Like Gogi, the name Kitza appeared once in the U.S. baby name data in the late 1950s, but never returned.
- 1961: unlisted
- 1960: unlisted
- 1959: 5 baby girls named Kitza [debut]
- 1958: unlisted
- 1957: unlisted
Where did it come from?
Greek singer Kitza Kazacos. During the ’50s she became famous in England, and at the end of the decade she decided to try her luck with American audiences.
As the mononymous “Kitza” she appeared (along with Paul Anka) on the Perry Como Show in February of 1959. The press coverage leading up to the appearance was a bit weird, focusing on how she maintained her figure with the help of a hypnotist (“who hypnotizes her into disliking foods that make her gain weight”).
Ultimately, Kitza didn’t have much luck getting attention in the U.S. Here’s what she said later the same year:
“Since the Perry Como show, I have made just one other appearance and that was on daytime show ‘The Jimmy Dean Show.’ They say they want fresh new talent here, but when fresh, new talent comes to them, they say, “The public doesn’t know you.””
I’m not sure what became of Kitza Kazacos, but I can tell you that her first name is a variant of Kitsa, which is a nickname for Kyriaki. Kyriaki is both the Greek word for Sunday and the feminine form of the name Kyriakos, which means “of the lord.” (The Latin equivalent of Kyriakos is Dominicus, the root names like of Dominic and Dominique.)
What do you think of the name Kitza?
Sources:
- Torre, Marie. “New Face Gets Second Look.” Lawrence Journal-World 15 Jun. 1959: 4.
- “Hypnosis Does It.” Circleville Herald 4 Mar. 1959: 6.
- SSA