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Giannis Antetokounmpo and Kawhi Leonard are two of the biggest athletes on the planet, with fans stretching all over the world. And, while Giannis is the probable NBA MVP and Kawhi is hoping to lead his Toronto Raptors to an NBA Finals victory, there are plenty of people around the world who are already giving them quite the impressive victory — because their names are among the most popular some are choosing for their own kids.
According to info from the U.S Social Security Administration late last month, per USA Today, Giannis Antetokounmpo and Kawhi Leonard are just two athletes who people love enough to call their kids by the same first name. Others include athletes like Baker Mayfield and Odel Beckham Jr. of the Cleveland Browns, Kyrie Irving of the Boston Celtics and Le’Veon Bell of the New York Jets. Altogether, take a look at the increase in popularity of these athletes names for random-ass babies.
- The name “Giannis” increased by 135% last year and is up 662% since 2016, when the Milwaukee Bucks star was en route to his first all-star appearance. Fewer than five newborns in the U.S. were named Giannis as recently as 2015.
- There were 336 Bakers born in the U.S. last year, more than twice as many as the previous year — including 17 baby Bakers in Ohio alone.
- The increase in Kawhis, especially in 2014 and 2016, continues, and should only become more popular if the All-Star leads the Raptors to an NBA title.
- There were only 27 male Kyries born in the U.S. in 2010. After Kyrie Irving was picked No. 1 overall in 2011, there were 138. Since then, the name climbed to 1,638 in 2018. Altogether, the popularity of Kyrie has increased 5128% over the past decade.
- The name “Le’Veon” has increased by 980% since Le’Veon Bell earned his first All-Pro selection in 2014, with the name going up 39% since last year.
- “Odell” has also steadily increased in popularity over the past five years, although there were eight fewer babies named after Odell Beckham Jr. in 2017.
This is all pretty funny stuff, because, as we all know, sports fans are crazy and will go to great lengths in order to show support for a team, athlete and/or keep a superstition going. I mean, hell, if I had a baby born in 2016 — when the Cleveland Cavs won a title — you better believe my kid would bee named “LeBron,” regardless of gender.
You can check out more info from the popularity of babies being named after athletes like Giannis Antetokounmpo and Kawhi Leonard over on USA Today, which actually includes a decrease in kids named after both James and MLB’s Bryce Harper over the past few years.