The odd name Hondo first appeared in the U.S. baby name data in 1967:
- 1969: unlisted
- 1968: 7 baby boys named Hondo
- 1967: 5 baby boys named Hondo [debut]
- 1966: unlisted
- 1965: unlisted
Where did it come from?
A short-lived TV western called Hondo, which featured a main character named Hondo Lane (played by Ralph Taeger) who was a former Confederate cavalry officer. The series was only on the air during the last third of 1967 (September to December).
Hondo was based on a 1953 John Wayne movie of the same name, which itself was based on the 1952 short story “The Gift of Cochise” by Louis L’Amour. While Wayne shot the film, L’Amour turned the movie’s screenplay into a novel, and both the movie and the book were released at the same time, with the same title.
The name Hondo wasn’t original to the story; Wayne borrowed it from a minor character in another film he’d starred in called The Angel and the Badman (1947). (In that film, Wayne’s character had the quirky name Quirt Evans.)
What are your thoughts on the name Hondo?
Sources:
- Hondo (TV series) – Wikipedia
- Howard, Donald E. The Role of Reading in Nine Famous Lives. Jefferson, NC: McFarland, 2005.
- Joyner, C. Courntey. The Westerners: Interviews with Actors, Directors, Writers and Producers. Jefferson, NC: McFarland, 2009.