How popular is the baby name Murray 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 Murray.

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Popularity of the baby name Murray


Posts that mention the name Murray

Where did the baby name Amadeus come from in 1985?

Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart from the movie "Amadeus" (1984)
Mozart from “Amadeus”

The name Amadeus — created from the Latin words amare, meaning “to love,” and deus, meaning “god” — can be interpreted as meaning either “lover of god” or “loved by god.”

It first appeared in the U.S. baby name data in 1985:

  • 1987: 17 baby boys named Amadeus
  • 1986: 15 baby boys named Amadeus
  • 1985: 11 baby boys named Amadeus [debut]
  • 1984: unlisted
  • 1983: unlisted

What caused the debut?

Well, it all starts with famed Austrian composer Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (1756-1791) — specifically, with an unfounded rumor regarding the mysterious circumstances of his premature death at age 35.

According to the rumor, Mozart was poisoned by one of his professional rivals, Italian-born composer Antonio Salieri. In reality, the two men were cordial with one another. (Also, the symptoms of Mozart’s final illness do not line up with a case of poisoning.) Regardless, the rumor persisted.

In 1830, Russian poet Alexander Pushkin was inspired by the rumor to write a short (two-scene) play called Mozart and Salieri.

A century and a half later, English playwright Peter Shaffer — inspired by Pushkin’s play — created a longer (two-act) play called Amadeus (1979).

In Shaffer’s highly fictionalized play, Salieri has lived a virtuous life, and enjoyed professional success, but remains a mediocre composer. Mozart, on the other hand, is a brilliant composer despite being a “foul-mouthed, gleeful young lout.” Upon realizing that he’s been denied the gift of musical genius — that the one “loved by god” is undeserving Mozart (with the symbolic middle name) — Salieri decides to take revenge upon god by sabotaging Mozart’s career.

The Broadway production of Amadeus, which starred Ian McKellen as Salieri and Tim Curry as Mozart, ran from December of 1980 to October of 1983. It won five Tony Awards, including Best Play.

The successful play was then made into an equally successful movie, also entitled Amadeus, which was released in September of 1984. The movie starred F. Murray Abraham as Salieri and Tom Hulce as “goofy, immature” Mozart. It won eight Academy Awards, including Best Picture.

And the movie is what accounts for nearly a dozen U.S. baby boys being named Amadeus in 1985.

Falco's single "Rock me Amadeus" (1985)
Falco single

Then, in an unexpected twist, Austrian musician Falco (birth name: Johann Hölzel) — inspired by the movie Amadeus — created the German-language synth-pop song “Rock Me Amadeus” [vid], which was released in Europe in early 1985. A year later, in the spring of 1986, it reached the #1 spot on Billboard‘s U.S. Hot 100 chart and stayed there for three weeks straight.

The song — in which Falco repeats the name Amadeus dozens of times — likely accounts for the name’s rising usage on birth certificates in both 1986 and 1987.

…But now let’s circle back to the original Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, whose middle name, as it turns out, wasn’t actually “Amadeus.”

Mozart was baptized Johannes Chrysostomus Wolfgangus Theophilus Mozart. His first two given names (which were rarely used) honored St. John Chrysostom, his third given name came from his maternal grandfather, and his fourth given name came from his godfather.

During his life, multilingual Mozart translated his Greek middle name Theophilus into various other languages. He sometimes used the German form Gottlieb, or the French form Amadè, or the Italian form Amadeo. But he never used the Latin form, Amadeus.

What are your thoughts on the name Amadeus? Would you use it? (Do you prefer one of the other forms?)

P.S. Mozart’s older sister, Maria Anna “Nannerl” Mozart, also has at least one U.S. namesake…

Sources:

Top image: Screenshot of Amadeus

The Judd family of Hawaii

The Judd family of Hawaii on the 1940 U.S. Census
The Judd family on the 1940 U.S. Census

Hawaiian couple Raymond and Anna Judd had at least 8 children during the 1920s and 1930s.

On the 1940 U.S. Census, their children are listed as Raymond Jr., Louise, James, Maxwell, Lydia, Lehua, Reginald, and Nayland.

But their full names were really…

  • Raymond Murray Laniolaikapikoihiihilauakea (b. 1922)
  • Louise Julia Kalaninuiahilepalepa (b. 1923)
  • James Haulukaokeahienaena (b. 1924)
  • Maxwell Winfred Kuuleimamoulukapaehuokalani (b. 1927)
  • Lydia Anna Haleakala (b. 1928)
  • Marvelle Pauline Kaualililehua “Lehua” (b. 1930)
  • Reginald Wilhelm Kananinoheaokuuhomeopuukaimanaalohilohinokeaweaweulamakaokalani (b. 1936)
  • Nayland Clayton Kaleinaonalani (b. 1938)

At least two of these names ended up making the news.

