is a Death Eater and the father of Draco, in the Harry Potter franchise.
The name Lucius was most popular among US boys - over 2,000 US baby boys were called Lucius. Over 300 boys, but no girls, in the UK have been given the name in the past 20 years!
3. Loki: 2,183
There’s no denying that this villain-inspired name is popular among parents, with over 2,000 babies in the US and UK named after the Thor antagonist.
Stemming from Norse mythology, Loki is the God of fire, magic and illusion. As a result of the Marvel Universe’s success, most now associate the name with the character in the Thor movies, played by actor Tom Hiddleston.
Not just a boys name, there have been 111 US and UK girls called Loki since 2000.
Most popular villainous baby names in USA
The most popular villain name for boys: Dexter: 9,708
The most popular villain name for boys in the US is Dexter. Since 2000 the name Dexter has been given to over 9,000 baby boys.
The most popular villain name for girls: Dolores: 1,087
Dolores Umbridge is another famous character from J. K. Rowling’s wildly successful Harry Potter franchise that is inspiring baby names.
Over 1,000 girls in the US born since 2000 have been named after the evil, pink-obsessed character.
Dolores secures her spot as a villainess from her torture of Hogwarts students after she was made Headmistress.
Most popular villainous baby names in the UK
The most popular villain name for boys: Dexter: 9,975
The standout name in the UK is Dexter - almost 10,000 boys share a name with the famous TV serial killer.
The most popular villain name for girls: Ursula: 351
Ursula, the Latin name derived from ‘bear’, is the name of the Sea Witch in Disney’s The Little Mermaid.
Since 2000, over 300 baby girls in the UK have been named after the half-woman, half-octopus villainess.
The most unusual villain baby names
The Governor: 5
‘The Governor’ was the nickname given to the character Brian Blake on The Walking Dead TV show and in the comic books.
Conflicts with the protagonist group led by Rick secure The Governor’s character as a clear villain.
Just five babies have been named Governor since 2000, all of which were boys in the US.
Maleficent: 5
The ‘Mistress of all Evil’, Maleficent is one of the most unique villain-themed names chosen by parents.
The dark villainess who cursed Aurora to sleep for eternity inspired the names of five baby girls in the US since 2000.
Darth Vader: 5
One of the most iconic movie villains of all time is undoubtedly Darth Vader from Star Wars.
Despite being one of the best-known villains, Vader is one of the least popular names for babies.
Five boys in the US have been called Vader over the past 20 years.
Chucky: 5
Chucky the doll is the main antagonist of the film Child’s Play and was an unusual choice for parents choosing baby names.
Although Chucky is one of the most iconic horror movie killers, only five boys in the US have been named Chucky since 2000.
Vee: 5
The name Vee is one of the most uncommon villain-based names, with just 5 US girls sharing the name.
The character Vee from Orange is the New Black cemented her reputation as one of the show’s villains by manipulating the other inmates throughout the second season.
There were no babies called Vee, the nickname of Yvonne Parker, until 2019!
Methodology
Babysense compiled a list of 55 of the most popular fictional villains from Insider, Ranker and Rolling Stone, removing some common names such as Norman and Freddy.
Babysense analysed data from the UK government on boys names and girls names from 2000-2010 and used US government data for baby names for boys and girls between 2000-2019.
This revealed the most popular villain-inspired names for boys and girls in the US and UK.
