The popularity of the Paramount Network Western drama Yellowstone has skyrocketed in recent years — reaching 12.1 million viewers during the Season 5 premiere — and it turns out the fictional show is inspiring baby names in the U.S. There has been an increase in babies who are named after characters in the show, and the rates have been rising steadily since the show's premiere in 2018. In fact, the names are among the most well-liked from recent TV shows, with six Yellowstone-inspired names making appearances on the list of the Top 25 Character Names With The Biggest Increase, assembled by OrganicBabyFormula.com.
The most popular baby name that has been gleaned from the show isn't a first name at all: it's Dutton, the surname of the family at the center of the series. Use of Dutton as a first name has increased by 3300 percent since the premiere of Yellowstone in 2018, according to data from the U.S. Social Security Administration. The second-most popular Yellowstone-inspired name is Rip, after character Rip Wheeler (played by Cole Hauser), which has increased in popularity by 2367 percent since 2018.
The third most-used name is Kayce, another main character of the show and member of the Dutton family (played by Luke Grimes). The use of this unique name has increased by 1679 percent in the past four years. Lastly, the names of characters Laramie, Walker and Tate make up the rest of the list. Use of Laramie increased by 431 percent, Walker by 207 percent and Tate by 140 percent.
The list of the top 25 baby names from television shows was put together using the 100 most popular shows (based on Rotten Tomatoes ratings) from 2020, 2021 and 2022. While it's possible not every instance was influenced directly by the respective shows, the study used unique names with an "obvious correlation" to create the list. Other shows that feature popular character names on the list include Euphoria, Stranger Things, Bridgerton and more.
