Forget the philosophers, inventors, revolutionaries, innovators and visionaries from history, fictionalised drug dealers and their wives are the prime influences for the next generation and what we should call them. Breaking Bad’s reach seems to have stretched further than we thought.

Breaking Bad Walt and JesseJesse's been pretty popular; Walter not so much, wonder why?

The Walts, Jesses and Skylers have all risen up the baby names chart with the culmination of the hit drama back in September. And what’s more, the three names enjoyed increased popularity despite the Royal wedding and baby, with parents not wanting to be labelled ‘Kate copycats’, apparently.

William, Harry, Charles, Kate and Catherine – regal names indeed – have all dropped in popularity this year. Skyler and Jesse enjoyed an increased of 70 per cent and 13 per cent respectively.

Sarah Barrett, managing editor for BabyCentre, said: “So much speculation about the royal baby and regal names could be responsible for the decline of many names associated with our royal family over the past 12 months.

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“Inspiration for your baby's name can come from anywhere, which is why a show like Breaking Bad, which has been hugely popular, has influenced naming choices this year. Parents fear being labelled Kate copycats but will take inspiration from well-known characters in popular TV shows or films." (The Independent)

So now we’ve got little Walt and Jesses knocking about, with Skylers looking constantly sullen and trusting no one – and rightly so. But Breaking Bad wasn’t the only piece of TV pop culture to permeate the paradigm of baby names – Homeland and Game of Thrones weighed in, too.

HomelandCarrie and Brody have enjoyed a surge too

Brody entered the top 100 for the first time in its little baby name life; Brody is actually the second name of the male lead in Homeland, played by Damien Lewis. Carrie and Dana rose by 200 per cent and 66 per cent respectively. Is it just us, or are Aaron, Anna, Damien and Claire much nicer names than Jesse, Skyler, Brody and Carrie? Who knows.

From HBO’’s popular fantasy drama, Game of Thrones, Arya made a new entry into the top 100, while the first ever Sansa was registered this year.