How popular is the baby name Colby 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 Colby.
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He has brothers named Apple-Joe and Pepci. His mother, Chili-Lu, has a brother named Pepar and a sister named Cofi. Pepar has a daughter named Colby (“after the cheese”). Cofi has four children named Sage, Bran, Cinnamon-T and Dentyne (“after the American chewing gum brand”).
The initial food names were thought up by grandparents Rex and Dortha Lou. Dortha Lou’s nickname? “Pork.”
So does Taco Pope like his name? He told one reporter that it had never been a hindrance. On the contrary, it was “a good conversation starter.”
[For more edible appellations, check out this list of unusual names, which includes Apple Pie, Apple Seed, Lemon Lime, Orange Lemon, and more.]
The gothic melodrama Trilby by British author George du Maurier was first published serially in Harper’s Monthly from January to August, 1894. It was released as a book in September.
The story was set in Paris in the early 1850s. The title character, Trilby O’Ferrall, was a naïve, tone-deaf artist’s model who went on to become a world-famous singer, thanks to the hypnotic powers of the sinister Svengali. But when Svengali suddenly died, Trilby lost her ability to sing and ended up wasting away.
Trilby wasn’t just a bestseller — the entire country was gripped by Trilby-mania for several years straight. (This isn’t unlike the Twilight-mania that emerged more than 100 years later.)
Many things, from fashion to food, were influenced/inspired by Trilby during this time. Here’s a partial list:
Language:
Trilbies became slang for “(women’s) feet,” as Trilby had particularly beautiful feet
Svengali became slang for “a person who exercises a controlling or mesmeric influence on another, especially for a sinister purpose”
Trilby ice cream (it was molded into the shape of a foot)
Trilby board game
Trilby high-heeled shoes
Trilby jewelry
Trilby belts
Trilby bathing suits
Trilby cigars/cigarettes
Trilby hearth brush
Trilby tea
Trilby cocktail
Trilby pie
Trilby sausage
Trilby ham
Non-human namesakes:
Trilby, Florida
USS Trilby
Adaptations:
Trilby, stage play
Trilby (1915), movie
Trilby (1923), movie
Svengali (1931), movie
Influence on other literary works:
Dracula (1897) by Bram Stoker
Le Fantôme de l’Opéra (1909) by Gaston Leroux
Trilby and its glamorization of the bohemian lifestyle even “excited a vogue for nude modeling among the many young women who wished to follow the Trilby life.” (And this, of course, “alarmed the clergy and other guardians of morality.”)
So where does the name Trilby come from?
For a long time I’d assumed that George du Maurier had based it on the musical term trill, which refers to rapid alternation between two adjacent musical notes. Turns out this isn’t the case.
He borrowed the name from an earlier work of literature, the story “Trilby, ou le Lutin d’Argail” (“Trilby, or the Fairy of Argyle”) (1822) by French writer Charles Nodier. In Nodier’s story, which is set in Scotland, Trilby is a male sprite who seduces a mortal woman.
In 1895 a New York Times writer guessed that the name of Nodier’s Trilby might be “an endearing diminutive of “trall,” a member of the brownie clan,” but I can’t find any outside confirmation that the word “trall” even exists. (Perhaps it’s a Scottish variant of the word “troll”…?)
How many people in the U.S. have been named Trilby?
According to the SSA data, Trilby was the 978th most popular girl name in the U.S. in 1895, the year after the book was published. This was the only time Trilby managed to rank within the U.S. top 1,000.
1897: unlisted
1896: 6 baby girls named Trilby
1895: 12 baby girls named Trilby [debut] (rank: 978th)
1894: unlisted
1893: unlisted
But the SSA data from that period is incomplete, so here are the Social Security Death Index (SSDI) numbers for the same years:
1897: 10 people with the first name Trilby
1896: 22 people with the first name Trilby
1895: 34 people with the first name Trilby
1894: 5 people with the first name Trilby
1893: 2 people with the first name Trilby
These days, Trilby rarely appears on the SSA’s list:
2014: unlisted
2013: unlisted
2012: unlisted
2011: unlisted
2010: 6 baby girls named Trilby
2009: unlisted
2008: 7 baby girls named Trilby
2007: unlisted
2006: unlisted
2005: unlisted
2004: unlisted
2003: unlisted
2002: unlisted
2001: unlisted
2000: unlisted
Trilby may be an unfashionable name right now, but for the parents-to-be who want something a bit retro-sounding, this could be a good thing.
The name is also an intriguing option for lovers of trivia and/or quirky history, as it’s tied to a fascinating pop culture craze from over a century ago. (We might be saying the same thing about Renesmee 100 years from now!)
Plus, Trilby is one of a small number of names with that distinctive “-by” ending, such as Ruby, Shelby, Darby, Colby, Kirby and Rigby.
One possible drawback to the name is the not-so-subtle anti-Semitism in the book itself. Svengali is not merely the “greasily, mattedly unkempt” antagonist of the story, but he’s also Jewish — with “bold, black, beady Jew’s eyes” no less. Then again…similar things could be said about other historical pieces of literature that have inspired baby names.
If you’re considering the naming your baby girl Trilby, I highly encourage you to head over to Project Gutenberg and read (or at least skim) the text of Trilby.
The analysis reveals the 10 “most regional” girl names and boy names for each decade-year since 1950, and also for 2012. Here are the lists for 2010 and 2012:
Ryker, 4th on the 2010 boys’ list, is one I’ve been wondering about ever since I noticed it was the 12th most popular boy name in Utah last year.
Here’s more detail on Ryker’s popularity in Utah:
2012: 168 baby boys named Ryker in Utah (ranked 12th)
2011: 154 baby boys named Ryker in Utah (ranked 19th)
2010: 136 baby boys named Ryker in Utah (ranked 26th)
2009: 151 baby boys named Ryker in Utah (ranked 24th)
2008: 129 baby boys named Ryker in Utah (ranked 37th)
And here are the numbers for Idaho:
2012: 51 baby boys named Ryker in Idaho (ranked 32nd)
2011: 49 baby boys named Ryker in Idaho (ranked 41st)
2010: 53 baby boys named Ryker in Idaho (ranked 33rd)
2009: 53 baby boys named Ryker in Idaho (ranked 36th)
2008: 34 baby boys named Ryker in Idaho (ranked 84th)
So far I don’t have a good theory about what made Ryker so popular in Utah/Idaho. Blogger Jessie Jensen tells me Ryker fits well with the region’s mix-n-match name trend, but I still wonder if some initiating event (sports? religion?) didn’t jump-start things for Ryker say in the 2003-2008 range. Anyone have a guess?
P.S. While we’re talking Utah mysteries, Claire is another name I’ve been wondering about. It ranked 10th there last year. (Also 12th in D.C. and 20th in MN.) Any ideas on Claire?
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