Dimples are indentations that occur on a surface (as on certain people’s cheeks when they smile). A friend of mine once mentioned she knew a woman with the name Dimples. I thought this must be an isolated case, but it turns out I was wrong.
Dimple (the singular form) consistently ranked among the 1,000 most popular girl names in the nation from the mid-1910s through the mid-1920s. It managed to pop up on the list several times before and after this period as well.
Here are some raw figures:
- 79 baby girls were named Dimple in 1924.
- 77 baby girls were named Dimple in both 1919 and 1926.
- 75 baby girls were named Dimple in 1920.
I can’t figure out what the influence might have been. (My best guess was Shirley Temple, but she wasn’t born until 1928, and her film “Dimples” didn’t come out until 1936.)
The only notable thing I discovered while researching this name was the Bollywood actress Dimple Kapadia–sister of Simple, mother of Twinkle. (Can any Bollywood aficionados out there tell me whether these names are genuine? I’m dying to know.)
Update: Twinkle’s Wikipedia page, which has been revised since I published this post, now indicates that she was born with the name Tina.
It can be assumed that these babies were named after birth :)
Hey girl, You research is right. In India there was an actress called Dimple (it is a fairly common nickname, rarely used first name). She did have a sister called Simple Kapadia. This name is not common at all and was properly used just for the rhyming effect. As for her first daughter Twinkle, she was born in public limelight, and is again a commonly used nickname in India. I suppose the name was chosen as it rhymed with her mother’s name. Twinkle is now married and Dimple is the grandmother of Aarav.
Thanks so much, Ava!
I saw the Christopher Nolan movie Tenet a few weeks ago — it features Dimple Kapadia! :)