← All Articles
March 31, 2026 · Article · 7 min read
Throne of Glass Baby Names: Sarah J. Maas Names Parents Love
Before Sarah J. Maas conquered BookTok with A Court of Thorns and Roses, she built a massive fandom with her Throne of Glass series. And while ACOTAR gets most of the baby-naming buzz today, Throne of Glass quietly planted seeds in SSA data that are still growing.
The series ran from 2012 to 2018, which means the readers who fell in love with Aelin, Rowan, and Dorian as teenagers are now the exact age to be naming babies. Let's see which names made the jump from Erilea to the real world.
The Fire-Breathing Heroine
Aelin — Celaena Sardothien's true name, revealed partway through the series, is one of the most successful invented fantasy names in recent SSA history. It first appeared in 2016 (5 births) — the year
Empire of Storms came out and Aelin's character arc peaked. By 2018, it jumped to 25. Then BookTok discovered Sarah J. Maas around 2020, and Aelin started climbing fast: 41 in 2021, 47 in 2023, and 79 in 2024. That's a 16x increase in eight years, and the trend is accelerating.
0 (before 2016) → 5 (2016) → 25 (2018) → 79 (2024, still climbing)
Births per year — SSA data
What's remarkable about Aelin is that it sounds like it could be a real name. It's short, musical, and easy to pronounce (AY-lin). That's the secret sauce for fictional baby names — they have to work in a kindergarten classroom, not just on a book page.
Celaena — The assassin's alias has also appeared in SSA data, though at much lower numbers: 9 births in 2021, 7 in 2023, 9 in 2024. It's a tougher sell than Aelin because of the spelling (is it seh-LAY-nah? suh-LEE-nah?), but there are dedicated parents who went for it. Respect.
0 (before 2021) → 9 (2021) → 9 (2024)
The Fae Prince
Rowan — Rowan Whitethorn is arguably the biggest baby name success story from Throne of Glass, but here's the catch: Rowan was already rising before the series. From 64 births in 1995 to 955 in 2010 (before ToG published), it was already on an upward trajectory. Post-ToG, it exploded: 2,847 in 2017, 3,761 in 2022, and 4,647 in 2024. It's impossible to separate the Throne of Glass effect from the broader Celtic names trend, but Rowan Whitethorn certainly didn't hurt.
64 (1995) → 955 (2010, pre-ToG) → 4,647 (2024)
Births per year — SSA data (boys)
Rowan is also increasingly popular as a girl's name — 1,193 girls were named Rowan in 2024. The Throne of Glass character is male, but the name's gender-neutral quality is part of its appeal.
The King of Adarlan
Dorian — Dorian Havilliard is the prince (later king) who readers fall in love with in the first book. The name Dorian has been in steady use for decades — around 400-600 births per year since the 1990s. There isn't a clear Throne of Glass spike, partly because Oscar Wilde's
The Picture of Dorian Gray has kept this name in circulation for over a century. In 2024, 553 boys were named Dorian. A solid, literary name with multiple fictional touchpoints.
409 (1995) → 639 (2000) → 553 (2024)
The Supporting Cast
Lysandra — The shapeshifter is a fan favorite, but her name hasn't broken through in SSA data. Lysandra was at 11-23 births per year in the late 1990s and has actually declined — only 5 births in 2022, and it didn't hit the minimum in 2023 or 2024. This is one of those cases where fandom love doesn't translate to baby names. Lysandra sounds beautiful, but it might be too close to "Lysander" or "Alexandra" for parents to pick it as something unique.
23 (1996) → 16 (2005) → 5 (2022)
Manon — Manon Blackbeak, the witch queen, has one of the coolest character arcs in the series. Her name (a real French name, pronounced mah-NOHN) has been used at low levels in the US — typically 5-25 births per year. It peaked at 26 in 1999 and 2000, and sits at 6 in 2024. The Throne of Glass connection hasn't created a visible bump, possibly because the French pronunciation trips up American parents.
18 (1995) → 26 (2000 peak) → 6 (2024)
Lorcan — Lorcan Salvaterre, the brooding warrior. Lorcan is a genuine Irish name and has shown a small, steady presence in US data — typically 5-17 births per year. It's been hovering around 10-17 since 2018. Whether that's a Throne of Glass effect or an Irish names trend is hard to say, but the timing is suggestive.
6 (1997) → 15 (2014) → 11 (2024)
The Names That Stayed in Erilea
Fenrys — The wolf warrior's name hasn't appeared in SSA data. It's a wonderful fantasy name, but "Fen-ris" is a tough sell for a birth certificate. (Fenrir, the Norse wolf, shows up occasionally but that's a different source.)
Chaol — Pronounced "Kay-all," Chaol Westfall's name is one of the most contentious pronunciation debates in fantasy fandom. That pronunciation confusion is probably why it hasn't appeared in birth data. If parents can't agree on how to say it, they're not going to put it on a birth certificate.
Nehemia — The princess of Eyllwe. Despite being a beautiful name (and close to the biblical Nehemiah), it hasn't hit the 5-birth minimum. It might be too close to the male biblical name for parents to feel comfortable with it.
Elide — Elide Lochan appeared in SSA data in the late 1990s (18 births in 1995) but has virtually disappeared since. The ToG character didn't revive it, possibly because the name looks like the English word "elide" (meaning to omit or suppress).
The Sarah J. Maas Effect
When you combine Throne of Glass names with ACOTAR names, a clear picture emerges: Sarah J. Maas is one of the most influential authors for baby naming in the 21st century. Aelin, Azriel, Cassian, Rhys, and Rowan are all showing significant growth — and her readership is still expanding.
The key insight? Her most successful baby names are the ones that feel like they could be real names. Aelin sounds Irish. Rowan is Celtic. Cassian is Latin. Dorian is classical. The fantasy setting gives parents the emotional connection, but the name itself has to pass the "real world" test.
If you're a Sarah J. Maas fan exploring names, also check out our ACOTAR baby names article and our general overview of book character names.
More ways to explore
256,000 names across 21 countries — pick a tool below.
