What turned Bronco into a baby name in 1960?

The unlikely name Bronco first popped up in the U.S. baby name data in 1960:

• 1962: unlisted
• 1961: unlisted
• 1960: 5 baby boys named Bronco [debut]
• 1959: unlisted
• 1958: unlisted

Around the same time, the streamlined name Ty became markedly more popular:

• 1963: 372 baby boys named Ty [rank: 417th]
• 1962: 357 baby boys named Ty [rank: 423rd]
• 1961: 323 baby boys named Ty [rank: 452nd]
• 1960: 254 baby boys named Ty [rank: 495th]
• 1959: 188 baby boys named Ty [rank: 571st]
• 1958: 82 baby boys named Ty [rank: 831st]
• 1957: 64 baby boys named Ty [rank: 952nd]

Both names were influenced by the same thing: TV western Bronco (1958-1962), which starred actor Ty Hardin as former Confederate officer Bronco Layne.

(The names Layne and Lane also saw upticks in usage in 1959 specifically.)

Ty Hardin was initially hired to play Bronco Layne on the series Cheyenne while there was a contract dispute going on between Warner Brothers and Cheyenne star Clint Walker. After the dispute ended and Clint returned to Cheyenne, the company decided to create a spin-off series featuring Hardin’s character.

So why was the character called “Bronco”? Here’s what the show’s theme song said: “There ain’t a horse that he can’t handle, that’s how he got his name.”

And how did Ty Hardin get his name? It wasn’t from his parents; his birth name was Orison Whipple Hungerford. Here’s one explanation:

He took the name Ty Hardin — according to some news accounts, Ty was short for a childhood nickname, Typhoon, and Hardin was a reference to the western outlaw John Wesley Hardin — after signing with Warner Bros.

Another explanation is simply that his agent was Henry Willson, who had a knack for coining catchy stage names (e.g., Rock Hudson, Tab Hunter).

Sources: Bronco (TV series) – Wikipedia, Ty Hardin, rugged actor who played Bronco Layne in TV westerns, dies at 87