How popular is the baby name Irasema 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 Irasema.

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Popularity of the baby name Irasema


Posts that mention the name Irasema

Where did the baby name Irasema come from in 1953?

Actress Irasema Dilian (1924-1996)
Irasema Dilian

The unique name Irasema first appeared in the U.S. baby name data in 1953:

  • 1956: 19 baby girls named Irasema
    • 6 born in New York, 10 in Texas
  • 1955: 15 baby girls named Irasema
    • 7 born in New York, 6 in Texas
  • 1954: 18 baby girls named Irasema
    • 7 born in New York
  • 1953: 5 baby girls named Irasema [debut]
  • 1952: unlisted
  • 1951: unlisted

Notice how usage was particularly high in two states that had (and still have) a large number of Spanish speakers.

This makes me think the inspiration was actress Irasema Dilián, who was popular in Mexican cinema during the 1950s.

She was born Eva Irasema Warschalowska in 1924 in Brazil to Polish parents. She first became a film star in Italy during the 1940s. After moving to Mexico with her Italian screenwriter husband circa 1950, she ended up becoming a film star in Mexico as well. These Mexican films were then played in certain American cities, introducing Irasema (and her name) to Spanish-speaking U.S. audiences.

So where does the name come from?

Though several sources claim it’s from mythology, it seems to have originated in literature — in a novel by 19th century Brazilian novelist José de Alencar that just seemed mythological.

Alencar’s book Iracema was published in 1865. Set in the early 1500s, it told the tale of Indian maiden Iracema and her Portuguese lover Martim:

At a deeper level, the relationship between Iracema, the “virgin of the forests” whose name is an anagram of “America,” and Martim, “the warrior of the sea,” is a national Genesis; Iracema dies at the novel’s end, symbolizing the inevitable destruction of the Indian world, but she first gives birth to their son Moacir, whose name means “child of pain.” Moacir […] is the first Brazilian.

In the book, Alencar offers a potential Guarani definition/etymology of Iracema: “lips of honey,” from the words ira, “honey,” and tembe, “lips.”

What are your thoughts on the Brazilian name Irasema/Iracema?

Sources:

  • Haberly, David T. “Alencar, José de.” Concise Encyclopedia of Latin American Literature, edited by Verity Smith, Routledge, 2013, pp. 7-8.
  • Irasema Dilián – IMDb

Image: Irasema pictured in the Tampa Tribune, 13 Jul. 1952, page 68.

Where did the baby name Marisela come from in 1945?

The character Marisela from the movie "Doña Bárbara" (1943).
Marisela from “Doña Bárbara“

The baby name Marisela debuted in the U.S. baby name data in the middle of the 1940s:

  • 1948: 9 baby girls named Marisela
    • 6 born in Texas
  • 1947: 5 baby girls named Marisela
    • 5 born in Texas
  • 1946: unlisted
  • 1945: 12 baby girls named Marisela [debut]
    • 10 born in Texas
  • 1944: unlisted
  • 1943: unlisted

Where did it come from?

A character in the Mexican film Doña Bárbara. Barbara was a ruthless rancher and devoradora — “devourer [of men]” — and Marisela (played by María Elena Marqués) was her long-neglected daughter. Doña Bárbara was released in Mexico in 1943 and started playing in U.S. theaters in 1944 (starting in Los Angeles in April).

The film was based on the famous Venezuelan novel Doña Bárbara (1929) by Rómulo Gallegos. The book was “at once a political tract, a national icon, a precursor to magical realism and a pop culture sensation.”

Its action — the power struggle between a sexy, barbaric woman and a young, idealistic technocrat — mirrors the clash between feudalism and modernity that consumed South America in the early 20th century.

Of course, the “barbaric woman” was Bárbara — you can tell by the name.

(The one American character has a similarly suggestive name: Señor Peligro — “Mister Danger.”)

Gallegos went on to serve as President of Venezuela for nine months in 1948, elected in what is generally considered Venezuela’s first honest election. He was deposed in November, though.

Sources: Doña Bárbara (1943) – IMDb, Dona Barbara – TCM, Rómulo Gallegos – Wikipedia, Oil, Chavez And Telenovelas: The Rise Of The Venezuelan Novel

P.S. The name Irasema was also popularized in the U.S. by Mexican cinema…