How popular is the baby name Bambi in the United States right now? How popular was it historically? Use the popularity graph and data table below to find out! Plus, see all the blog posts that mention the name Bambi.

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Popularity of the baby name Bambi


Posts that mention the name Bambi

Over 100 baby names for 100 years of the Walt Disney Company

The characters Minnie Mouse and Mickey Mouse in the animated short film "Plane Crazy" (1928)
Minnie and Mickey in “Plane Crazy

Did you know that The Walt Disney Company has a birthday coming up?

On October 16, 2023, Disney will mark its 100th anniversary. (I learned this while working on last month’s post about Davy Crockett.)

Let’s celebrate the upcoming centennial with more than 100 Walt Disney-inspired baby names. Just to make things interesting, all of the names below refer to Disney-related people, places, things, and events from the pre-television era.


Walter, Walt, and Elias
Walter, Walt, and Elias for animator and businessman Walter Elias “Walt” Disney, who was born in 1901. His middle name was passed down from his father, Elias C. Disney. Here are the popularity graphs for Walt, Walter, and Elias.

Kaycee
Kaycee for Kaycee Studio, Walt’s first animation studio. It was named after its location, Kansas City — “K.C” for short. Here’s the popularity graph for Kaycee.

Newman
Newman for the Newman Laugh-o-Grams, Walt’s first animated films, which aired exclusively at the Newman Theater in Kansas City starting in early 1921. Here’s the popularity graph for Newman.

Jack
Jack for the Laugh-o-Gram shorts Jack and the Beanstalk and Jack the Giant Killer, both from 1922. Here’s the popularity graph for Jack.

Goldie
Goldie for the Laugh-o-Gram short Goldie Locks and the Three Bears, also from 1922. The name Goldie was used again (for an elf) in the future Disney short The Golden Touch (1935). Here’s the popularity graph for Goldie.

Alice
Alice for the Alice Comedies, a series of short films in which a live-action girl named Alice interacts with cartoon characters in an animated landscape. The first short, the unfinished Alice’s Wonderland, was created in Kansas City. Here’s the popularity graph for Alice.

The real-life character Alice in the animated short film "Alice's Wild West Show" (1924)
Alice in “Alice’s Wild West Show

In the summer of 1923, after Walt’s second studio (Laugh-o-Gram) went bankrupt, Walt moved to Los Angeles, California.

Margaret
Margaret for businesswoman Margaret J. Winkler, who agreed to distribute Walt’s proposed Alice Comedies series. The contract was signed on October 16, 1923. Here’s the popularity graph for Margaret.

Roy
Roy for Roy O. Disney, who, with Walt, co-founded the Disney Brothers Cartoon Studio (later The Walt Disney Company) upon the finalization of the distribution deal. Here’s the popularity graph for Roy.

Virginia
Virginia for child actress Virginia Davis, who originated the role of Alice. Her family relocated to California so that she could appear in 14 more films. Here’s the popularity graph for Virginia.

Margie and Lois
Margie and Lois for child actresses Margie Gay and Lois Hardwick, who played Alice in later films. Here are the popularity graphs for Margie and Lois.

Julius
Julius for Julius the Cat, a recurring character in the Alice Comedies. Here’s the popularity graph for Julius.

Pete
Pete for Peg Leg Pete, a villain who first appeared in Alice Solves the Puzzle (1925). He has since become Disney’s oldest recurring character. Here’s the popularity graph for Pete.

Kathleen
Kathleen for artist Kathleen Dollard, the studio’s first hire. Here’s the popularity graph for Kathleen.

Oswald
Oswald for character Oswald the Lucky Rabbit, who was created in 1927 (by Universal Pictures) to star in a new series of animated films, the first 26 of which were animated by Walt’s company. Here’s the popularity graph for Oswald.

The character Oswald the Lucky Rabbit in the animated short film "Rival Romeos" (1928)
Oswald in “Rival Romeos

In 1928, the businessman who owned the rights to Oswald decided to create his own animation studio and produce the Oswald cartoons himself. He even hired away several of Walt’s animators.

It was a major setback, as Walt’s studio had already created more than two dozen successful Oswald films. But Walt refused to give up. Soon enough, he came up with an idea for a new character — a mouse!

Mickey and Minnie
Mickey and Minnie for characters Mickey Mouse and Minnie Mouse. They technically first appeared in the short Plane Crazy (May 1928), but their first wide-release appearance was in Steamboat Willie. Here are the popularity graphs for Mickey and Minnie

Willie
Willie for the short Steamboat Willie (Nov. 1928). One of the first cartoons to synchronize sound and animation, it was an immediate hit. The name Willie was used again in the future Disney short Willie the Operatic Whale (1946). Here’s the popularity graph for Willie.

Charlotte
Charlotte for seamstress Charlotte Clark, who designed and sold the first Disney-approved Mickey Mouse dolls. Here’s the popularity graph for Charlotte.

Charlotte Clark label on a Mickey Mouse doll (1930s)
Charlotte Clark doll label

Walt’s studio not only continued making Mickey Mouse films, but also began another series of films, Silly Symphonies, which introduced a slew of new characters.

