Where did the baby name Bix come from in 1957?

The characters Bix and Maizie (in early 1957) from the comic strip Little Annie Rooney (1927-1966)
Bix and Maizie from “Little Annie Rooney“

The name Bix first bounced into the U.S. baby name data in 1957:

  • 1959: unlisted
  • 1958: unlisted
  • 1957: 6 baby boys named Bix [debut]
  • 1956: unlisted
  • 1955: unlisted

What gave it a boost that year?

A minor character from the comic strip Little Annie Rooney (1927-1966), which was itself a knock-off of the strip Little Orphan Annie.

The storyline was called “Bix and Maizie,” and it ran from Dec. 1956 to Feb. 1957 in most U.S. newspapers. Bixby, or “Bix,” and his wife Maizie were criminals who tried (unsuccessfully) to pass themselves off as Annie Rooney’s parents in order to steal money from the businessman who was acting as Annie’s caretaker.

What do you think of the name Bix? Do you think it works by itself, or is it better as a nickname?

Sources: Don Markstein’s Toonopedia: Little Annie Rooney, SSA

Juneteenth as a baby name?

Birth certificate of June Tenth (?) Anderson (1930-1999)
June Tenth (?) Anderson, b. 1930

A year ago today, Juneteenth (a contraction of “June 19th”) became a federal holiday.

The holiday marks the date (in 1865) that U.S. Army officer Gordon Granger read General Order No. 3 to the people of Galveston, Texas. The order reinforced the Emancipation Proclamation, which had been issued two and a half years earlier, by asserting that “all slaves are free.”

This mattered because Texas still had about 250,000 slaves. Why? Because “the state never had the large Union army presence necessary to enforce the proclamation.”

Intriguingly, a baby born in nearby Harris County, Texas, in 1930 — long after the Civil War was over — may have been named “Juneteenth.”

I first discovered her a few years ago, while doing research for a post about unusual names in Harris County. She was born into an African-American family on June 26th — a week after Juneteenth — but “June tenth” is the name that appears to be written on her birth certificate (above).

In later records, on the other hand, she’s consistently listed as “Juneteena” or “June Teena.” I even found her mentioned in a 1980s cookbook:

This is one of my personal favorites, the peach pie-cobbler from June Teena Anderson, one of the Panhandle’s finest cooks.

She died in 1999, and on her gravestone her name is written “June T. Anderson.”

It’s impossible to know the original intentions of her parents (who were named Allen and Margie Anderson, btw). But it does seem plausible — given their cultural heritage, their location, and the baby’s birth date — that they had wanted to name her Juneteenth.

What are your thoughts on this?

Sources:

What gave the baby name Stoney a boost in 1963?

The character Stoney from the TV series "Stoney Burke" (1962-1963).
Stoney from “Stoney Burke”

In 1963, the name Stoney saw a sharp spike in usage. In fact, the surge catapulted Stoney right into the middle of the U.S. top 1,000:

  • 1965: 98 baby boys named Stoney [rank: 749th]
  • 1964: 109 baby boys named Stoney [rank: 740th]
  • 1963: 259 baby boys named Stoney [rank: 500th]
  • 1962: 54 baby boys named Stoney
  • 1961: 15 baby boys named Stoney

Here’s a visual:

Graph of the usage of the baby name Stoney in the U.S.
Usage of Stoney

The spelling Stony peaked that year as well.

Why?

Because of the TV western Stoney Burke, which aired for just one season (1962-1963). The main character, Stoney (played by actor Jack Lord), was a professional rodeo rider whose goal was to win the Golden Buckle — the prize given to the world’s champion saddle bronc rider.

(The show also had an influence on the names Sutton and Joby.)

What are your thoughts on the baby name Stoney? Would you use it?

Sources: Stoney Burke (TV series) – Wikipedia, SSA

Popular baby names in Mexico, 2020

Flag of Mexico
Flag of Mexico

Two years ago, the country of Mexico welcomed 1,629,211 babies.

What were the most popular names among these babies? Sofia and Santiago.

