Anakin

Why would you want to name your kid after an evil Star Wars character?

Please don't name your child after such a well-known character, especially one who is the original bearer of a name.

This is my nephew's name and his nickname is Kinney.
It's a good name and I don't care about the movie. I'm not the fan but I like the name.
My nephew's middle name is also Hayden and I love him so much. Anakin is not a wired name.

Every name that you consider normal and accepted today was once awkward, strange and unacceptable to the public and has become established over time. If you like this name, choose it for your child. I think it is one of the most beautiful names I have ever seen. I have never watched any of the Star Wars episodes and I am not a fan. I can only say that it is a beautiful and fancy name.

I can’t tell which is more embarrassing, naming your child this because you’re a Star Wars fan or naming your child this when you’re not a Star Wars fan. Either way, this name seems like a name chavvy people give their kids.

I like that this is a name but I would NEVER use it. I’m excited for when I get to meet somebody with this name though!

I personally absolutely love this name. I think it sounds so beautiful and unique but it's also not X AE A-Xii (or whatever Elon named his). We live in a time where everyone wants to be unique, and I've seen some pretty 'creative' names pop up over the last few years as a result, and Anakin is far from the worst of them (and it actually sounds and looks like a legitimate name). If I were to ever have a son I would absolutely name him Anakin (it's honestly at the top of my baby names for boys).

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I honestly also really love the nickname Ani as well. I see a lot of feedback about this name saying that the nickname is too girly, but I think it just sounds sweet. Also, I think androgynous names and gender-bending names are becoming a lot more popular, so I honestly don't think that the nickname Ani is as much of an issue as some of these older men are making it out to be. I think we'll see this name continue to gain popularity as time goes on, especially as the kids who grew up on the prequels and admired Anakin the hero, and mourned his tragic fall, are growing up now and will be starting families of their own in the years to come. I also think that a lot of the people spewing negative feedback about this name and its bullying potential are over-exaggerating and fear mongering over how horrible children are. Sure maybe your kid may get a few remarks here and there about its connection to Star Wars, but let's also remember that it was older fans that loathed and hated on the prequels and Anakin the character as much as they did when the movies came out, not the kids who watched it (or who are growing up watching it now), so I don't think bullying is as much of an issue as others are making it out to be either.

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Overall, I say that if you're considering this as a name, go ahead and do it! Again, I think it's an absolutely gorgeous sounding name, and you won't be the first or last to give your kid this name. If you're really worried about it though, maybe use it as a middle name, or use a different variation of the name or spelling (Anniken, Anakah, Anakim).

I feel like a better name would be Anniken. People may not associate you with Star Wars, and you probably won’t be afraid of turning evil, and they won’t bully as much because of your name. In my opinion, it looks a lot cooler than Anakin. They still might hate sand though.

My first name is Anakin. My father named me after it directly from the movies. For everybody saying you’ll get bullied, you won’t. I was never purposely picked on because of my name being from the movie. Yes people recognize it a whole lot, working in retail people would mention it a lot but it wasn’t ever to the point of ruining my name for me. I’m currently 19 while making this comment and my name hasn’t effected my life negatively in the slightest and people actually think it’s awesome to have a name as unique as mine is. It’s a conversation starter. I also want to point out that there were times people brought up star wars to me and I acted ignorant to it on purpose and they stopped and talked to me about other things and completely avoided pointing out my name again. If you want to name your child Anakin go for it, it will not ruin their lives and it will be better than an overused name like Tyler or Alex.

I also want to point out that there are less than 1500 people in the US with the name Anakin, I’m one of those people. Unless you have spoken to one and gotten their opinion of their own name then you do not have the right to say that they will be teased or harassed because of it. There was another kid named Anakin in my school, neither of us were ever bullied about it, after our first conversations with people they didn’t treat it any differently than the basic name Zach or James. YOU WILL NOT BE BULLIED ABOUT BEING NAMED ANAKIN.

It sounds alright, although it seems very strange and fictional, but it should stay as a character's name. It's quite silly to name your child after a movie character and it makes a huge statement about the parents. There will be jokes and teasing for sure.

Do not name your kid Anakin! Anakin in the Star Wars movies murdered innocent women and children. The Stars Wars prequels are hilariously bad films. Anakin is a dumb, psychotic Jedi. The nick-name "Ani" is feminine and sounds like "Annie." If you have any sympathy for the innocent sand-people Anakin murdered in Attack of the Clones, don't name your kid this!

"It's over, Anakin... I have the high ground!"

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Spare your kid from bullying and do not use this name.

I love the name Anakin for a girl! It’s a little too feminine for a boy in my opinion, especially with the nickname Ana! But it’s not absolutely horrendous for a boy, but I would still name a girl this but not a boy! I just think this name mostly strikes me feminine!

I always fall asleep when I try to watch a Star Wars film (I saw just the first one) so Anakin is nearly the only character I can remember. As I'm not a fan of the saga I would not use it. Maybe on a pet but not sure... there are better names.

I like the Anakin, you know what I don't like... sand, it's and rough and gets in everything.

