Love it or hate it, it's officially Wuthering Heights season, and as Margot Robbie and Jacob Elordi continue to make hordes of cinema-goers weep on TikTok, parents of newborns are taking notes.
The 18th century is well and truly enjoying a renaissance, with the Emerald Fennell adaptation and the return of Netflix's beloved Bridgerton trickling into the world of baby naming.
While the stories may be old-fashioned, the names are being adapted and adopted with modern spins to make them 21st century proof as more parents take inspiration from pop culture.
From Emily Brontë's controversial characters to the ladies and gentlemen of the Regency era's Ton, HELLO! gathered the most popular 18th-century names that are making a comeback in 2026, with the help of a leading UK expert.
Top 18th-century boys' names
When it comes to naming children, what's in and out comes and goes as fast as the wind. Sophie Kihm is a baby name expert and editor-in-chief at Nameberry, the world’s largest website devoted to baby names. She shared the top 18th-century boys' names that are trending.
- Oliver
- Arthur
- George
- Henry
- Thomas
Top 18th-century girls' names
According to Sophie, the following names are being adopted from the Age of Enlightenment for baby girls:
- Amelia
- Florence
- Sophia
- Phoebe
- Charlotte
The Wuthering Heights effect
As Brontë fever sweeps the world of pop culture, new parents are looking to the screen for ideas and inspiration. While the longform names of the writer's characters still feel a little old-worldly for a baby in 2026, Sophie explained how people were getting creative with the script's monikers.
She told us: "Parents are still going to seek out unique, distinctive names for their children, but certain choices from Wuthering Heights could rise in popularity after being featured on screen.
"At Nameberry, we’re watching Heath (a more accessible form of Heathcliff), Margot (after Margot Robbie), and Dean (as in the story's beloved housekeeper Nelly Dean) from Wuthering Heights."
Emerald's screenplay isn't the only 18th-century reference that's being heavily watched at the moment, however, as parents continue to adopt the names of their favourite Bridgerton characters after giving birth.
The expert noted: "Bridgerton has already catapulted names like Eloise, Violet, and Penelope. After season four, we expect Sophie to get a bit of a boost, but the real trendsetter will be Posy (and alternate spellings Posie and Posey).
"Posie is already a fast-rising choice in the United Kingdom. It feels unusual but on-trend, à la other floral names Poppy and Daisy. After a feature in Bridgerton as Sophie’s stepsister, Posy is likely to join many parents’ baby name lists."
Style versus ethics and meaning
While parents pluck names from the screen, it appears little heed is paid to the character that the title is associated with. Naming nowadays is focused on style as parents worry less about the image a name could conjure up and more about how it sounds, according to Sophie.
She explained: "Controversial movies and characters have created some of the biggest pop culture baby name hits. Style is much more important than the ethics of a character when it comes to baby name influence.
© LIAM DANIEL/NETFLIX"For example, the names Damian and Annabelle soared in popularity after the releases of The Omen and Annabelle, despite being tied to demonic characters in horror films. Over time, the ties to the original sources have weakened. Damian and Annabelle are hardly controversial choices!"
The expert added: "With the exception of Heathcliff, who has always been very connected to Wuthering Heights, the names from the film do not immediately call to mind the source material."
How names become phenomena with the help of popular culture
With hundreds of films and TV shows debuting every year, it is not any and every story that makes a splash in the naming world. Not every popular moment will spark a surge in parents calling their children after characters, but why does it happen with some scripts and not others?
"Pop culture can be a great source of inspiration for baby names. Some parents name their children directly after beloved characters or stars, while others overhear a name in the zeitgeist and don’t even register the original source," Sophie began.
She went on to say: "Either way, a name has to meet specific criteria to become a runaway success. The pop culture reference has to be right, very popular, which usually means mainstream appeal, and the name has to either be already rising or similar enough to names that are currently gaining popularity.
"This is why we’re unlikely to see Cathy rise due to Wuthering Heights. It’s currently a 'grandma name', too dated for most parents to put on their list."