The one that popped up in papers worldwide was Reginald’s Hawaiian name, which had 63 letters and was said to mean “the beautiful aroma of my home at sparkling diamond hill is carried to the eyes of heaven.” I don’t know how accurate this definition is, but I could find some of the corresponding Hawaiian words — like pu’u (meaning “hill”), kaimana (“diamond”), ‘alohilohi (“sparkling”), and maka (“eyes”) — in the name.

Clipping form the Daily Examiner in Australia (Oct. 12, 1936).
Daily Examiner (Australia), 1936

A decade earlier, Maxwell’s Hawaiian name was also in the news — at least locally.

Clipping from the Honolulu Advertiser (Jan. 12, 1927).
Honolulu Advertiser, 1927

I couldn’t find a translation of Maxwell’s Hawaiian name, or translations for any of the other Hawaiian names. (In fact, I’m not even 100% sure about the spellings of those names.) Regardless, here are some observations…

  • Raymond’s Hawaiian name, Laniolaikapikoihiihilauakea, seems to refer to the ‘ihi’ihilauakea — a fern endemic to Hawaii.
  • James’s Hawaiian name, Haulukaokeahienaena, seems to refer to a raging fire: ke (“the”), ahi (“fire”), ‘ena’ena (“glowing, red-hot, raging”).
  • Lydia’s Hawaiian name, Haleakala, was the middle name of her grandmother (Louise Haleakala, b. 1879) and the first name of her great-grandmother (Haleaka, b. 1847). The word means “house of the sun” and refers to the volcano on Maui.
  • Marvelle’s nickname, Lehua, from her Hawaiian name Kaualililehua, refers to the Lehua plant.

What are your thoughts on these names?

Sources:

Where did the baby name Torben come from?

Danish tennis player Torben Ulrich
Torben Ulrich (in 1957)

The name Torben first emerged in the U.S. baby name data in the late 1960s:

  • 1971: unlisted
  • 1970: unlisted
  • 1969: 6 baby boys named Torben
  • 1968: 7 baby boys named Torben [debut]
  • 1967: unlisted
  • 1966: unlisted

Where did it come from?

Sports…sort of.

The source seems to be Danish professional tennis player Torben Ulrich. But he’d been playing professionally for many years by the late ’60s. What happened in 1968?

That year, Torben was memorably profiled in American newspapers by sports columnist Murray Olderman. The article wasn’t about Torben’s tennis-playing as much as it was about Torben’s unapologetic nonconformism. Here’s how it began:

Behind dark glasses framed by swirls of long brown hair, Torben Ulrich looks out on a curious world. It’s the world that’s curious–not necessarily Torben–because it sees him as a slightly hunched, slender, effete, bearded and tressed hippie. It also sees him, curiously, as an athlete who has made his living, more or less, for 20 years by playing tennis. We say more or less because Torben also plays the tenor sax in a rock ‘n’ roll band, tootles a classical flute, writes a weekly column for a Copenhagen newspaper, broadcasts on the Danish national radio and raises a family.

In a tone that vacillated between mockery and admiration, Olderman described Ulrich’s nomadic lifestyle, sleeping habits (night owl), language skills (Danish, English, French, German, Italian, etc.), and sense of style (including “a bracelet made from the hair of an elephant’s tail”).

I imagine the profile would have struck a chord with counterculture readers. In fact, maybe it was those readers specifically who were enticed enough by the name Torben — which is a variant of Torbjörn, which can be traced back to Old Norse elements meaning “thunder” (Thor) and “bear” — to choose it for their newborns that year.

What are your thoughts on the baby name Torben?

P.S. The article also mentioned that Torben had a 4-year-old son. That son, Lars Ulrich, grew up to become the co-founder/drummer of the heavy metal band Metallica. (Metallica is also a baby name, btw.)

Sources:

Image: Adapted from Torben Ulrich photo by J.D. Noske via Nationaal Archief under CC0.

Where did the baby name Randye come from in 1949?

Murray and Marjorie Herman with triplets (Jaimye, Randye, Vickye) in 1949.
Herman triplets, 1949

The baby name Randye debuted in the U.S. baby name data in 1949. The usage occurred primarily in New York state.

Girls named Randye (U.S.)Girls named Randye (N.Y.)
19531110
19522411
1951126
195096
194924*14*
1948..
1947..
*Debut

Why the debut, and why New York?

Because of a set of identical triplets born to New York City couple Murray and Marjorie Herman in May of 1949. The three girls were born at Polyclinic Hospital and named Jaimye, Randye, and Vickye.

My guess is that the triplets — plus their older sister, Leslye — were featured in the local news throughout their childhood. All four of must have been in the papers around 1952, for instance, because usage of three of the four names increased that year.

Female usage of names similar to Randye (like Randy and Randi) were seeing higher usage in general during this time period, likely thanks to the influence of movie actress Randy Stuart (born Elizabeth Shaubell).

Sources: