How popular is the baby name Randye 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 Randye.

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Popularity of the baby name Randye


Posts that mention the name Randye

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:

Where did the baby name Clovia come from in 1949?

The characters Chipper and Clovia from the comic strip "Gasoline Alley" (panel from the early 1950s).
Clovia and Chipper

The curious name Clovia debuted in the U.S. baby name data in 1949:

  • 1951: 5 baby girls named Clovia
  • 1950: 13 baby girls named Clovia
  • 1949: 22 baby girls named Clovia [debut]
  • 1948: unlisted
  • 1947: unlisted

It was the 4th-highest girl name debut that year after Rainelle, Rainell and Randye.

Where did it come from?

A comic strip!

The strip, called Gasoline Alley, debuted in newspapers in late 1918. (And it’s still being published today, amazingly.)

In May of 1949, Gasoline Alley characters Skeezix and Nina welcomed a baby girl and decided to name her Clovia.

Why “Clovia”?

Nina got stuck in traffic on the way to the hospital and was forced to give birth in a taxi. On the infant’s wrist was a birthmark in the shape of a four-leaf clover.

Clovia doll
Clovia the doll

And Clovia wasn’t just a comic strip character. For a time, she was also a doll.

In mid-1949, a few weeks after Clovia’s introduction, Clovia dolls became available in retail stores. (Dolls based on comic strip babies had become trendy in the 1940s.)

The baby name Clovia remained on the national baby name list through the 1950s, but usage petered out in the 1960s.

(Dondi, another comic strip-inspired name, had more staying power. Sparkle, on the other hand, lasted only a year.)

Sources:

  • “Comic Strip Dolls.” Life 19 Oct. 1953.
  • Cushman, Philip. Constructing the Self, Constructing America. Cambridge, MA: Da Capo Press, 1995.

Images © Life.