At the heart of Netflix's "Stranger Things" is a girl with a "011" tattoo on her wrist. Her name is Jane, but she is almost always called Eleven.
Though unusual, it's not out of the question for parents to give their children "number names."
Jen, digital creator @elevenadventures_ on Instagram, gave each of her young daughters Eleven as a middle name. But she chose the name based on her Nov. 11 anniversary date rather than the series.
Drew and Dylan Kline of Bowling Green, Kentucky, recently gave birth to a 3-pound preemie in October at Cleveland Clinic Children’s. They named the baby Sixx Carter Kline due to dad's love of Motley Crue bassist Nikki Sixx and a restaurant server named Sixx that they met on one of their first dates.
Celebrities have also used numbers as names. For example, Travis Barker and Kourtney Kardashian Barker welcomed a baby in 2023 and named him Rocky Thirteen Barker.
Is this a trend? Will Olivia and Liam soon be replaced by Five and Seventeen? TODAY.com chatted with baby name experts to get the scoop.
Are Number Names a Trend?
"Counting numbers" aren't generally used as names, says baby name expert Laura Wattenberg. In fact, she would group the name Sixx as a rock and roll name — like Axl, Hendrix, Crue and Zeppelin — rather than a number name.
Parents are much more likely to use “ordinal numbers" to "refer to a baby’s birth order or their position in a family tree," says Wattenberg. "Quintus, which means 'fifth' in Latin, was given to a fifth child. Ichiro comes from the Japanese for 'first son,'” Wattenberg explains. "And in English, Trey and Trip are nicknames for a third, like rock guitarist Trey Anastasio, born Ernest Joseph Anastasio III."
Baby name consultant Colleen Slagen, who hails from Boston, says that she doesn't tend to draw "edgy" clients who would consider using numbers as names. However, she tells TODAY.com, "I could see somebody who wants to have a little fun with the middle name, something unique but meaningful, choosing a number as a name."
Slagen adds, "Numbers feel sort of like a stage name to me." So in the case of Kourtney Kardashian Barker and Travis Barker, she thinks naming their baby Rocky Thirteen "very much fits them."
Because there's an unlimited amount of numbers, Slagen says there's a lot of room for creativity. But on the other hand, she says, "I don't see this as a trend that would take off, because once it's been done, it doesn't feel that unique anymore. And if you're using a number, you're probably trying to be unique."
One number stands out as being the most popular number name in America. In fact, 337 babies were given this name last year ... and it also has roots in a science-fiction television show.
The most-used number name in America is Seven.
Wattenberg says the name began rising in popularity in the 1990s when the character Seven of Nine appeared on "Star Trek: Voyager." She says, "It was the perfect intersection of celebrity and style, with the popular 'V' sound and 'N' ending — a creative take on names like Evan and Devin."
Interestingly, Eleven shares those same attributes. Will Eleven eventually eclipse Seven in popularity? We'll have to wait and see.
