Where did the baby name Gemelli come from in 2005?

Gemelli Hospital
Gemelli Hospital

During a pontificate that lasted over 26 years, Pope Saint John Paul II was admitted to Rome’s Gemelli Hospital nine times, spending “a total of 153 days and 152 nights there.” He was at Gemelli often enough that in the mid-1990s he jokingly dubbed it the “Third Vatican” — that is, the third papal residence after the Apostolic Palaces in Rome and Castel Gandolfo.

In early 2005, during John Paul II’s final months, he was taken to Gemelli for two long stretches: February 1 to 11, then again from February 24 to March 13. He passed away on April 2.

Also in 2005, for the first and only time, the baby name Gemelli appeared in the U.S. baby name data:

  • 2007: unlisted
  • 2006: unlisted
  • 2005: 5 baby girls named Gemelli [debut]
  • 2004: unlisted
  • 2003: unlisted

The Gemelli is a teaching hospital associated with Italy’s Catholic University of the Sacred Heart, which was founded in the early 1920s by Franciscan friar and doctor Agostino Gemelli (1878-1959).

The Italian surname, which is identical to the Italian word for “twins,” comes from the personal name Gemello, which in turn comes from the Latin word gemellus, “twin.”

The baby names Johnpaul, Juanpablo and Gianpaolo also saw increased usage in 2005.

Benedict, John Paul II’s successor, was elected in April of 2005. The same year, the usage of Benedict spiked and the one-hit wonders Benedicte and Johnbenedict (the top one-hit wonder of the year) popped up on the U.S. charts.

Sources:

Image: Adapted from Roma Policlinico Gemelli by Sergio D’Afflitto under CC BY-SA 3.0 IT.

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