Parents Are Regretting Naming Their Daughters "Khaleesi" After This Week's 'Game of Thrones'

After recent plot developments hinted at in episode 4 and then SUPER CONFIRMED in episode 5 of Game of Thrones' final season regarding the mental state of Daenerys,  fans who named their daughters "Khaleesi" are feeling some type of way about the moniker.

It's pretty clear the showrunners for the popular TV program have decided on a not-so-pretty fate for Daenerys Targaryen.

The young woman began the series as a scared child who grew into a strong leader, but there was always one problem people failed to consider: she might inherit the same madness that caused her father, Aerys Targaryen, to nearly burn all of King's Landing to the ground.

Although many fans are shocked by the "sudden" turn of events in the program, many scenes in the show and tons more in the books speak to Aerys' insanity.

Plus, there's this scene from Episode 10 of Season 2 that pretty much portends all of the destruction Daenerys would bring to King's Landing, so it shouldn't come as such a surprise to viewers.

Regardless, a lot of viewers were surprised at Dany's crazy switch turning on just like that.

Like any huge piece of entertainment that has a significant cultural impact, people's daily lives are going to be influenced by the show, which includes parents who named their kids after the iconic characters.

Since Daenerys was the all-powerful Khaleesi throughout much of Game of Thrones and embodied a no-compromise, badass approach to ruling and "getting what's hers", not to mention the fact that she's the mother of friggin' dragons, a lot of moms named their kids after her.

The trouble is, now that's she's kind of known as "the mad Queen" and all, they're definitely regretting their decision. Some 560 babies in 2018 alone were named "Khaleesi" according to the Social Security Administration. That makes it the 549th most popular name in the US, just behind Mariam (my wife's name!) and 548 spots shy of Emma. You don't mess with Emma when it comes to naming girls.

The Daily Beast interviewed one such mother to a "Khaleesi." Understandably, she wasn't a huge fan of the direction the series took with one of the last surviving lead female characters. Jasmine Estrada from Miami hopped on the Khaleesi train early, as her daughter is 6 years old now. 

"It was kind of disappointing that her power trip took over. That was not cool. [I don't] like the outcome of what she represents...[and the name's] kind of bittersweet right now."

Some mothers of Mothers of Dragons out there, however, are sticking by their name choice and favorite character. Katherine Acosta tells The Cut she thinks Daenerys did what she had to do to claim her rightful place on the Iron Throne. I don't think she's going to like what happens at the end of the show if some spoilers are to be believed.

Katherine, who has a 1-year-old named after the Targaryen Queen, says, "I'm still behind her. Even after last night's episode, I'm still rooting for her. I don't think she did anything wrong. I think she did what she had to do. After the episode, a lot of people kept tagging me on memes and being like, 'How do you feel that Khaleesi has that name now that Daenerys did all of that?' I'm like, I don't feel anything different. It's not like she did it just 'cause. If you watch the show, she had every right."

I don't want to jump to conclusions, but if I were a betting man, I'd wager Katherine is the type of mom who will argue with teachers because "my kid can do nothing wrong." At least her little Khaleesi can rest easy knowing she can firebomb a whole city and still have her mom's support, no matter what.

Other moms doubling down on their support for the Mad Queen include Channy and Nikki Sotto, who spoke with BuzzFeed about naming their kids after someone who murders innocent people.

Sotto personally feels bad for Dany, saying her actions were justified. "What girl hasn’t overreacted when they see their whole world crumbling around them? I feel for her. I’m just bummed Jon and her have to be related. I wanted them to live happily ever after."

I imagine that, even if you did name your daughter Khaleesi and not Daenerys, any nasty feelings associated with the name would be assuaged by the knowledge that, when she was a Khaleesi and not Queen of the Seven Kingdoms, she was a kind, compassionate ruler who cared about her soldiers and liberated slaves.

So I guess if you're one of the moms who decided to name your daughter after The Mad Queen, just remind the world that there are actual serial killers in real life with names like John, Ted, and Jeffrey.

If you name your kid "Lecter," though, well... that's probably on you.