Here are Mexico’s top 50 girl names and top 50 boy names of 2020:

Girl names

  1. Sofia, 6,200 baby girls
  2. Maria Jose, 4,984
  3. Regina, 4,966
  4. Valentina, 4,905
  5. Camila, 4,688
  6. Ximena, 3,783
  7. Victoria, 3,654
  8. Renata, 3,417
  9. Maria Fernanda, 3,390
  10. Valeria, 3,272
  11. Natalia, 3,135
  12. Isabella, 2,997
  13. Romina, 2,934
  14. Daniela, 2,881
  15. Alexa, 2,490
  16. Ana Sofia, 2,406
  17. Andrea, 2,194
  18. Maria Guadalupe, 2,111
  19. Melissa, 2,093
  20. Fernanda, 2,075
  21. Samantha, 1,927
  22. Aitana, 1,910
  23. Elizabeth, 1,790
  24. Yamileth, 1,742
  25. Guadalupe, 1,720
  26. Mariana, 1,582
  27. Ana Victoria, 1,546
  28. Ana Paula, 1,517
  29. Fatima, 1,511
  30. Abigail, 1,480
  31. Emily, 1,459
  32. Julieta, 1,416
  33. Alejandra, 1,338
  34. Esmeralda, 1,311
  35. Vanessa, 1,289
  36. Estefania, 1,274
  37. Evelyn, 1,273
  38. Luciana, 1,252
  39. Jimena, 1,111
  40. Miranda, 1,058
  41. Lucia, 1,056
  42. Ivanna, 1,037
  43. Kimberly, 1,024
  44. Itzayana, 1,022
  45. Sofia Guadalupe, 1,020
  46. Carolina, 1,014
  47. Danna Sofia, 1,006
  48. Alondra, 961
  49. Aranza, 937
  50. Emma, 931

Boy names

  1. Santiago, 8,794 baby boys
  2. Mateo, 7,105
  3. Sebastian, 5,850
  4. Leonardo, 5,230
  5. Emiliano, 4,320
  6. Matias, 4,252
  7. Diego, 3,881
  8. Daniel, 3,747
  9. Miguel Angel, 3,571
  10. Alexander, 3,380
  11. Alejandro, 3,339
  12. Gael, 3,043
  13. Jesus, 3,021
  14. Angel, 2,637
  15. David, 2,551
  16. Emmanuel, 2,446
  17. Luis Angel, 2,417
  18. Rodrigo, 2,371
  19. Fernando, 2,359
  20. Maximiliano, 2,282
  21. Dylan, 2,258
  22. Jose Angel, 2,242
  23. Tadeo, 2,151
  24. Jose Luis, 2,139
  25. Gabriel, 2,016
  26. Eduardo, 2,012
  27. Juan Pablo, 1,972
  28. Rafael, 1,911
  29. Isaac, 1,845
  30. Samuel, 1,831
  31. Axel, 1,828
  32. Juan Carlos, 1,797
  33. Nicolas, 1,793
  34. Emilio, 1,792
  35. Jose Manuel, 1,683
  36. Damian, 1,658
  37. Leonel, 1,640
  38. Elias, 1,624
  39. Ricardo, 1,622
  40. Alexis, 1,618
  41. Adrian, 1,521
  42. Mauricio, 1,497
  43. Antonio, 1,481
  44. Alan, 1,480
  45. Jonathan, 1,477
  46. Francisco, 1,450
  47. Carlos, 1,432
  48. Angel Gabriel, 1,421
  49. Cristian, 1,404
  50. Javier, 1,402

The boys’ top 100 included Iker (57th), Uriel (61st), Saul (82nd), and Angel Gael (96th).

The girls’ top 100 included Samara (68th), Frida Sofia (75th), Estrella (85th), and Itzel (93rd).

And, a little father down on the girls’ list, we see Danna Paola (128th) and Amairani (292nd) — names associated with (and popularized by) the Mexican actresses Danna Paola and Amairani.

Source: Natalidad – INEGI

Image: Adapted from Flag of Mexico (public domain)

[Latest update: Aug. 2025]