Where did the baby name Cetera come from in 1987?

Peter Cetera's single "Glory of Love" (1986)
Peter Cetera single

The name Cetera appeared in the U.S. baby name data for the first time in 1987:

  • 1989: 5 baby girls named Cetera
  • 1988: 6 baby girls named Cetera
  • 1987: 22 baby girls named Cetera [debut]
  • 1986: unlisted
  • 1985: unlisted

What put it there?

Singer Peter Cetera (pronounced seh-TEHR-uh), who had recently started a solo career after leaving the band Chicago.

Two of the singles he released in 1986 ended up reaching the #1 spot on Billboard‘s Hot 100 chart:

  • “Glory of Love,” which was featured prominently in the 1986 movie The Karate Kid Part II, hit #1 in August.
  • “The Next Time I Fall,” a duet with Amy Grant, in hit #1 in December. Here’s the music video:

Both songs were nominated for Grammy Awards — the first in the “Best Pop Vocal Performance, Male” category, the second in the “Best Pop Performance By A Duo Or Group With Vocal” category.

“Glory of Love” was furthermore nominated for an Academy Award for “Best Original Song.” (It lost the Oscar to “Take My Breath Away” from Top Gun.)

What are your thoughts on Cetera as a baby name?

Sources: Peter Cetera – Billboard, Peter Cetera – Wikipedia, SSA

4 thoughts on “Where did the baby name Cetera come from in 1987?

  1. Cetera makes me think of Catera. As in the Cadillac Catera, which was in production from 1997 to 2001.

    1995 – not listed
    1996 – 11
    1997 – 83
    1998 – 113
    1999 – 55
    2000- 37
    2001- 31
    Eventually falling off the list completely in 2008.

  2. Thank you for the numbers, Julie!

    I don’t have to blog about Catera now because you’ve done all the hard work for me. :)

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.