This summer is about to be all things Barbie.
So will baby names follow the same “Barbiecore” trend?
The upcoming feature film is drawing inspiration from the iconic Mattel doll that debuted at the New York Toy Fair in 1959, as Fox News Digital reported in a recent article.
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While the doll is the company’s namesake, Barbie comes with a large group of friends who have a range of fun and unique names.
Rebekah Wahlberg, baby name trends specialist at BabyCenter, is sharing some insight into these names that make up Barbie’s closest friends.
Read on for more details!
Barbie, a nickname for Barbara, has a Greek origin; the name means foreigner or stranger, according to BabyCenter.
“The name Barbara had its heyday in the 1920s through the 1950s, where it ranked in the top 10 baby names for girls and even reigned at No. 2 for nearly a decade,” Wahlberg told Fox News Digital.
While Barbara has not made the top 100 list for girls names for some time, this may be the year of the Barbie.
Barbara currently sits at No. 1,372 on the list of popular girls names.
Ruth has a Hebrew origin; the name means “companion” or “friend.”
The creator of the fashion-forward doll is Ruth Handler.
“The name Ruth has been in the top 500 baby names since the Social Security Administration started keeping track in 1900,” Wahlberg added.
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Ruth currently sits at #302 on the list of popular girls names and has risen 53 spots since 2022.
Millicent has a Teutonic origin. The name means “strong work.” It is the English equivalent of the Old French name Melisende.
Millicent is Barbie’s middle name, but it doesn’t seem as popular as the beloved doll.
“[Millicent] hasn’t ranked in the top 1,000 names in the U.S. since 1965,” Wahlberg shared. The medieval name currently sits at No. 2,270 on the list of popular girls names.
Christie is most likely short for the name Christine, a Greek name with Hebrew origin meaning “follower of Christ.”
Christie is considered the first Black Barbie doll, “introduced in 1968 as a friend of Barbie’s … [She] was a staple for many years, though she was discontinued in 2005,” Wahlberg said.
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While the name hit peak popularity in the ’60s and ’70s, the name has been declining in popularity recently and sits at No. 2,325 on the list of girls names.
Teresa is presumed to have a Latin origin while the name means “harvester.”
The name “comes from the Iberian Peninsula region (modern Spain and Portugal) and has been used since ancient times,” Wahlberg shared in a recent BabyCenter article.
Teresa Rivera, the first Latina doll introduced in 1988, is another of Barbie’s best friends, she added.
Teresa is often spelled “Theresa,” but both spellings have spent decades on the list of top 100 names, though it has declined in popularity for the past 20 years, Wahlberg shared.
Teresa currently sits at No. 811 on the list of girls names, while Theresa sits at No. 976.
Margaret, with a Persian origin, means “child of light.” It is also the English version of the French name Marguerite.
Margaret, or Midge, is the name of both Barbie’s mother and her first best friend, most well known for being the pregnant Barbie, Wahlberg stated.
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“So the name has strong significance in the Barbie universe, with an equally strong presence as a baby name, spending more than 30 years in the top 10 names in the early 1900s,” said Wahlberg.
The name Margaret has been on the decline in recent years, coming in at No. 553 on the list of popular girls’ names.
Kenneth, or Ken, has Gaelic origins; the name means “handsome,” a fitting name for Barbie’s iconic boyfriend.
Ken Sean Carson was introduced in 1961 as Barbie’s boyfriend, and was named after the son of creator Ruth Handler, Wahlberg added.
“Kenneth spent 100 years in the top 100 baby names, but never broke into the top 10,” she noted. The name holds a ranking of No. 178 on the list of popular boys names.
Allan has a Scottish origin while the name means “rock” or “handsome.”
Allan Sherwood is Ken’s best friend, who was first introduced in 1964 and has made different appearances throughout the Barbie universe.
While Allan may be popular in the world of Barbie, the name Allan has never taken off — “peaking at No. 115 in 1940” and currently sitting at #2,081 on the list of popular names for boys.
Brad, a nickname for Bradley, has English origins while the name means “from the broad meadow” or “broad clearing.”
Brad was the first male Black Barbie doll, introduced as Christie’s boyfriend in 1970, Wahlberg shared.
The name Brad was consistently one of the most popular boys names ranking in at the top 500 since 1930s, but it currently ranks in at No. 1,998.
Blaine has Gaelic origins and derives from the Old Irish word for “yellow.” It is a class “surname-turned-first-name,” the BabyCenter added.
Blaine was Barbie’s blonde-haired, Australian surfer boyfriend between 2004 and 2006, when Ken made a comeback as one of Barbie’s friends, Wahlberg noted.
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The name Blaine peaked in 1989 at No. 374 on the list of popular boys names and is currently ranked at No. 765.
The stars of the upcoming Barbie movie, Margot Robbie and Ryan Gosling, both hold very popular first names, according to a BabyCenter analysis.
