Where did the baby name Leimomi come from in 1959?

The Surfers album "On The Rocks" (1958)
The Surfers album

Leimomi, a Hawaiian name that means “pearl lei” or “pearl necklace,” debuted in the U.S. baby name data in 1959 — the year that Hawaii became the 50th state.

  • 1963: unlisted
  • 1962: unlisted
  • 1961: 6 baby girls named Leimomi
  • 1960: unlisted
  • 1959: 8 baby girls named Leimomi [debut]
    • 5 born in Hawaii specifically
  • 1958: unlisted
  • 1957: unlisted

The debut was likely inspired by the song “Leimomi,” written by Alvin Kaleolani Isaacs and recorded by Hawaiian foursome The Surfers (Alan Naluai, Clayton Naluai, Patrick Kalani Sylva and Bernie Ching) for their debut album On the Rocks (1958).

The Surfers — like [Don] Ho, Martin Denny and Arthur Lyman — were in the first wave of musicians to bring the Islands’ music to the post-statehood Mainland audience.

Their debut album “was a whopping hit” successful enough to allow the boys to quit college and devote “all their time to making more records and appearing in clubs” and other places, including Disneyland and the Stardust in Las Vegas.

The name Leimomi has been in and out the SSA’s data since then, last appearing in 1990. What do you think of it?

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