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June 1, 2026 · TV & Film · 7 min read
Disney Princess Baby Names: From Aurora to Moana
Disney princess names are uniquely well-engineered for cross-cultural appeal — Disney's writers picked names that work in English, French, Spanish, and Mandarin all at once. The names that became hits as movies aren't always the most-popular princesses. The data tells a more interesting story.
The Name-Movers
Aurora · Sleeping Beauty (1959, but rediscovered with the 2014 Maleficent film). Aurora has been one of the cleanest comeback names of the past decade — top 50 in the US.
Births per year — SSA data
Ariel · The Little Mermaid (1989). Originally a Hebrew boy's name (Ariel meaning 'lion of God'). The film flipped the gender for two generations of American kids.
Belle · Beauty and the Beast (1991, also 2017 live-action). Belle has been climbing aggressively as a standalone (not Isabella shorthand) since the 2017 film.
Mulan · Mulan (1998, also 2020 live-action). The original Chinese folk heroine. Mulan as a name is rare in American data but used by parents specifically embracing the connection.
Tiana · The Princess and the Frog (2009). Tiana spiked sharply after the film and has held strong — the first Black Disney princess gave the name lasting cultural resonance.
Births per year — SSA data
Moana · Moana (2016, also 2024). Moana means 'ocean' in Polynesian languages. The name appeared in US data only after the film and has been climbing.
Births per year — SSA data
Elsa · Frozen (2013). Elsa skyrocketed after Frozen — went from rare to top 200 in two years. Has held steady since. One of the most documented movie-to-name effects in modern history.
Births per year — SSA data
Anna · Frozen (2013). Anna was already a US classic — Frozen kept it relevant to a new generation.
The Quieter Inspirations
Jasmine · Aladdin (1992). Jasmine peaked in the late 1990s and has been declining since — the original wave was the kids of parents who watched the movie. Now the next generation is rediscovering it.
Pocahontas · Pocahontas (1995). The name itself rarely shows up in US data but the film popularized character-related Native names like Kaya and Aiyana.
Cinderella · Cinderella (1950, 2015). The full name Cinderella is genuinely rare; the diminutive Ella is a top-20 US name that owes some of its popularity to the franchise.
Rapunzel · Tangled (2010). Rapunzel itself is not used as a name; the character's ordinary-life nickname Rapunzel is too on-the-nose. But Tangled is part of why parents reach for nature-inspired girl names.
What Disney Names Have in Common
Looking at which Disney princess names break out vs. which stay tied to their character: the breakouts have universal phonetics (Belle, Aurora, Anna, Elsa) while the character-only names have movie-specific cultural weight (Pocahontas, Mulan as full name).
The breakouts are also the names where Disney wasn't the originator. Belle is French; Aurora is Latin; Anna is universal. Disney just made them ascendant. Names Disney invented or repurposed dramatically (Ariel as a girl) tend to plateau.
For more character-driven name articles, see our Twilight, Bridgerton, and ACOTAR pieces.
More ways to explore
256,000 names across 21 countries — pick a tool below.
