japanese warrior woodblock printPeople always ask if I named my son, Aidan, after the character in Sex & the City. Never watched the show, couldn't even sit through that silly movie.

So, nope, I just thought I was being original. Welp, there seem to be about 321 billion boys on planet Earth named Aidan now. Moms need a new source of inspiration for so-called unique names ...

Video games, perhaps?

According to the CafeMom Baby Name Finder, a number of moms have kids with the names of video game characters (though video games might not be the reason.):  Kain, Rinoa and Kairi just to name a few.

The one that's growing in popularity the most: Raiden.

Another mom at the day care center my daughter attends considered this name for her son. She's Asian; it's the name of an ancient Japanese god of thunder and lightning, and is used for a main character in “Mortal Kombat,” according to Cleveland Evans of the Omaha World-Herald.

There are a number of Raidens on CafeMom, and in 2008, Raiden was the 780th most popular name for American boys. In another decade it may be the first video game name to make the top 100.

As Evans notes, Raiden has the biggest potential to soar on the popularity charts because it rhymes with names like Aiden and Caden, it's “different but not too different.”

Would you name your baby after a character in a video game? Do you like the name Raiden?