Horace
Horace for character Horace Horsecollar, who first appeared in the short The Plowboy (1929). Here’s the popularity graph for Horace.

Adeline
Adeline for “Sweet Adeline,” the song that Mickey (and a pair of alley cats) performed for Minnie in the short The Karnival Kid (1929). Mickey Mouse spoke his first words in this cartoon. Here’s the popularity graph for Adeline.

Clarabelle
Clarabelle for Horace’s love interest, Clarabelle Cow, who first appeared in the short The Shindig (1930). Here’s the popularity graph for Clarabelle.

Pluto
Pluto for Mickey Mouse’s dog, Pluto the Pup, who first appeared in the short The Chain Gang (1930). His name, inspired by the recently discovered planet Pluto, was first used in The Moose Hunt (1931). Here’s the popularity graph for Pluto.

Vance
Vance for actor Vance “Pinto” Colvig, the original voice of both Pluto and Goofy. Here’s the popularity graph for Vance.

Fifi
Fifi for Pluto’s love interest, Fifi the Pekingese, who first appeared in the short Puppy Love (1933). Here’s the popularity graph for Fifi.

Donald
Donald for character Donald Duck, who first appeared in the short The Wise Little Hen (1934). Here’s the popularity graph for Donald.

Clarence
Clarence for actor Clarence Nash, the original voice of Donald Duck. Here’s the popularity graph for Clarence.

Morty and Ferdie
Morty and Ferdie for Mickey Mouse’s nephews, Morty and Ferdie Fieldmouse, from the short Mickey’s Steam Roller (1934). Here are the popularity graphs for Morty and Ferdie.

Clara
Clara for character Clara Cluck, the operatic chicken who first appeared in the short Orphan’s Benefit (1934). Here’s the popularity graph for Clara.

Peter and Polly
Peter and Polly for characters Peter and Polly Penguin from the short Peculiar Penguins (1934). The name Peter was used again in the future Disney short Peter and the Wolf (1946). Here are the popularity graphs for Peter and Polly.

Bianca
Bianca for artist Bianca Majolie, the studio’s first female employee in the Story department (as opposed to the Ink and Paint department). Here’s the popularity graph for Bianca.

Max and Toby
Max and Toby for characters Max Hare and Toby Tortoise, rivals first featured in the Oscar-winning short The Tortoise and the Hare (1935). Here are the popularity graphs for Max and Toby.

Ambrose (or Butch)
Ambrose (or Butch) for the kitten named Ambrose (who aspired to be a bandit called “Butch”) in the short The Robber Kitten (1935). Here are the popularity graphs for Ambrose and Butch.

Jenny
Jenny for Donald Duck’s burro, Jenny, who first appeared in the short Mickey’s Polo Team (1936). The name Jenny had also been used in the unrelated 1935 short Who Killed Cock Robin? Here’s the popularity graph for Jenny.

Elmer and Tillie
Elmer and Tillie for characters Elmer Elephant and Tillie Tiger from the short Elmer Elephant (1936). The name Elmer had also been used in the unrelated 1934 short Mickey Plays Papa. Here are the popularity graphs for Elmer and Tillie.

Mortimer
Mortimer for character Mortimer Mouse from the 1936 short Mickey’s Rival. (Did you know that Walt’s original name for Mickey Mouse was “Mortimer Mouse”? His wife Lillian convinced him to use the name Mickey instead.) Here’s the popularity graph for Mortimer.

Monty and Abner
Monty and Abner for characters Monty Citymouse and Abner Countrymouse from the Oscar-winning short The Country Cousin (1936). Here are the popularity graphs for Monty and Abner.

Donna
Donna for Donald Duck’s first girlfriend, Donna Duck, from the short Don Donald (1937). Here’s the popularity graph for Donna.

Hortense
Hortense for the insatiable ostrich Hortense in the short Donald’s Ostrich (1937). Here’s the popularity graph for Hortense.

Snow
Snow for Snow White, the lead character from the studio’s first feature-length film, Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs (1937). This was the first animated feature in history “to receive a wide, Hollywood-style release.” Here’s the popularity graph for Snow.

Seven
Seven for the seven dwarfs from Snow White. Here’s the popularity graph for Seven.

Marge
Marge for dancer Marge Champion, the real-life model for Snow White. She was also the model for other Disney characters, including the Blue Fairy in Pinocchio. Here’s the popularity graph for Marge.

Adriana
Adriana for actress and singer Adriana Caselotti, the voice of Snow White. Here’s the popularity graph for Adriana.

Lucille
Lucille for actress Lucille La Verne, the voice of the Evil Queen from Snow White. Here’s the popularity graph for Lucille.

Moroni
Moroni for actor Moroni Olsen, the voice of the Magic Mirror from Snow White. Here’s the popularity graph for Moroni.

Larry and Frank
Larry and Frank for songwriters Larry Morey and Frank Churchill, who created the song “Someday My Prince Will Come” for Snow White. Here are the popularity graphs for Larry and Frank.

Huey, Dewey, and Louie
Huey, Dewey, and Louie for Donald Duck’s nephews, who first appeared in the short Donald’s Nephews (1938). Here are the popularity graphs for Huey, Dewey, and Louie.

