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Baby names inspired by ancient mythologies are becoming increasingly popular according to research, often inspired by television and film further popularizing historical figures.

Choosing a name for your children can be tricky, with so many options available. Take a trip back a few decades for a 40s baby nameplump for one from the 80sor even shake them and go for a Taylor Swift Inspired Baby Name? Then there is Baby Names Inspired by Blueyso, so how to choose just one?

At the risk of giving you even more food for thought, new research suggests that names from classical myths and legends could be enjoying a revival. Personalised number plate provider Regtransfers looked at baby names registered in the UK from 1996 to 2022 and found that names from ancient mythologies, including Greek, Norse and Egyptian, have been steadily gaining popularity.

Names like Leonidas, Odin, Osiris, Hera, Persephone, and Juno were all essentially unknown outside of mythology in the ’90s and early 2000s, but since then, more and more babies have been given names along these lines.

Film and television may be a factor in this growing popularity. Consider Marvel Cinematic University, with characters like Thor, Loki, and Odin. Meanwhile, Leonidas gained popularity after 2007, when Gerard Butler played the Spartan leader in 300, while Achilles became more popular after Brad Pitt played the Greek hero three years earlier.

Other boy names that have become more popular include Ares, the Greek god of war and courage, and Apollo, the god of archery, music, dance and light.

Among girls, Artemis, goddess of the hunt, nature, wild animals, birth and childcare, is a name that is gaining popularity. Diana, her Roman counterpart, is also gaining popularity, although this could also be partly due to the late princess.

Athena, the goddess of war, has become more popular, as has Freya, the Norse goddess of love and beauty. And Juno, the Roman goddess of marriage and queen of the gods, has also gained popularity, perhaps thanks to the 2008 film starring Elliot Page as the title character.

And since Maisie Williams began playing Arya Stark in Game of Thrones in 2011, the average of 14 girls a year being given the name has risen to an average of 275 each year since then, while an average of 232 boys have been given the name Jax each year since 2008, when Jax Teller, the lead character in US drama series Sons of Anarchy, first appeared on our screens.

These mythological names might be a bit of a departure from the more traditional names you might have on your list, but if you like names with a nod to history, they’re worth considering.

In other baby name news, why not look at names going in the opposite direction with the 100 Least Popular Baby Names That Fell Out of Style Over the Last 30 Years? Take a look at the 20 Epic Moments That Defined Baby Names Over the Last 20 Years – From Friends’ Emma’s Birth to Karen’s Fall . In the meantime, Girls with gender-neutral names are more likely to succeed in traditionally ‘male-dominated’ careers, study finds. Would you choose a unisex name?