How popular is the baby name Matilda in the United States right now? How popular was it historically? Find out using the graph below! Plus, see baby names similar to Matilda and check out all the blog posts that mention the name Matilda.
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Boudleaux [pronounced bood-low] and his wife Felice were a very successful songwriting team active from the 1940s until the 1980s. Among their hits were several Everly Brothers songs, such as “Wake Up Little Susie,” which made it to round 3 of this year’s Name Song Tournament.
Where did Bouleaux’s unique name come from?
It was actually his middle name; he was born Diadorius Boudleaux Bryant in Georgia in 1920. His father fought in World War I, and at one point a French soldier named Boudleaux — or something similar — saved his life.
(I say “or something similar” because, doing records searches, I can only find a handful of people with the surname Boudleaux. Yet I see tens of thousands with the surname Boudreaux. So I wonder if the father either misheard the name or intentionally jazzed it up a bit.)
Boudleaux Bryant’s four siblings were sisters LaFontissee and Danise and brothers Neruda LeVigne and Jascha Mascagni.
Boudleaux’s wife/writing partner Felice was born with the name Matilda. She later adopted “Felice” because it was a pet name Boudleaux had given to her.
(Playwright Ketti Frings also wrote under a husband-bestowed pet name.)
In the girls’ top 10, Mila (was 15th) replaces Ella (now 12th).
In the boys’ top 10, George (was 12th) and Arlo (was 23rd) replace Leo (now 11th) and Max (now 13th).
Arlo, which first entered the top 100 in 2013, is rising fast.
Matilda’s upward ride, on the other hand, seems to be over. It slipped from 24th in 2016 to 33rd in 2017. (I mentioned Matilda in the 2016 rankings post.)
According to data from the Tasmanian Registry of Births, Deaths and Marriages, the most popular baby names in Tasmania in 2016 were Charlotte and Oliver yet again.
Here are Tasmania’s top 10 girl names and top 10 boy names of 2016:
Girl Names
1. Charlotte
2. Ava
3. Matilda
4. Isla
5. Grace
6. Evie
7. Lucy
8. Mia
9. Amelia
10. Sophie
Boy Names
1. Oliver
2. William
3. Charlie
4. Jack
5. Noah
6. Logan
7. James
8. Mason
9. Thomas
10. George
In the girls’ top 10, Isla, Evie, and Lucy replace Ella, Ruby, and Ivy.
In the boys’ top 10, Noah, Logan, Mason, and George replace Harrison, Oscar, Henry, and Lucas.
Here are Tasmania’s 2015 rankings, if you’d like to compare.
Valeska
Valeska Suratt was an actress who appeared in films in the 1910s. She was born in Indiana in 1882. Valeska was also a character name in multiple films, including For a Woman’s Honor (1919) and Broadway Scandals (1929).
Valli
Valli Valli was an actress who appeared in films in the 1910s. She was born in Germany in 1882. Her birth name was Valli Knust. Alida Valli, often credited simply as Valli, was an actress who appeared in films from the 1930s to the 2000s. She was born in Italy (now Croatia) in 1921. Valli was also a character played by actress Margaret Livingston in the film What a Widow! (1930).
Vedah
Vedah Bertram was an actress who appeared in films in the early 1910s. She was born in Massachusetts in 1891. Her birth name was Adele Buck.
Vedah, who died of appendicitis at the age of 20 in 1912, “became the first noted film player to be mourned by the movie-going public.” According to the San Francisco Call, her East Coast family had not been aware of her film career. “Hoping to keep her actions from her friends and relatives, she assumed the name under which she has been acting.”
Vee
Vee Newell was a character played by actress Olive Borden in the film Hello Sister (1930).
Velma
Velma Whitman was an actress who appeared in films in the 1910s. She was born in Ohio in 1885. Velma was also a character name in multiple films, including The Greatest Menace (1923) and The Lone Wolf’s Daughter (1929).
Vermuda
Vermuda was a character played by actress Martha Sleeper in the short film Sure-Mike! (1925).
Verna
Verna Mersereau was an actress who appeared in films from the 1910s to the 1920s. She was born in 1894. Verna was also a character name in multiple films, including His Temporary Wife (1920) and Here Comes Carter (1936).
Vesta
Vesta Tilley was an actress who appeared in films from the 1900s to the 1910s. She was born in England in 1864. Her birth name was Matilda Alice Powles. Vesta was also a character name in multiple films, including The House in Suburbia (short, 1913) and The Duke of Chimney Butte (1921).
Vilma
Vilma Banky was an actress who appeared in films from the 1910s to the 1930s. She was born in Austria-Hungary (now Hungary) in 1898. Vilma was also a character name in multiple films, including Federal Agent (1936) and Meet the Boy Friend (1937).
Voine
Voine was a character played by actress Greta Nissen in the film Rackety Rax (1932).
Vola
Vola Vale was an actress who appeared in films from the 1910s to the 1930s. She was born in New York in 1897. Her birth name was Violet Irene Smith.
Vroni
Vroni was a character played by actress Esther Ralston in the film Betrayal (1929).
Vultura
Vultura was a character played by actress Lorna Gray in the film Perils of Nyoka (1942).
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Which of the above names do you like best?
Sources:
Doyle, Billy H. The Ultimate Directory of the Silent Screen Performers: A Necrology of Births and Deaths and Essays on 50 Lost Players. Metuchen, N.J.: Scarecrow Press, 1995.
Does the name “Boudleaux Bryant” ring a bell?