Tailor
Tailor for the Mickey Mouse short Brave Little Tailor (1938). Here’s the popularity graph for Tailor.

Ferdinand
Ferdinand for the pacifist bull Ferdinand from the Oscar-winning short Ferdinand the Bull (1938). Here’s the popularity graph for Ferdinand.

Wilbur
Wilbur for Goofy’s pet grasshopper, Wilbur, from the short Goofy and Wilbur (1939). Here’s the popularity graph for Wilbur.

Gus
Gus for the gluttonous goose Gus in the short Donald’s Cousin Gus (1939). The name Gus was used again (for a mouse) in the future Disney movie Cinderella. Here’s the popularity graph for Gus.

Dickie
Dickie for child actor Richard “Dickie” Jones, the voice of the lead character from the studio’s second feature-length film, Pinocchio (1940). Here’s the popularity graph for Dickie.

Blue
Blue for the Blue Fairy, the character who brought Geppetto’s puppet to life in Pinocchio. Here’s the popularity graph for Blue.

Evelyn
Evelyn for actress Evelyn Venable, the voice of the Blue Fairy from Pinocchio. Here’s the popularity graph for Evelyn.

Cleo
Cleo for Geppetto’s pet goldfish, Cleo, from Pinocchio. Here’s the popularity graph for Cleo.

Leigh and Ned
Leigh and Ned for songwriters Leigh Harline and Ned Washington, who created the song “When You Wish Upon a Star” for Pinocchio. Here are the popularity graphs for Leigh and Ned.

Cliff
Cliff for actor and singer Clifton “Cliff” Edwards, the voice of Jiminy Cricket from Pinocchio. Here’s the popularity graph for Cliff.

Daisy
Daisy for Donald Duck’s second girlfriend, Daisy Duck, who first appeared in the short Mr. Duck Steps Out (1940). Here’s the popularity graph for Daisy.

Fantasia
Fantasia for the studio’s third feature-length film, Fantasia (1940). The movie’s title comes from the musical term fantasia, which refers to a musical composition without a traditional or fixed form. Here’s the popularity graph for Fantasia.

Fred
Fred for animator Fred Moore, who redesigned Mickey Mouse for the character’s feature-length film debut in Fantasia. Here’s the popularity graph for Fred.

Leopold
Leopold for conductor Leopold Stokowski, who conducted the classical music in Fantasia. Here’s the popularity graph for Leopold.

Giles
Giles for character Sir Giles, the elderly knight from the studio’s fourth feature-length film, The Reluctant Dragon (1941). Here’s the popularity graph for Giles.

Timothy
Timothy for the character Timothy Q. Mouse from the studio’s fifth feature-length film, Dumbo (1941). Here’s the popularity graph for Timothy.

Bambi and Faline
Bambi and Faline for characters Bambi and Faline from the studio’s sixth feature-length film, Bambi (1942). Here are the popularity graphs for Bambi and Faline.

Tyrus
Tyrus for Chinese-American animator Tyrus Wong, whose sketches inspired the impressionistic style of Bambi. Here’s the popularity graph for Tyrus.

Retta
Retta for animator Retta Scott, the first female animator to receive screen credit on a Disney animated feature (Bambi). Here’s the popularity graph for Retta.

José
José for character José Carioca, the dapper parrot who first appeared in the studio’s seventh feature-length film, Saludos Amigos (1943). Here’s the popularity graph for José.

Pedro
Pedro for character Pedro, the anthropomorphic mail plane from Saludos Amigos. Here’s the popularity graph for Pedro.

Chip and Dale
Chip and Dale for characters Chip and Dale, the mischievous chipmunks who first appeared in the short Private Pluto (1943). Here are the popularity graphs for Chip and Dale.

Pablo
Pablo for character Pablo, the warmth-seeking penguin from the studio’s ninth feature-length film, The Three Caballeros (1945). Here’s the popularity graph for Pablo.

Pauline
Pauline for character Pauline from the short Duck Pimples (1945). Here’s the popularity graph for Pauline.

Cedric and Esmeralda
Cedric and Esmeralda for characters Cedric and Esmeralda from the short A Knight for a Day (1946). Here are the popularity graphs for Cedric and Esmeralda.

Henry and Grace
Henry and Grace for characters Henry and Grace, the feuding newlyweds from the studio’s 10th feature-length film, Make Mine Music (1946). Here are the popularity graphs for Henry and Grace.

Lulubelle
Lulubelle for character Lulubelle from the studio’s 12th feature-length film, Fun and Fancy Free (1947). Here’s the popularity graph for Lulubelle.

Anita
Anita for singer Anita Gordon, the voice of the Golden Harp in Fun and Fancy Free. Here’s the popularity graph for Anita.

Alfred and Elma
Alfred and Elma for husband-and-wife wildlife filmmakers Alfred and Elma Milotte, who created Disney’s True-Life Adventures documentary series, starting with the Oscar-winning On Seal Island (1948). Here are the popularity graphs for Alfred and Elma.

Jeremiah
Jeremiah for character Jeremiah Kincaid from the studio’s 14th feature-length film, So Dear to My Heart (1949). Here’s the popularity graph for Jeremiah.

