Star Wars Expanded Universe Names

The sort of formal surname name more popular in another era; Dalton's a more modern relation.

Amelia is one of the hottest girls' names, a successor to the megapopular Emma and Emily. Amelia, which spent several years at Number 1 in England, is now comfortably ensconced in the US Top 10.

An attractive enough name, but for die-hard Star Wars fans only.

Amilyn is one of those names that sounds and feels a lot like other more popular names, from Emmeline to Amelia to Adeline, but was given to fewer than five baby girls in the US in 2021. This is despite the Star Wars character Amilyn Holdo -- General Leia's deputy in the most recent trilogy, played by Laura Dern. Seven baby girls were given the name in 2018, but it has not seen the lasting success of Kylo or Rey (or indeed Leia).

Anakin Skywalker, aka Darth Vader, is the antagonist in the original Star Wars trilogy. The name Anakin first entered the US Top 1000 in 2014. Its meaning is unknown but is thought to be an homage to a friend of George Lucas.

Antonio is a Shakespearean favorite -- the Bard used it in no less than five of his plays, and has long been a ubiquitous classic in Spanish-speaking countries, where the nickname Tonio is also prevalent. Antonio is also among an elite group of perennially popular names in the US, where it has always been among the boys' Top 1000 since baby name record-keeping started in 1880.

Beckett is one of the big baby name hits of the decade.

Ben, the diminutive of Benjamin or Benedict, can easily stand on its own as a simple, strong, nice-guy choice, though it's somewhat attenuated. Ben is this generation's Bob or Bill.

Sweet and sparky but maybe a little bit stuck in the 90s, Bria is a nickname-y style choice with various origins.

Strong and modern, Cade shot up the popularity lists around the millennium—it was as high as Number 201 in 2001. Now, it has declined in popularity slightly, but nevertheless remains in the US Top 300, given to around 1200 babies each year. Combined with all the baby Kades, Cadens, Kaidens and Kaydens however, it might feel even more popular that it actually is.

Rugged but gentle at the same time, Cassian is a saintly and stylish choice that was derived from the name Cassius. Before 2017, it was an obscure choice, given to a tiny handful of boys each year. As of 2023, however, it's become one of the top ten fastest-rising names in the US, more than doubling in usage since 2022 and edging closer towards the Top 500.