How popular is the baby name Roxette 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 Roxette.

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Popularity of the baby name Roxette


Posts that mention the name Roxette

Where did the baby name Jodeci come from in 1991?

The album "Diary of a Mad Band" (1993) by Jodeci
Jodeci album

We’ve talked about babies named after Bon Jovi, Danity Kane, Roxette, and even Starship. So today let’s look at Jodeci.

In 1990, the four-man R&B group Jodeci was formed by Joel “JoJo” Hailey, Donald “DeVante Swing” DeGrate, Dalvin “Mr. Dalvin” DeGrate, and Cedric “K-Ci” Hailey. The name of the band was pieced together from the jo of JoJo, the de of DeGrate, and the ci of K-Ci.

Jodeci’s first album, the successful Forever My Lady, was released in 1991. Sure enough, that’s the year we start seeing babies named Jodeci:

  • 1996: 29 girls, 13 boys named Jodeci
  • 1995: 32 girls, 15 boys named Jodeci
  • 1994: 19 girls, 23 boys named Jodeci
  • 1993: 33 girls, 29 boys named Jodeci
  • 1992: 77 girls, 94 boys named Jodeci
  • 1991: 13 girls, 12 boys named Jodeci [debut]
  • 1990: unlisted
  • 1989: unlisted

We also see a steep rise in the usage of DeVante, which was the fastest-rising boy name of 1991:

  • 1994: 852 baby boys named Devante [rank: 309th]
  • 1993: 961 baby boys named Devante [rank: 289th]
  • 1992: 1565 baby boys named Devante [rank: 199th] (peak)
  • 1991: 131 baby boys named Devante [rank: 923rd]
  • 1990: 9 baby boys named Devante

(And the sudden trendiness of DeVante gave big boosts to variant forms like Davante, Dvonte, Devonta, Devonte, Davonte, Davonta, Devontae, Davontae, Devontay, Dvontae, Devaunte, etc.

And in 1992, Dalvin became the second-fastest-rising boy name:

  • 1994: 143 baby boys named Dalvin [rank: 912th]
  • 1993: 179 baby boys named Dalvin [rank: 789th] (peak)
  • 1992: 132 baby boys named Dalvin [rank: 923rd]
  • 1991: 6 baby boys named Dalvin
  • 1990: 13 baby boys named Dalvin

Jodeci put out a second album in 1993, a third in 1995, then went on hiatus in 1996. After they stopped releasing new material, usage of the name declined.

A related name that was used around this time was K-Ci:

  • 2001: unlisted
  • 2000: 6 boys named K-Ci
  • 1999: 6 boys named K-Ci
  • 1998: 5 boys named K-Ci
  • 1997: unlisted
  • 1996: unlisted
  • 1995: 7 boys named K-Ci [debut]
  • 1994: unlisted

This one was helped along by the band K-Ci & JoJo, formed by two Jodeci members around 1996.

The names Jodeci and K-Ci may be down, but don’t count them out. In about a month, a reality TV show starring K-Ci and JoJo will premiere on TVOne. Also, there’s a talented high school football player out there named Jodeci Mays. (He scored seven touchdowns a couple of weeks ago.) Visibility often leads to usage, so the TV show and/or the athlete could help revive the names, you never know…

Where did the baby name Roxette come from in 1989?

The Swedish band Roxette.
Swedish pop duo Roxette

In the late ’80s, an American exchange student in Sweden named Dean Cushman discovered the Swedish pop duo Roxette. Impressed, he brought a CD of their second album, Look Sharp! (1988), back to the States.

He told a local radio station about the band, and the station began to play the track “The Look” on the air. Other stations soon followed suit. “By the time official promotion began, the song had already soared onto the Feb. 11, 1989, Billboard Hot 100 at No. 50.”

Four singles from Look Sharp! ended up charting: “The Look” hit #1 in April of 1989, “Dressed for Success” peaked at #14 in July, “Listen To Your Heart” became their second #1 song in November, and “Dangerous” reached #2 in March of 1990.

We can see the influence of Roxette’s newfound U.S. popularity on the U.S. baby name charts as well. Nearly 30 baby girls have been named Roxette since in 1989:

  • 1994: unlisted
  • 1993: 6 baby girls named Roxette
  • 1992: 7 baby girls named Roxette
  • 1991: 5 baby girls named Roxette
  • 1990: 6 baby girls named Roxette
  • 1989: 5 baby girls named Roxette [debut]
  • 1988: unlisted
  • 1987: unlisted

Here’s the song that kicked it all off:

Roxette (the name) appeared on the the U.S. baby name charts for almost as long as Roxette (the band) was putting out singles that appeared on the U.S. music charts. The name dropped out of the data in 1994 — the last year that Roxette had a song (“Sleeping In My Car”) in the Hot 100.

Band members Marie Fredriksson and Per* Gessle had formed the band in 1986. The name Roxette came from the 1974 song “Roxette” by British rock band Dr. Feelgood. (Not to be confused with the 1989 song “Dr. Feelgood” by American rock band Mötley Crüe.)

What are your thoughts on the baby name Roxette?

Update: Roxette came back! For one year, anyway. It reappeared in the data in 2012, bringing the grand total of U.S. baby girls named Roxette up to (at least) 35.

Source: Roxette Chart History – Billboard, Rewinding the Charts: In 1989, Roxette Roared Onto the Hot 100 With ‘The Look’

*Per is a form of Peter.