Danny
Danny for Jeremiah’s pet lamb, Danny, from So Dear to My Heart (1949). The lamb was named after champion racehorse Dan Patch. Here’s the popularity graph for Danny.

Bobby
Bobby for child actor Robert “Bobby” Driscoll, who played Jeremiah in So Dear to My Heart. Bobby also played the part of Jim in Treasure Island. Here’s the popularity graph for Bobby.

Luana
Luana for child actress Luana Patten, who played Tildy in So Dear to My Heart. Here’s the popularity graph for Luana.

Marceline
Marceline for the town of Marceline, Missouri. Though set in Indiana, So Dear to My Heart was strongly influenced by Walt’s childhood experiences in Marceline. Here’s the popularity graph for Marceline.

Melody
Melody for the studio’s 13th feature-length film, Melody Time (1948). Here’s the popularity graph for Melody.

Bill and Sue
Bill and Sue for characters Pecos Bill and Slue-Foot Sue from Melody Time. Here are the popularity graphs for Bill and Sue.

Angus and Thaddeus
Angus and Thaddeus for characters Angus MacBadger and J. Thaddeus Toad from the studio’s 15th feature-length film, The Adventures of Ichabod and Mr. Toad (1949). Here are the popularity graphs for Angus and Thaddeus.

Brom and Katrina
Brom and Katrina for characters Brom Bones and Katrina Van Tassel, also from The Adventures of Ichabod and Mr. Toad. Here are the popularity graphs for Brom and Katrina.

Cinderella
Cinderella for the lead character from the studio’s 16th feature-length film, Cinderella (1950). Here’s the popularity graph for Cinderella.

Ilene
Ilene for actress and singer Jacqueline Ruth “Ilene” Woods, the voice of Cinderella. Here’s the popularity graph for Ilene.

Verna
Verna for actress Verna Felton, the voice of the Fairy Godmother from Cinderella. Here’s the popularity graph for Verna.

Treasure
Treasure for the studio’s 17th feature-length film, Treasure Island (1950). This was Disney’s first entirely live-action movie. Here’s the popularity graph for Treasure.

Jim
Jim for character Jim Hawkins from Treasure Island. Here’s the popularity graph for Jim.

Humphrey
Humphrey for character Humphrey the Bear, who first appeared in the short Hold That Pose (1950). Here’s the popularity graph for Humphrey.


Disney’s pre-television era ended in December of 1950, when NBC aired Walt Disney’s first TV production — a Christmas special called One Hour in Wonderland, hosted by Walt himself.

Which of the names above do you like best?

P.S. Today happens to be the 68th anniversary of Disneyland, which opened in 1955 on July 17.

Sources:

Images:

[Similar post: Over 100 baby names for 100 years of the U.S. National Park Service]

Quotes about the names of writers

Irish playwright and poet Oscar Wilde (1854-1900)
Oscar Wilde

From the 2000 book Oscar Wilde: A Certain Genius by Barbara Belford:

“How ridiculous of you to suppose that anyone, least of all my dear mother, would christen me ‘plain Oscar,'” Wilde later said. “When one is unknown, a number of Christian names are useful, perhaps needful. As one becomes famous, one sheds some of them…I started as Oscar Fingal O’Flahertie Wills Wilde. All but two of the five names have already been thrown overboard. Soon I shall discard another and be known simply as ‘The Wilde’ or ‘The Oscar.'”

From a 2008 article by writer Ta-Nehisi Coates (b. 1975) in The Atlantic:

[F]or the record Ta-Nehisi (pronounced Tah-Nuh-Hah-See) is an Egyptian name for ancient Nubia. I came up in a time when African/Arabic names were just becoming popular among black parents. I had a lot of buddies named Kwame, Kofi, Malik (actually have a brother with that name), Akilah and Aisha. My Dad had to be different, though. Couldn’t just give me a run of the mill African name. I had to be a nation.

From a 2019 article about names by journalist Josanne Cassar in Malta Today:

In my case it can be mildly tiring because I am constantly having to explain that there is no “i” in Josanne, (simply because the most common spelling and pronunciation is Josianne) – one person had even asked me if I was sure I was spelling it right and asked me to check my own ID card. True story.

From the post “My name is not really Penelope” by blogger Penelope Trunk:

So when I signed up for my son’s preschool, I told them my name was Penelope Trunk. My husband had a fit. He told me I was starting our new life in Madison as an insane person and I cannot change my name now.

But I explained to him that it would be insane not to change my name now. I am way better known as Penelope than Adrienne. And my career is so closely tied with the brand Penelope Trunk, that I actually became the brand. So calling myself Penelope Trunk instead of Adrienne Greenheart is actually a way to match my personal life with my professional life and to make things more sane.

At first it was a little weird. For example, we were driving in the car one day and my son said, “Mom, who’s Penelope Trunk?”

But now it feels good to be Penelope Trunk. No more having to figure out what name to give where. No more pretending to be someone, sometimes. No more long explanations and short memories of who calls me what.

From the 2005 speech “How Everything Turns Away” by children’s book author Lois Lowry (b. 1937):

My first photograph…or the first photograph of me…was taken, by my father, when I was 36 hours old. My name was different then. They had named me Sena, for my Norwegian grandmother, and that was my name until she was notified; then she sent a telegram insisting that they give me an American name, and so I was renamed Lois Ann for my father’s two sisters.

