Apparently, the United States is infatuated with the Dark Side of the Force, and by association, horrible acting. Each year, the United States Social Security Administration releases a list of top 1,000 baby names for the year, and for the first time ever, Anakin has cracked that list.
According to the list, the name Anakin was given to 218 baby boys in 2014, which puts its at #957 on the list, right between Zaid (#956) and Baylor (#958). Comparitively, Anakin was ranked #1234 in 2013.
Obviously, the name appearing on the list is of significance because it's believed that first mention of it stems from the iconic Star Wars franchise. Fans of the franchise likely know the name Anakin Skywalker as the true name of Darth Vader. The name Anakin was first mentioned in 1983's Return of the Jedi, when the ghost of Obi-Wan Kenobi tells Luke Skywalker that his father had "ceased to be Anakin Skywalker and became Darth Vader."
However, Anakin likely became more of a household name thanks in large part to the prequel trilogy, which largely explores how Darth Vader came to be. The prequel trilogy chronicles Anakin's rise and fall among the Jedi before he ultimately succombs to the Dark Side and becomes known as Darth Vader.
While the name first began gaining attraction in the late 90s, as Lucasfilm revealed more of the prequel trilogy, it's crazy to see how American culture has embraced Star Wars. Granted, we're embracing the poorer parts of it. For as cool of a name as Anakin is, I feel like it was actually tarnished by the prequel trilogy. Naming your child after a character who arguably suffered from one of the worst acting performances in Star Wars history? I'd just as soon kiss a Wookie.
Thankfully, the Light Side of the Force still reigns supreme as the name Luke (probably not in reference to Luke Skywalker, but we can pretend) was #28 on the list with over 10,000 baby names.
I'll be interested to see if the release of The Force Awakens creates an uptick in babies named Finn, Rey, or Kylo Ren.
[Yahoo]
