How popular is the baby name Mallory 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 Mallory.

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Popularity of the baby name Mallory


Posts that mention the name Mallory

Cryptography names: Alice, Bob, Eve

protocol

Since the late 1970s, cryptographers have been using personal names (instead of labels like “person A” and “person B”) to describe various communications scenarios. Many of these scenarios involve two communicating parties named Alice and Bob and an eavesdropper named Eve.

Extra parties are assigned names alphabetically (e.g., Carol, Dave) unless they play a specific role within the scenario. For instance, a password cracker is named Craig, a malicious attacker is named Mallory, an intruder is named Trudy, and a whistle-blower is named Wendy.

In zero-knowledge protocols, the “prover” and “verifier” of a message are typically named Peggy and Victor…but Pat and Vanna (after Wheel of Fortune presenters Pat Sajak and Vanna White) are sometimes used instead.

Here’s more about Alice and Bob from American cryptographer Bruce Schneier:

And you’d see paper after paper, and [in] the opening few paragraphs, the authors would explain what they’re doing in terms of Alice and Bob. So Alice and Bob have a storied history. They send each other secrets, they get locked in jail, they get married, they get divorced, they’re trying to date each other. Anything two people might want to do securely, Alice and Bob have done it somewhere in the cryptographic literature.

Question of the day: If you were tasked with updating the names of “person A” (female) and “person B” (male), what new names would you choose?

Sources:

Image: Protocol by Randall Munroe under CC BY-NC 2.5.

How did “The Cosby Show” influence baby names in the 1980s?

The characters Vanessa, Theo, Rudy, Denise, and Sondra Huxtable from "The Cosby Show" (1984-1992).
The kids of the “The Cosby Show“

Remember The Cosby Show?

The ground-breaking ’80s sitcom focused on the Huxtables, a well-off African-American family living in New York City. It starred Bill Cosby as Heathcliff “Cliff” Huxtable.

The show ran from 1984 to 1992, and was the top-rated program in the nation for five consecutive seasons (1985, ’86, ’87, ’88, and ’89).

And it influenced a whole bunch of baby names, such as…

Vanessa & Tempestt

Vanessa, the second-youngest Huxtable child, was played by Tempestt Bledsoe. The baby name Vanessa saw its highest-ever levels of usage during the years the show was on:

  • 1989: 6,955 baby girls named Vanessa (ranked 50th)
  • 1988: 7,515 baby girls named Vanessa (ranked 41st)
  • 1987: 7,345 baby girls named Vanessa (ranked 43rd)
  • 1986: 7,367 baby girls named Vanessa (ranked 43rd)
  • 1985: 7,562 baby girls named Vanessa (ranked 42nd)
  • 1984: 7,153 baby girls named Vanessa (ranked 45th)
  • 1983: 6,383 baby girls named Vanessa (ranked 49th)

And the baby name Tempestt debuted on the charts the year after the show premiered:

  • 1990: 70 baby girls named Tempestt
  • 1989: 98 baby girls named Tempestt
  • 1988: 72 baby girls named Tempestt
  • 1987: 87 baby girls named Tempestt
  • 1986: 78 baby girls named Tempestt
  • 1985: 36 baby girls named Tempestt [debut]
  • 1984: unlisted
  • 1983: unlisted

The name Tempest also got a boost during the last half of the ’80s.

Rudy & Keshia

Rudith “Rudy” Huxtable, the baby of the family, was played by Keshia Knight Pulliam. The baby name Keshia entered the top 1,000 for the very first time the year after the show premiered:

  • 1990: 385 baby girls named Keshia (ranked 594th)
  • 1989: 496 baby girls named Keshia (ranked 479th)
  • 1988: 398 baby girls named Keshia (ranked 547th)
  • 1987: 483 baby girls named Keshia (ranked 457th)
  • 1986: 511 baby girls named Keshia (ranked 426th)
  • 1985: 321 baby girls named Keshia (ranked 596th)
  • 1984: 96 baby girls named Keshia
  • 1983: 64 baby girls named Keshia

The name Rudy also rose in usage, and the variant spelling Rudi debuted on the charts in 1985.