American memoirist Maya Angelou (1928-2014)
Maya Angelou (who was a dancer in the 1950s!)

From the book Maya Angelou (2009) by Harold Bloom:

From that local bar she moves on to the Purple Onion, one of the most popular nightclubs on the entire West Coast. It is here that she is encouraged to replace the “s” in her last name with a “u”. She will now also need an exotic first name. This is when she remembered, “My brother has always called me Maya. For ‘Marguerite.’ He used to call me ‘My sister,’ then he called me ‘My,’ and finally, ‘Maya’.” Marguerite Johnson Angelos becomes Maya Angelou, and shortly thereafter she has more job offers than she is able to accommodate.

From the about page of writer Tsh Oxenreider:

My name is Tsh Oxenreider, and no, my name is not a typo (one of the first things people ask). It’s pronounced “Tish.” No reason, really, except that my parents were experimental with their names choices in the 70s. Until my younger brother was born in the 80s, whom they named Josh, quite possibly one of the most common names for people his age. Who knows what they were thinking, really.

From the about page of “Robert Galbraith,” pseudonym of writer J. K. Rowling:

I can only hope all the real Robert Galbraiths out there will be as forgiving as the real Harry Potters have been. I must say, I don’t think their plight is quite as embarrassing.

I chose Robert because it is one of my favourite men’s names, because Robert F Kennedy is my hero and because, mercifully, I hadn’t used it for any of the characters in the Potter series or ‘The Casual Vacancy’.

Galbraith came about for a slightly odd reason. When I was a child, I really wanted to be called ‘Ella Galbraith’, and I’ve no idea why. I don’t even know how I knew that the surname existed, because I can’t remember ever meeting anyone with it. Be that as it may, the name had a fascination for me. I actually considered calling myself L A Galbraith for the Strike series, but for fairly obvious reasons decided that initials were a bad idea.

Odder still, there was a well-known economist called J K Galbraith, something I only remembered by the time it was far too late. I was completely paranoid that people might take this as a clue and land at my real identity, but thankfully nobody was looking that deeply at the author’s name.

From an 2009 New York Times article about Lara Prescott, author of The Secrets We Kept, a fictional account of the dangers of publishing Doctor Zhivago in the 1950s:

You could say she was born to write this historical novel: Prescott’s mother named her after the doomed heroine from her favorite movie, the 1965 adaptation of Boris Pasternak’s epic.

(The movie made the baby name Lara quite trendy during the second half of the 1960s, in fact.)

From a 2003 interview with Jhumpa Lahiri in the New York Times:

JG: In the new book, you explain that all Bengalis have private pet names and public “good names.” But the main character in “The Namesake” is given only one name: Gogol, after the Russian writer.

JL: That happened to me. My name, Jhumpa, which is my only name now, was supposed to be my pet name. My parents tried to enroll me in school under my good name, but the teacher asked if they had anything shorter. Even now, people in India ask why I’m publishing under my pet name instead of a real name.

JG: What does Jhumpa mean?

JL: Jhumpa has no meaning. It always upset me. It’s like jhuma, which refers to the sound of a child’s rattle, but with a “p.” In this country, you’d never name your child Rattle. I actually have two good names, Nilanjana and Sudeshna. My mother couldn’t decide. All three are on the birth certificate. I never knew how to write my name.

From a 2020 lecture on creative writing given by author Brandon Sanderson [vid], an aside about the name Brandon:

When I grew up in Nebraska, I was the only Brandon, like, in my school. It was a really original, interesting name. I’m like, ‘My parents came up with this great, original, interesting name.’ And then I moved to Utah to go to BYU and there were five in my freshman dorm. And then I realized: It’s a Mormon name! Who would have thought? It’s not in any of the scriptures but it totally is a Mormon name. There’s a ton. Brandon Flowers, right? Brandon Mull, Brandon Sanderson. There’s a lot of Brandons out there with an LDS background. Who knew?

(Brandon Flowers is the lead singer of The Killers, while Brandon Mull — like Sanderson — writes fantasy. Brandon Sanderson is behind the debuts of the baby names Kaladin and Sylphrena, btw.)

From the book A Life Observed: A Spiritual Biography of C. S. Lewis (2013) by Devin Brown:

Although born and baptized as Clive [Staples Lewis], Lewis soon took a disliking to the name his parents had given him. Sometime around the age of four, he marched up to his mother and, pointing at himself, declared that he was now to be known as “Jacksie.” This name, later shortened to Jacks and then to just Jack, became the only name he would answer to. In his book Jack’s Life, Douglas Gresham, Lewis’s stepson, provides the following background on why Lewis chose this name: ‘It was actually because of a small dog that he was fond of that he picked the name Jacksie, which was what the dog was called. It was run over (probably by a horse and cart as there were almost no cars in the time and place where he was a child), and Jack, as he later became known just took the name for himself.’

From a 2014 article by journalist Kerry Parnell in The Daily Telegraph:

[W]hen I was born and my parents proudly announced my name to the family, my great-grandma was disgusted and informed them Kerry was a dog’s name.

