How popular is the baby name Murjani 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 Murjani.

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Popularity of the baby name Murjani


Posts that mention the name Murjani

Where did the baby name Chardon come from in 1981?

Chardón jeans (and an arcade game)
Chardón jeans

The baby name Chardon first appeared in the U.S. baby name data in 1981:

  • 1983: 5 baby girls named Chardon
  • 1982: unlisted
  • 1981: 15 baby girls named Chardon [debut]
  • 1980: unlisted
  • 1979: unlisted

Where did it come from?

Just like Jordache and Murjani, Chardon was inspired by jeans!

I’m not sure when designer jeans brand Chardón (pronounced shar-DON) was introduced, but I’ve tracked down print advertisements for Chardón going back to 1980.

“I beg your Chardón!” was the catchphrase used in the suggestive commercials that must have started airing in (or just before) 1981:

Another Chardón commercial from the same time period featured basketball player Larry Bird:

Larry Bird in Chardón shirt
Larry Bird in Chardón shirt

The brand didn’t last long, however. The designer jeans trend soon fizzled out, and, by mid-1982, Chardón (and many similar brands) were hard to find at department stores.

Likewise, the baby name Chardon only appeared in the SSA data one more time (in 1983) before dropping out for good.

What are your thoughts on the baby name Chardon?

Sources:

Images: Screenshots of Chardón commercials

Wrangler, the ’80s baby name enigma!

The baby name Wrangler debuted on the U.S. baby name charts in 1987.

So here’s the mystery: What caused the debut? Was the name inspired by Wrangler Jeans, or by the Jeep Wrangler? Or both?

The '80s Baby Name Wrangler - Was it inspired by the jeans or the jeep?

Wrangler Jeans, which have been around since the 1940s, were available in trendy, tight-fitting “designer” styles during the ’80s (just like Jordache, and Gloria Vanderbilt by Murjani). Wrangler commercials from that time period (e.g., 1, 2, 3) all featured the same catchy “live it to the limit in Wrangler” theme song.

The Jeep Wrangler was introduced in 1986. The Jeep Wrangler ads weren’t as eye-catching as the Wrangler Jeans ads, but it’s hard to overlook the correlation between the year the car came out and the year the name debuted, and the fact that new cars with decent names often do inspire baby name debuts (e.g., Chevelle, Allante, Miata).

My opinion? I think both products had some influence here.

A small number babies born prior to 1987 were named Wrangler, and I’m sure a few of them were named with the Jeans in mind. (Favorite example: James Levi Wrangler Dunlap, born in 1984.)

But I think the Jeep Wrangler is what gave the name enough of a boost in 1987 for us to see it on the baby charts.

What do you think?

(Interestingly, the baby name Wrangler was only on the SSA’s list once in the ’80s and a few more times during the ’90s, but it has appeared consistently on the charts since the turn of the century. Its best showing so far was in 2011, with 16 baby boys named Wrangler that year.)

Sources:

Where did the baby name Murjani come from in 1980?

"Gloria Vanderbilt by Murjani" commercial (featuring Debbie Harry of Blondie)
“Gloria Vanderbilt by Murjani” commercial

In 1930, a man named Bhagwandas Kewalram “B. K.” Murjani left India to start a clothing manufacturing company in China.

In the late 1960s, his U.S.-educated son Mohan Murjani joined the business. Mohan Murjani eventually transformed the “small American marketing arm of his family’s company into a Seventh Avenue corporation with $300 million in annual sales.”

One of the keys to this growth was teaming up with American heiress/fashion designer Gloria Vanderbilt and launching one of the very first designer jean brands, Gloria Vanderbilt, in 1977.

According to the Murjani Group website, Gloria Vanderbilt “was perhaps the first apparel brand to be advertised in marketing channels such as buses, phone booths and TV.” Gloria herself was featured in many of the television commercials.

By 1979, sales of GV jeans — which cost $32 at a time when “Levi jeans were selling for about $15” — were booming.

In 1980, the company started using younger celebrities to endorse the brand. They put out print ads featuring baseball player Reggie Jackson and TV commercials featuring Blondie singer Debbie Harry.

We’ve already seen that advertisements (and especially TV commercials) have the power to influence baby name trends, so it’s not surprising that 1980 is also the year the name Murjani (pronounced mur-ZHAH-nee) first appears in the U.S. baby name data:

  • 1983: unlisted
  • 1982: 6 baby girls named Murjani
  • 1981: 10 baby girls named Murjani
  • 1980: 8 baby girls named Murjani [debut]
  • 1979: unlisted
  • 1978: unlisted

Like Jordache, though, Murjani dropped out of the data after only a few years.

I don’t know what the etymology of the surname Murjani is, but Mohan Murjani has been quoted as saying that he is “sometimes mistaken as an Italian because of [his] family name.”

What are your thoughts on the baby name Murjani?

Sources:

  • Duttagupta, Ishani. “Indian style guru: Building global lifestyle brands.” Economic Times 15 May 2008.
  • Hellman, Peter. “Sic Transit Gloria.” New York Magazine 15 Feb. 1993: 34-41.
  • Hollie, Pamela G. “Murjani Seeking a Stable of Designers.” New York Times 21 Jun. 1983: D4.
  • Murjani Group
  • SSA

Image: Screenshot of Gloria Vanderbilt jeans commercial