How popular is the baby name Monchel 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 Monchel.

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Popularity of the baby name Monchel


Posts that mention the name Monchel

Where did the baby name Wondra come from in 1963?

Gold Medal Wondra flour
Gold Medal Wondra flour

Ever wonder why the name Wondra started popping up in the U.S. baby name data in 1963?

  • 1967: unlisted
  • 1966: 5 baby girls named Wondra
  • 1965: 5 baby girls named Wondra
  • 1964: 8 baby girls named Wondra
  • 1963: 8 baby girls named Wondra [debut]
  • 1962: unlisted
  • 1961: unlisted

The similar name Wanda was still seeing strong usage in the mid-1960s, so no doubt it helped set the scene for Wondra.

But Wondra emerged for a specific reason. And that reason has to do with flour, believe it or not.

In 1963, the General Mills company, longtime maker of Gold Medal Flour (see Norita), introduced a new version of the flour: Gold Medal Wondra. It was a fine, “instantized” flour created through a process called agglomeration. Instead of forming clumps in liquid, Wondra flour would quickly dissolve — making it useful for gravies and sauces. It also required no sifting.

Most importantly, there was a marketing campaign with a multi-million dollar budget (“the largest ever placed behind a new General Mills product”) that started in mid-August.

Gold Medal’s parent, General Mills, is allocating to [Wondra] one of the biggest new-product budgets ever established. On the schedule are big ads in 175 dailies, repeated commercials on over 150 TV stations, plugs on major network shows (“Empire,” Concentration,” “The Judy Garland Show”) and mentions on newscasts and other daytime TV programs.

After the name dropped out the data in 1967, it returned one last time, in 1979:

  • 1980: unlisted
  • 1979: 7 baby girls named Wondra
  • 1978: unlisted

This was thanks to an unrelated product with the same name: Wondra skin lotion, introduced by P&G during 1977 and apparently on the shelves until at least the mid-1980s.

Wondra lotion — and many of the other name-influencing products I’ve blogged about, like Monchel, Chardon, and Drene — may be gone, but Wondra instant flour is still available today. In fact, according to Kitchn, “the brand is so widespread [that] the name Wondra tends to reference any instant flour when called for in recipes.”

What are your thoughts on the baby name Wondra?

Sources:

Image: From a 1964 print ad for Gold Medal Wondra

Where did the baby name Danya came from in 1939?

Advertisement for Danya hand cream (1940)
Danya ad, 1940

The name Danya began showing up in the U.S. baby name data in 1939:

  • 1943: 9 baby girls named Danya
  • 1942: 7 baby girls named Danya
  • 1941: 16 baby girls named Danya
  • 1940: 5 baby girls named Danya
  • 1939: 7 baby girls named Danya [debut]
  • 1938: unlisted
  • 1937: unlisted

The influence?

I think it was Danya hand cream, which was introduced by Pond’s in 1937.

Advertisement for Danya hand cream and Drene shampoo (1939)
Drene & Danya ad, 1939

Danya hand cream was advertised in both newspapers and magazines — particularly women’s magazines, such as Ladies’ Home Journal, McCall’s, Good Housekeeping, and Woman’s Home Companion.

In 1939, incidentally, it was cross-promoted with Drene shampoo. You could buy them both together for just 53¢ (a savings of 32¢!).

Despite all the marketing, Danya lotion saw poor sales. It was discontinued in 1943. (Monchel was another name-influencing beauty product that didn’t last long.)

The baby name Danya, on the other hand, stayed in the data for years to come. In fact, peak usage happened relatively recently: 126 baby girls in 2007.

What are your thoughts on the baby name Danya?

Sources:

Images from Good Housekeeping (Mar. 1, 1940, page 131) and Chicago Sunday Tribune (Feb. 12, 1939, page 3).

Where did the baby name Monchel come from in 1985?

mochel soap from the 1980s

The name Monchel appeared in the U.S. baby name data for a total of four years:

  • 1989: unlisted
  • 1988: 7 baby girls named Monchel
  • 1987: 14 baby girls named Monchel
  • 1986: 23 baby girls named Monchel
  • 1985: 12 baby girls named Monchel [debut]
  • 1984: unlisted
  • 1983: unlisted

The variant name Monchell also debuted that year, and Michelle-like Monchelle followed a year later.

Where did they come from?

A bar of soap.

Procter & Gamble began introducing scallop shell-shaped beauty soap Monchel to selected markets in 1983, and within a couple of years they were selling (and, more importantly, advertising) the product nationally. They were taking aim at Unilever’s Dove.

Dove won, though, and Monchel was discontinued after several years. In fact, Businessweek labeled Monchel “P&G’s flop in the 1980s.”

Source: Schiller, Zachary. “Ready, Aim, Market: Combat Training at P&G College.” Businessweek 3 Feb. 1992.

Where did the baby name Corelle come from in 1971?

Did your family own a set of Corelle?

Corelle dishware was introduced to consumers in 1970 by Corning Glass Works of New York. The product was aimed at middle-class Americans who wanted “a long-desired middle ground between paper plates and good china.”

The original marketing made sure to emphasize that a Corelle dish was translucent “like fine china” and “even rings like fine china.” But Corelle wasn’t fine china — it made from a lightweight, durable tempered glass product called Vitrelle (which was originally intended for first-generation television screens in the 1940s). This made it easy to handle, hard to break, and very affordable.

Popular Corelle patterns included Butterfly Gold, Old Towne Blue (above), Woodland Brown, and the wonderfully retro Spring Blossom Green. Clever hook-handles on the cups not only allowed for compact stacking, but also kept “your husband’s big fingers away from the bowl, so they can’t get burned.”

But enough with the nostalgia…what does all this have to do with baby names?

Well, the year after Corelle hit the market, the baby name Corelle appeared in the U.S. baby name data for the first and only time:

  • 1973: unlisted
  • 1972: unlisted
  • 1971: 5 baby girls named Corelle [debut]
  • 1970: unlisted
  • 1969: unlisted

This means that the Corelle marketing campaign not only boosted sales, but also boosted the brand name onto the baby name charts.

And this wasn’t an isolated case — there are many other examples of historical marketing campaigns inspiring American parents to name their babies after brands and products (such as Finesse, Jordache, Calizza, Monchel, L’erin, and dozens of perfumes).

What do you think of the baby name Corelle?

For you, is the association with vintage dishware a pro or a con? ;)

Sources: Corelle.com – History, Here’s why these plates make millions of people nostalgic, History of Stylish and Durable Dishware, SSA

Images from a 1974 magazine advertisement for Corelle Livingware by Corning.