How popular is the baby name Chubbie 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 Chubbie.

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Popularity of the baby name Chubbie


Posts that mention the name Chubbie

Interesting one-hit wonder names in the U.S. baby name data

single flower

They came, they went, and they never came back!

These baby names are one-hit wonders in the U.S. baby name data. That is, they’ve only popped up once, ever, in the entire dataset of U.S. baby names (which accounts for all names given to at least 5 U.S. babies per year since 1880).

There are thousands of one-hit wonders in the dataset, but the names below have interesting stories behind their single appearance, so these are the one-hits I’m writing specific posts about. Just click on a name to read more.

2020s

  • 2020: Jexi

2010s

2000s

1990s

1980s

1970s

1960s

1950s

1940s

1930s

1920s

1910s

1900s

  • (none yet)

1890s

As I discover (and write about) more one-hit wonders in the data, I’ll add the names/links to this page. In the meanwhile, do you have any favorite one-hit wonder baby names?

Image: Adapted from Solitary Poppy by Andy Beecroft under CC BY-SA 2.0.

[Latest update: Apr. 2024]

What turned Chubby into a baby name in 1962?

Chubby Checker's album "Let's Twist Again" (1961)
Chubby Checker album

Chubby Checker was born Ernest Evans, so, for him, Chubby was a nickname. But when Chubby Checker was at the height of his fame, Chubby became the legal first name of over a dozen baby boys:

  • 1964: unlisted
  • 1963: 5 baby boys named Chubby
  • 1962: 9 baby boys named Chubby [debut]
  • 1961: unlisted
  • 1960: unlisted

Other babies got the variant Chubbie, a one-hit wonder in 1962:

  • 1964: unlisted
  • 1963: unlisted
  • 1962: 5 baby boys named Chubbie [debut]
  • 1961: unlisted
  • 1960: unlisted

Interestingly, the 1962 debut doesn’t correlate with Chubby’s initial success with “The Twist” (1960).

It’s a better match to later songs like “Pony Time” (1961), the Grammy Award-winning “Let’s Twist Again” (1961), and the second run of “The Twist” (which was re-released in late 1961).

“The Twist” is the only song to have ruled the Hot 100 in separate release cycles, as it returned to the top after adults caught on to the song and its namesake dance that younger audiences had first popularized.

While 1962 and 1963 are the only years the name appeared on the SSA’s baby name list, baby boys had been getting the name Chubby long before this. The Social Security Death Index (SSDI) currently lists 19 Chubbys and 3 Chubbies born before 1960, for instance.

How do you feel about the name Chubby?

Sources: The Twist (song) – Wikipedia, Hot 100 Turns 60: Chubby Checker’s ‘The Twist’ & The Beatles Reign | Billboard