Anakin (given name)

Anakin
A wax sculpture depicting Hayden Christensen as Anakin Skywalker at Madame Tussauds.
GenderPrimarily masculine
Origin
Meaningliterary, created name

Anakin is a masculine given name usually given in reference to the Star Wars character Darth Vader, a hero turned villain whose original name was Anakin Skywalker. In Legends continuity, the name is shared with Anakin Solo, the third child of Han Solo and Leia Organa, daughter of Anakin Skywalker.

The name was first used for five or more boys in the United States in 1995 and has been among the 1,000 most common names for American boys since 2014. In 2022, the year it was most popular for American boys, the name was ranked at No. 606 on the popularity chart and was used for 460 boys. The name was also given to nine newborn American girls in 2022.[1][2][3] The name was also among the top 1,000 names for newborn boys in Canada, where it ranked 847th on the popularity chart in 2021, with 29 Canadian boys given the name.[4]

  1. ^ Watkins, Gwynne (7 August 2015). "Should You Name Your Baby Anakin? The Rising Popularity of a 'Star Wars' Baby Name". Yahoo! Entertainment. Retrieved 5 June 2022.
  2. ^ Rahman, Hanifah (4 May 2022). "Anakin, Thanos, And 18 Other Fictional Characters Parents Couldn't Resist Naming Their Babies After". buzzfeed.com. Buzzfeed. Retrieved 5 June 2022.
  3. ^ "Names that increased in popularity from 2021 to 2022". ssa.gov. United States Social Security Administration. 12 May 2023. Retrieved 12 May 2023.
  4. ^ "First names at birth by sex at birth, selected indicators". www150.statcan.gc.ca. Statistics Canada. 9 May 2023. Retrieved 3 June 2023.