Phylicia

Huxtable mother Clair was played by actress Phylicia Rashad. The baby name Phylicia entered the top 1,000 for the first time two years after the show premiered:

  • 1990: 257 baby girls named Phylicia (ranked 787th)
  • 1989: 265 baby girls named Phylicia (ranked 744th)
  • 1988: 286 baby girls named Phylicia (ranked 679th)
  • 1987: 290 baby girls named Phylicia (ranked 649th)
  • 1986: 213 baby girls named Phylicia (ranked 789th)
  • 1985: 122 baby girls named Phylicia
  • 1984: 13 baby girls named Phylicia
  • 1983: 7 baby girls named Phylicia

Theo & Malcolm-Jamal

Theo, the middle Huxtable child (and the only male in the family besides Cliff) was played by Malcolm-Jamal Warner. The baby name Theo almost tripled in usage the year after the show premiered:

  • 1990: 66 baby boys named Theo
  • 1989: 75 baby boys named Theo
  • 1988: 77 baby boys named Theo
  • 1987: 75 baby boys named Theo
  • 1986: 85 baby boys named Theo
  • 1985: 76 baby boys named Theo
  • 1984: 23 baby boys named Theo
  • 1983: 26 baby boys named Theo

Usage of the baby name Malcolm also began to rise in the mid-’80s, and the baby name Malcolm-Jamal (rendered Malcolmjamal by the SSA, which leaves off hyphens) debuted on the baby name charts two years after the show premiered:

  • 1990: unlisted
  • 1989: unlisted
  • 1988: 5 baby boys named Malcolm-Jamal
  • 1987: unlisted
  • 1986: 5 baby boys named Malcolm-Jamal [debut]
  • 1985: unlisted
  • 1984: unlisted
  • 1983: unlisted

(Where did actor Malcolm-Jamal Warner get his name, btw? He was named after civil rights activist Malcolm X and jazz pianist Ahmad Jamal.)

So now here’s the question: Does The Cosby Show beat Family Ties in terms of impact on the baby name charts? Cosby clearly affected a greater number of names, but is that enough to offset the massive rises of both Mallory and Alex?

P.S. Did you know that Sondra, Denise, Theo, Vanessa and Rudy Huxtable were loosely based on Cosby’s real-life children, named Erika, Erinn, Ennis, Ensa, and Evin?

Image: © 1984 NBC

Will the baby name Toby be getting a boost?

Title of the TV series "Good Luck Charlie" (2010-2014)
“Good Luck Charlie”

The Disney Channel sitcom Good Luck Charlie isn’t just helping to popularize the already-trendy girl name Charlie, but it seems to have single-handedly brought back the girl name Teddy. (On the show, the two sisters in the Duncan family are Charlotte, nicknamed “Charlie,” and Teddy.)

Will Good Luck Charlie now have a similar influence on the baby name Toby?

In December of 2011, Disney announced that the family in the sitcom would be welcoming a fifth child. Fans were given a 2-week window in which to vote for their favorite baby name via the show’s official webpage. These were the choices:

BoErika
Bobby Jr.Jenny
JonahMallory
NoahSydney
TobyTalia

The baby, a boy, arrived during the episode that aired on June 24, 2012. He was born in an ice cream truck and given the name Toby (which had received nearly 26 million votes).

Usage of the baby name Toby has been declining in the U.S. lately:

  • 2011: 291 baby boys & 61 baby girls with the name Toby
  • 2010: 358 baby boys & 50 baby girls with the name Toby
  • 2009: 396 baby boys & 56 baby girls with the name Toby
  • 2008: 440 baby boys & 53 baby girls with the name Toby
  • 2007: 461 baby boys & 51 baby girls with the name Toby

Do you think the popular sitcom could turn this trend around?

Update, 2020: The name Toby ended up rising in usage in both 2012 and 2013 before continuing its downward trajectory. The series itself ended in early 2014.

How did “Family Ties” influence baby names in the 1980s?

The Keaton family from the TV show "Family Ties" (1982-1989)
The Keatons of “Family Ties“

The popular ’80s sitcom Family Ties (1982-1989) featured the fictional Keaton family: parents Steven and Elyse, and children Alex, Mallory, and Jennifer. (In later seasons, a baby brother named Andy was added.)

Family Ties was one of the top five TV shows in the nation from 1984 to 1987, and it also had a big impact on U.S. baby names…

Alex

Alex P. Keaton (played by Michael J. Fox) was the oldest child in the family and, for the first half of the series, the only son. He was a preppy, precocious, and proudly conservative — often clashing with his ex-hippie liberal parents over politics. For his memorable portrayal of Alex, Michael J. Fox won three Emmy Awards (in 1986, 1987, and 1988) and was nominated for two more.