My first grandson was born 3/8/18 and his parents named him Anakin. I tried to persuade them to choose another name. His parents are not huge Star Wars fans. They said they just like the sound of the name, and that it is unique. I think it is too closely associated with the movie (which could be "cool" for a kid, I guess). Also the biblical tribe that Goliath was a part of were the Anakims, which is very similar to Anakin. Interestingly, my son is tall, and baby Anakin is measuring very long for his length, so maybe the "tall" or "giant" meaning of the name will fit :) I guess when he's older, if he absolutely hates the name, then he can go by his middle name: nice, common Blake!

I love the name. My child will be born in December and if it's a boy his name will be Anakin. His father is a Star wars fan. We have 2 other children and no nicknames are used so we won't use the nickname for this one either. Both of our kids enjoy a lot of the same movie and music that we do because we spend a lot of time with them.

Yeah, I also get the strong impression too that parents are overplaying it with the name Anakin and clearly projecting.

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It tells something about the parents, who are naming someone after an evil fictional character. You might as well name your kid Bowser, Ganon, Wario, Kylo, Jabba, or Dracula. Or you might pull the vibe off with “Damien” or "Adolf".

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*Snickers at the comment a few back; yeah such a strong pillar of the community with a high midichlorian count, that is till the teenage years, LOL!

If it’s such a great sounding name, for the sound of it only, why don’t we see any young Annequins running around!

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http://www.behindthename.com/name/Anakin/top.

Well, my son's name is Anakin and he's never been teased for that. To the contrary, he is very popular, respected and loved by his friends. He is a leader within his friends and a strong young man.

People will just assume that his parents were major Star Wars obsessors for the rest of his life, regardless of whether he was actually named after that or not. And if you did use this name or plan to because of Star Wars... don't at all expect your child to be into it as well. Plus, I can see teasing potential with this name such as "Ann\Anne" "Ana\Anna" or even "Annie" as feminine names, or in his case, feminine nicknames.

Reminds me of Arabic names like Basim, Qasim and Amin. This name sounds very feminine and sounds more like a surname than a first name!

I feel sorry for any males out there who have to be addressed by this name. What would his nickname be; Ana, Anna, Annie, Ani? Yeah, because that won't cause any snickering. *sarcasm* those are all feminine names.

My friend's little brother is named Anakin, and he was born after the first Star Wars movie... They even use "Ani" as a nickname for him.

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Although I don't like the name myself, I fully understand that a parent hears a new name in a movie or book and that they like it so much they want to give it to their child. Then they are not necessarily naming the child AFTER the character, that character is just where they heard it.

I mean my name is Anakin. And I haven't been teased about my name, everyone thinks it's a great name, so name your kid Anakin it's a good name.

I think this is an incredible name, for either gender. Also, this was the name of my beloved kitty. I honestly think that everyone here badmouthing parents for using this name need to shut up. Kim Kardashian named her daughter North, Anakin is far from the worst name a kid could have.

Our son is 18 months old and we named him Anakin. Not necessarily "After" Star Wars, although my wife is a huge SW fan! All of our kids have A & E names. We have gotten nothing so far except positive feedback and "Oh that is SO cool!" "Love his name!" etc... And who cares what anyone else thinks? Kids are cruel and a lot of adults are also, but ya know what? They will always find something to pick on someone else about. Name, hair, looks, weight, accent, clothes etc. We adore our sons name! :)

Such a wonderful name, its strong and beautiful. But sadly I think its unusable, at least for this century.

I think naming your child this would give it as much a Star Wars connotation as Leia would (probably not Luke since that's a regularly used name regardless of Star Wars). I like the name and it's very strong. Plus by the time I would have a kid in 20+ years Star Wars would prolly be not nearly as popular, it's even starting to lose popularity now. It would probably end up on par with Jaws.

I wish this name wouldn't be associated with Star Wars for the rest of it's existence. I absolutely adore it, and I would love to name my son that if he wouldn't be teased.

Name your kid Anakin and he's bound to be a mouth breather.

Please don't use this on a child! He'll be teased about Star Wars until he loses his mind, plus people will think of his namesake instead of the person that he is, and then there's the nickname "Ani". Why name a child after movie characters instead of after a friend or a relative?

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Anakin Skywalker should be glad at least that his name wasn't "Heinekin" and nicknamed "Heinie"; that might have sent him to the Dark Side sooner!

Please do not name a child this. Naming a kid after the "Star Wars" trilogy is absolutely ridiculous.

The kid will get Star Wars jokes for his entire life! And I've always thought that the nickname Ani is too feminine for a boy.

I think the name sounds cool, but it does seem silly to name your kid after a Star Wars character.

I really like the way this name sounds, but I would never use it for a child. Imagine the teasing!

I like it. I wish I could use it without the Star Wars connection.

You may as well name your other kids Chewbacca and Darth while you're at it.

Gorgeous name for a little boy and handsome on a grown one. I would use it.

I adore this name. I am a Star Wars fan, but even if I wasn't I still would like it. It's strong, and different. I would love to use it as a first name for a son. So far I only have it used as a possible middle name.

Probably the most embarrassing name you could ever give your child. Since it's pretty obvious you named him after Star Wars.

I adore this name for a boy! It is very masculine and strong, yet easy to say and very different. It also reminds me of the gorgeous portrayer of Anakin Skywalker in the "Star Wars" films, Hayden Christensen.