She never wavered from this conviction until one day, when I was about five, we visited her to see her new poodle puppy.

“What’s his name?” I asked. “Kerry,” she replied, stony faced. There was a long, awkward silence and no one ever mentioned it again.

Ironically, great-grandma went by the name of “Pete”, which, unless I am very much mistaken, is a man’s name.

One day, I vow, I will get a dog just so I can call it Pete, for revenge.

From the book Germaine Greer: Untamed Shrew (1997) by Christine Wallace:

In the autumn of 1938 came the first conception. Peggy’s pregnancy was easy, with little more than queasiness. But the labor was long and difficult. The baby, a girl, was bruised around the head from the traumatic delivery and arrived in floods of blood as Peggy hemorrhaged from a retained placenta. The baby was named Germaine, with no middle initial to interrupt the elegant alliteration with Greer. According to Peggy, it was the name of a minor British actress she found in an English magazine Reg had brought home from work. In Germaine’s version, her mother was reading George Sand’s The Countess of Rudolstadt when she fell pregnant, and drew the name from one of its characters, the Comte de Saint-Germain — ‘because she liked the sound of it, I reckon.’ It was the height of the last Australian summer before the war: 29 January 1939.

From the book Here at The New Yorker (1975) by Brendan Gill:

Indeed, there are writers remembered not for their novels but for their names: Mazo de la Roche, Ouida, Warwick Deeping.

From a 2006 article about poet Edna St. Vincent Millay (1892-1950) in NYC newspaper The Villager:

There is hardly an account of Greenwich Village in the ’20s in which she does not prominently figure. Yet her roots in the neighborhood preceded even her fame. The poet’s unusual middle name came from St. Vincent’s Hospital on 12th St. Millay’s uncle was nursed back to health there after a sailing accident, and her mother wished to show her gratitude by naming her first-born child after the place.

And another about Millay from What Lips My Lips Have Kissed: The Loves and Love Poems of Edna St. Vincent Millay (2001) by Daniel Mark Epstein:

She preferred the triumphant-sounding title to plain “Edna” (Hebrew for “rejuvenation”) and asked to be called “Vincent,” which somehow rubbed the school principal, Frank Wilbur, the wrong way. He made sport of calling her by any woman’s name beginning with a V: Vanessa, Viola, Vivian, anything but Vincent. “Yes, yes, Mr. Wilbur,” she would answer, with weary patience, “but my name is Vincent.”

From Duncan McLaren’s Evelyn Waugh website, an interesting fact about the English writer and his first wife, also named Evelyn:

Although I call the couple he- and she-Evelyn in my book, Alexander [Evelyn Waugh’s grandson] has mentioned that at the time [late 1920s] they were called Hevelyn and Shevelyn.

(Evelyn Waugh’s first name was pronounced EEV-lyn, so “Hevelyn” and “Shevelyn” would have been HEEV-lyn and SHEEV-lyn.)

From Nina Sankovitch’s memoir Tolstoy and the Purple Chair (2011):

For my father, the consequences of war brought him far from home, and eventually across an ocean, to start over in a new world. My parents tell me I was named after the members of the corps de ballet of the Bolshoi, most of whom were named Nina. They went to see a performance of the Bolshoi just days before I was born. But I also know that my name is another ripple effect of the war, coming from my father’s sister Antonina, who was murdered that night in 1943.

(Three of her Belarusian father’s siblings — Sergei, Antonina, and Boris — were killed one night during WWII.)

From a 2012 interview with Somali British poet Warsan Shire:

Warsan means “good news” and Shire means “to gather in one place”. My parents named me after my father’s mother, my grandmother. Growing up, I absolutely wanted a name that was easier to pronounce, more common, prettier. But then I grew up and understood the power of a name, the beauty that comes in understanding how your name has affected who you are. My name is indigenous to my country, it is not easy to pronounce, it takes effort to say correctly and I am absolutely in love with the sound of it and its meaning. Also, it’s not the kind of name you baby, slip into sweet talk mid sentence, late night phone conversation, whisper into the receiver kind of name, so, of that I am glad.

From a 2012 New York Magazine article about author Toni Morrison, born Chloe Wofford, who “deeply regrets” not putting her birth name on her books:

“Wasn’t that stupid?” she says. “I feel ruined!” Here she is, fount of indelible names (Sula, Beloved, Pilate, Milkman, First Corinthians, and the star of her new novel, the Korean War veteran Frank Money), and she can’t own hers. “Oh God! It sounds like some teenager–what is that?” She wheeze-laughs, theatrically sucks her teeth. “But Chloe.” She grows expansive. “That’s a Greek name. People who call me Chloe are the people who know me best,” she says. “Chloe writes the books.” Toni Morrison does the tours, the interviews, the “legacy and all of that.”

From the Amazon.com bio of author Caitlin Moran:

Caitlin isn’t really her name. She was christened ‘Catherine.’ But she saw ‘Caitlin’ in a Jilly Cooper novel when she was thirteen and thought it looked exciting. That’s why she pronounces it incorrectly: ‘Catlin.’ It causes trouble for everyone.

