Where did the baby name Eydie come from in 1954?

Singer Eydie Gormé (1928-2013)
Eydie Gormé (in 1954)

The name Eydie first appeared in the U.S. baby name data in 1954:

  • 1960: 27 baby girls named Eydie
  • 1959: 37 baby girls named Eydie
  • 1958: 50 baby girls named Eydie [peak]
  • 1957: 23 baby girls named Eydie
  • 1956: 11 baby girls named Eydie
  • 1955: 10 baby girls named Eydie
  • 1954: 5 baby girls named Eydie [debut]
  • 1953: unlisted

Where did it come from?

Pop singer Eydie Gormé.

She was most famous during in the 1960s: her biggest hit was “Blame It on the Bossa Nova” (1963), and she won a Grammy for “If He Walked Into My Life” (1966).

But she first came to people’s attention when she started making regular TV appearances in 1953 on the The Tonight Show, originally hosted by Steve Allen. She often performed with her husband, Steve Lawrence.

Eydie was born Edith Garmezano in New York City in 1928. (Her husband’s birth name was Sidney Liebowitz.) Her family — parents Nessim and Fortune, siblings Robert and Corene — later shortened the surname to Gormé. She adopted the stage name Edie when she started singing, but was so frequently called “Eddie” that she decided to add a Y to emphasize the correct pronunciation (ee-dee).

What are your thoughts on the name Eydie?

Sources: Eydie Gormé – Wikipedia, Winners – Best Female Pop Vocal Performance – Grammy.com, Singer Eydie Gorme dies at 84
Image: Radio-TV Mirror, Aug. 1954

One thought on “Where did the baby name Eydie come from in 1954?

  1. I am surprised that she felt the need to change the spelling; to me, it is more intuitive to spell it Edie than Eydie. Eydie makes me pronounce it Eye-dee.

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Your email address will not be published.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.