Mystery baby name: Marsheila (Solved!)

Here’s a triple-name mystery from 1957.

The most popular of the three names was Marsheila:

  • 1961: 5 baby girls named Marsheila
  • 1960: 22 baby girls named Marsheila
  • 1959: 6 baby girls named Marsheila
  • 1958: 10 baby girls named Marsheila
  • 1957: 32 baby girls named Marsheila [debut]
  • 1956: unlisted

While it wasn’t the top girl-name debut of the year — that was Tierney — it did come in second.

Lower down on the debut list we see Marshelia:

  • 1961: unlisted
  • 1960: 6 baby girls named Marshelia
  • 1959: unlisted
  • 1958: 6 baby girls named Marshelia
  • 1957: 18 baby girls named Marshelia [debut]
  • 1956: unlisted

And below that is one-hit wonder Marsheela:

  • 1958: unlisted
  • 1957: 11 baby girls named Marsheela [debut]
  • 1956: unlisted

All told, over 60 baby girls got one of these three names in 1957.

Multiple spellings often point to an audio source (e.g., radio, TV) as opposed to a visual source (e.g., book, magazine). Beyond that, though, I don’t have any good theories about where these names came from.

Anyone know?

marsheela, broken arrow, 1957
Marsheela (played by Donna Martell)

UPDATE, 8/10/15: Commenter Frank B. made quick work of this one! Turns out Marsheela was a character in the 1957 “Apache Girl” episode of the TV show Broken Arrow. In the episode, Marsheela was the niece of Apache chief Cochise. (He tried setting up an arranged marriage for her, but ultimately allowed her pick a husband for herself.)

2 thoughts on “Mystery baby name: Marsheila (Solved!)

  1. Thank you so much, Frank! That has to be it.

    I’d just been searching with the wrong spelling this entire time, so I never found it. Bah. :)

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