From Little Failure: A Memoir (1996) by Gary Shteyngart (born Igor Steinhorn):

I have clearly spent thirty-nine years unaware that my real destiny was to go through life as a Bavarian porn star, but some further questions present themselves: If neither Gary nor Shteyngart is truly my name, then what the hell am I doing calling myself Gary Shteyngart? Is every single cell in my body a historical lie?

From a 2020 article about baby names by journalist Dilvin Yasa in the Sydney Morning Herald:

When you have a name like Dilvin, you spend an awful amount of time thinking about baby names and the role our monikers play in our lives. Will little Exoduss ever spearhead a Fortune 500 company? Can Bambi push through our collective prejudice and go on to become a respected neurosurgeon? Had my parents named me Deborah, Sally or Carolyn, would I really be a CEO by now instead of a writer, as a famous LinkedIn survey suggests?

From the 2012 obituary of author Maurice Sendak in Slate:

He adored Melville, Mozart, and Mickey Mouse (and would have noted the alliteration with pleasure — he wrote in different places about the mysterious significance he attached to the letter M, his own first initial and that of many of his characters, beginning with Max of Where the Wild Things Are).

From The Life of William Shakespeare: A Critical Biography (2012) by Lois Potte:

Though contemporary sonneteers populated their world with lovers called Astrophil, Parthenophil, Stella, Delia, and Idea, the only names that appear in Shakespeare’s sonnets are Adonis, Helen, Mars, Saturn, Philomel, Eve, Cupid, Diana, and Time — and the one non-mythological figure, the author, “Will.”

From a 1911 newspaper article about writers such as Georgia writer Corra Mae Harris (1869-1935):

Mrs. Harris finds much trouble in impressing the fact that her name is “Corra” and not “Cora” — the word being a family name.

(I quoted the same source in this post about author Zane Grey.)

For more quotes about names, check out the name quotes category.

Images: Oscar Wilde, Maya Angelou

[Latest update: Oct. 2023]

Contrarian baby names: Cliff, Janet, Steve, Wanda…

corn

“Everly” is hot…”Beverly” is not. It’s a one-letter difference between fashionable and fusty.

If you’re sensitive to style, you’ll prefer Everly. It fits with today’s trends far better than Beverly does.

But if you’re someone who isn’t concerned about style, or prefers to go against style, then you may not automatically go for Everly. In fact, you may be more attracted to Beverly because it’s the choice that most modern parents would avoid.

If you’ve ever thought about intentionally giving your baby a dated name (like Debbie, Grover, Marcia, or Vernon) for the sake of uniqueness within his/her peer group — if you have no problem sacrificing style for distinctiveness — then this list is for you.

Years ago, the concept of “contrarian” baby names came up in the comments of a post about Lois. Ever since then, creating a collection of uncool/contrarian baby names has been on my to-do list.

Finally, last month, I experimented with various formulas for pulling unstylish baby names out of the SSA dataset. Keeping the great-grandparent rule in mind, I aimed for names that would have been fashionable among the grandparents of today’s babies. The names below are the best results I got.

Contrarian Baby Names: Girls

Alberta
Anita
Ann
Annetta
Annette
Bambi
Becky
Benita
Bertha
Bessie
Beth
Betty
Beverley
Beverly
Blanche
Bobbie
Bobby
Bonita
Candy
Caren
Carlene
Carol
Carole
Cary
Caryn
Cathleen
Cathy
Charla
Charlene
Charmaine
Cheri
Cherie
Cheryl
Chris
Christi
Cindy
Claudette
Coleen
Colleen
Connie
Dale
Danette
Danita
Darlene
Dawn
Dawna
Deanne
Debbie
Debora
Debra
Deirdre
Delores
Denice
Denise
Diane
Dianna
Dianne
Dollie
Dolores
Dona
Donna
Doreen
Dori
Doris
Dorthy
Eddie
Edwina
Ernestine
Ethel
Gail
Gayle
Gena
Geralyn
Germaine
Gilda
Glenda
Glenna
Harriett
Jackie
Janet
Janice
Janis
Jayne
Jean
Jeanette
Jeanie
Jeanine
Jeanne
Jeannette
Jeannie
Jeannine
Jeri
Jerri
Jerry
Jill
Jimmie
Jo
Joan
Joann
Joanne
Jodi
Jody
Joellen
Joni
Juanita
Judi
Judy
Juli
Kandi
Karin
Kathie
Kathy
Kay
Kaye
Kerrie
Kerry
Kim
Kimberley
Kitty
Kris
Kristi
Ladonna
Laureen
Lauretta
Laurie
Lavonne
Lee
Leesa
Lois
Lorene
Lori
Lorie
Lorinda
Lorna
Lorraine
Lorrie
Lou
Louann
Lu
Luann
Luanne
Lucretia
Lupe
Lyn
Lynda
Lynn
Lynne
Madonna
Marcia
Marcy
Margie
Mariann
Marianne
Marla
Marsha
Maryjo
Maureen
Meg
Melba
Melinda
Melva
Michele
Migdalia
Mitzi
Myrna
Nanette
Nelda
Nicki
Nita
Norma
Pamela
Patrice
Patsy
Patti
Patty
Pauline
Peggy
Pennie
Phyllis
Randy
Reba
Rene
Rhonda
Rita
Robbie
Robbin
Roberta
Robin
Rochelle
Ronda
Rosanne
Roseann
Roxane
Roxann
Sandy
Saundra
Sharon
Sheila
Shelia
Shelley
Shelly
Sheri
Sherri
Sherry
Sheryl
Shirley
Sondra
Sue
Susanne
Suzan
Suzanne
Tammie
Tammy
Tena
Teri
Terri
Terry
Thelma
Theresa
Therese
Tina
Tonia
Tonya
Tracey
Traci
Tracie
Tracy
Treva
Trina
Trudy
Velma
Verna
Vicki
Vickie
Vicky
Wanda
Wendy
Willie
Wilma
Yolanda
Yvonne