The character Alex P. Keaton from the TV series "Family Ties" (1982-1989).
Alex from “Family Ties“

Usage of the name Alex was already on the rise in the early ’80s, but the sitcom gave the name a big boost:

  • 1990: 6,945 baby boys named Alex [rank: 59th]
  • 1989: 6,540 baby boys named Alex [rank: 60th]
  • 1988: 6,406 baby boys named Alex [rank: 58th]
  • 1987: 6,043 baby boys named Alex [rank: 60th]
  • 1986: 5,110 baby boys named Alex [rank: 64th]
  • 1985: 3,907 baby boys named Alex [rank: 80th]
  • 1984: 3,027 baby boys named Alex [rank: 93rd]
  • 1983: 2,163 baby boys named Alex [rank: 123rd]
  • 1982: 1,965 baby boys named Alex [rank: 143rd]
  • 1981: 1,873 baby boys named Alex [rank: 148th]

“Alex” may have been on the way to the top 100 already, but the show put it there a lot faster — in 1984. It was a fixture in the top 100 all the way until 2012.

Usage of name also increased slightly for baby girls:

Graph of the usage of the baby name Alex in the U.S. in 1880
Usage of the baby name Alex

Mallory

Mallory Keaton (played by Justine Bateman) was the middle child and the oldest daughter. She loved fashion and shopping, but wasn’t as interested in school. For her portrayal of Mallory, Justine Bateman was nominated for two Emmy Awards.

The character Mallory Keaton from the TV series "Family Ties" (1982-1989).
Mallory from “Family Ties“

Usage of the rare name Mallory — which had been used primarily for boys during most of the 20th century — skyrocketed for baby girls during the 1980s:

  • 1990: 1,782 baby girls named Mallory [rank: 162nd]
  • 1989: 1,971 baby girls named Mallory [rank: 147th]
  • 1988: 2,365 baby girls named Mallory [rank: 120th]
  • 1987: 3,140 baby girls named Mallory [rank: 91st]
  • 1986: 3,323 baby girls named Mallory [rank: 83rd]
  • 1985: 2,039 baby girls named Mallory [rank: 144th]
  • 1984: 1,470 baby girls named Mallory [rank: 186th]
  • 1983: 689 baby girls named Mallory [rank: 334th]
  • 1982: 45 baby girls named Mallory
  • 1981: 27 baby girls named Mallory

The name Mallory entered the girls’ top 1,000 in 1983, and the girls’ top 100 in 1986 (though it only managed to remain a top-100 name for one more year before dropping back down).

The usage of spelling variants also increased dramatically. Mallorie, Malorie and Malarie got a boost on the charts, while Mallory-inspired debuts throughout the ’80s included…

Elyse

Elyse Keaton (played by Meredith Baxter-Birney) was not just the mother of Keaton clan, but also a successful freelance architect.

The baby name Elyse, which had dropped out of the top 1,000 in the mid-1950s, was boosted back into the top 1,000 by Family Ties in 1983:

  • 1990: 449 baby girls named Elyse [rank: 527th]
  • 1989: 612 baby girls named Elyse [rank: 406th]
  • 1988: 790 baby girls named Elyse [rank: 315th]
  • 1987: 803 baby girls named Elyse [rank: 305th] – peak usage
  • 1986: 700 baby girls named Elyse [rank: 343rd]
  • 1985: 639 baby girls named Elyse [rank: 365th]
  • 1984: 426 baby girls named Elyse [rank: 479th]
  • 1983: 244 baby girls named Elyse [rank: 699th]
  • 1982: 80 baby girls named Elyse
  • 1981: 78 baby girls named Elyse

The name even reached the top 500 for a stretch (1985-1989). Usage of the spellings Elise, Alyse, and Alise also increased during this period.

Keaton

The family surname Keaton also started seeing heavier usage as a baby name — particularly as a boy name — while Family Ties was on the air:

  • 1990: 283 baby boys named Keaton [rank: 592nd]
  • 1989: 225 baby boys named Keaton [rank: 667th]
  • 1988: 163 baby boys named Keaton [rank: 741st]
  • 1987: 135 baby boys named Keaton [rank: 799th]
  • 1986: 131 baby boys named Keaton [rank: 793rd]
  • 1985: 109 baby boys named Keaton [rank: 869th]
  • 1984: 69 baby boys named Keaton
  • 1983: 47 baby boys named Keaton
  • 1982: 23 baby boys named Keaton
  • 1981: 15 baby boys named Keaton

The name Keaton entered the boys’ top 1,000 for the first time in 1985. It continued to rise for both genders until the early 2000s. (The continued rise might have been helped along by actor Michael Keaton.)

Sources: Family Ties – Wikipedia, Michael J. Fox – Television Academy, Justine Bateman – Television Academy

P.S. Michael J. Fox met his future wife, actress Tracy Pollan, on the set of Family Ties when she was cast as Alex’s girlfriend Ellen.

[Latest update: March 2022]