Contrarian Baby Names: Boys

Adolph
Al
Alford
Alphonso
Arne
Arnie
Arnold
Artie
Barry
Barton
Bennie
Bernard
Bernie
Bert
Bill
Billie
Bob
Bobbie
Brad
Bradford
Brent
Bret
Britt
Bud
Buddy
Burl
Burt
Butch
Carey
Carleton
Carlton
Carmen
Carroll
Cary
Cecil
Chester
Chuck
Clarence
Claude
Cletus
Cleveland
Cliff
Clifford
Clifton
Columbus
Curt
Curtiss
Dale
Dan
Dana
Dannie
Darrel
Darryl
Daryl
Dave
Davie
Del
Delbert
Dell
Delmer
Denny
Derwin
Dewey
Dirk
Don
Donnie
Donny
Doug
Douglass
Doyle
Duane
Dudley
Duwayne
Dwain
Dwaine
Dwane
Dwight
Earl
Earnest
Ed
Edsel
Elbert
Ernie
Farrell
Floyd
Fred
Freddie
Fredric
Gale
Garland
Garry
Garth
Gene
Geoffrey
Gerard
Gerry
Gilbert
Glen
Glenn
Greg
Gregg
Greggory
Grover
Guy
Hal
Haywood
Herbert
Herman
Homer
Horace
Howell
Hubert
Irwin
Jackie
Jame
Jeff
Jefferey
Jeffry
Jerald
Jerold
Jess
Jim
Jimmie
Jodie
Jody
Johnie
Johnnie
Karl
Kelly
Ken
Kenney
Kennith
Kent
Kermit
Kerry
Kim
Kirk
Kraig
Kurt
Laurence
Lawrance
Len
Lenard
Lennie
Les
Leslie
Lester
Lindell
Lindsay
Lindsey
Linwood
Lloyd
Lonnie
Lonny
Loren
Lorin
Lowell
Loyd
Lynn
Marion
Marty
Matt
Maxie
Mel
Merle
Merrill
Mickel
Mickey
Millard
Milton
Mitch
Mitchel
Monty
Neal
Ned
Nicky
Norbert
Norman
Norris
Orville
Perry
Pete
Phil
Ralph
Randal
Randel
Randell
Randolph
Rayford
Rick
Rickey
Rickie
Rob
Robby
Robin
Rock
Rodger
Rogers
Rojelio
Rolf
Ron
Roosevelt
Rudolfo
Rudolph
Rufus
Russ
Rusty
Sal
Sammie
Sandy
Sanford
Scot
Sherman
Sherwood
Skip
Stan
Stanford
Steve
Stevie
Stewart
Stuart
Sylvester
Tad
Ted
Terence
Thurman
Tim
Timmothy
Timmy
Tod
Todd
Tom
Tommie
Toney
Tracey
Tracy
Val
Vernell
Vernon
Waymon
Wendell
Wilbert
Wilbur
Wilford
Wilfred
Willard
Willis
Winfred
Woody

Interestingly, thirteen of the names above — Bobbie, Cary, Dale, Jackie, Jimmie, Jody, Kerry, Kim, Lynn, Robin, Sandy, Tracey, Tracy — managed to make both lists.

Now some questions for you…

Do you like any of these names? Would you be willing to use any of them on a modern-day baby? Why or why not?

What gave the baby name Perri a boost in 1958?

Movie poster for "Perri" (1957)

Here’s a Disney name that was totally new to me…

In 1958, the number of baby girls in the U.S. named Perri more than doubled:

  • 1960: 90 baby girls named Perri
  • 1959: 91 baby girls named Perri
  • 1958: 119 baby girls named Perri [peak usage]
  • 1957: 50 baby girls named Perri
  • 1956: 32 baby girls named Perri

Why?

In late 1957, Disney released the movie Perri, which follows “the perilous forest life of girl squirrel Perri, who falls for her own prince charming, a male squirrel!”

It’s not an animated film, but a fictional story narrated on top of documentary-style footage shot in Utah and Wyoming.

Like Bambi, the story was based on Felix Salten book. This one was called Die Jugend des Eichhörnchens Perri (Perri: The Youth of a Squirrel) and it was published fifteen years after Bambi.

The boy name Perry also spiked around this time, but this has more to do with the TV show Perry Mason (1957-1966) than with the Disney squirrel.

What do you think of the name Perri?

Sources: Disney’s Perri Trailer, SSA