How popular is the baby name Shelby 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 Shelby.
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It’s reminiscent of Shelby and Shelba, but I think this one has a specific explanation: vocal quartet The Soul Children, which included a female member with an “earthy, soulful voice” named Shelbra Bennett.
The group scored well over a dozen R&B hits from the late ’60s to the late ’70s, but their biggest singles were the three that crossed over and charted on the Hot 100: “The Sweeter He Is” (peaked in Nov. 1969), “Hearsay” (May 1972), and “I’ll Be the Other Woman” (Mar. 1974).
What do you think of the baby name Shelbra? Do you like it more or less than Shelby?
The gothic melodrama Trilby by British author George du Maurier was first published serially in Harper’s Monthly from January to August, 1894. It was released as a book in September.
The story was set in Paris in the early 1850s. The title character, Trilby O’Ferrall, was a naïve, tone-deaf artist’s model who went on to become a world-famous singer, thanks to the hypnotic powers of the sinister Svengali. But when Svengali suddenly died, Trilby lost her ability to sing and ended up wasting away.
Trilby wasn’t just a bestseller — the entire country was gripped by Trilby-mania for several years straight. (This isn’t unlike the Twilight-mania that emerged more than 100 years later.)
Many things, from fashion to food, were influenced/inspired by Trilby during this time. Here’s a partial list:
Language:
Trilbies became slang for “(women’s) feet,” as Trilby had particularly beautiful feet
Svengali became slang for “a person who exercises a controlling or mesmeric influence on another, especially for a sinister purpose”
Trilby ice cream (it was molded into the shape of a foot)
Trilby board game
Trilby high-heeled shoes
Trilby jewelry
Trilby belts
Trilby bathing suits
Trilby cigars/cigarettes
Trilby hearth brush
Trilby tea
Trilby cocktail
Trilby pie
Trilby sausage
Trilby ham
Non-human namesakes:
Trilby, Florida
USS Trilby
Adaptations:
Trilby, stage play
Trilby (1915), movie
Trilby (1923), movie
Svengali (1931), movie
Influence on other literary works:
Dracula (1897) by Bram Stoker
Le Fantôme de l’Opéra (1909) by Gaston Leroux
Trilby and its glamorization of the bohemian lifestyle even “excited a vogue for nude modeling among the many young women who wished to follow the Trilby life.” (And this, of course, “alarmed the clergy and other guardians of morality.”)
So where does the name Trilby come from?
For a long time I’d assumed that George du Maurier had based it on the musical term trill, which refers to rapid alternation between two adjacent musical notes. Turns out this isn’t the case.
He borrowed the name from an earlier work of literature, the story “Trilby, ou le Lutin d’Argail” (“Trilby, or the Fairy of Argyle”) (1822) by French writer Charles Nodier. In Nodier’s story, which is set in Scotland, Trilby is a male sprite who seduces a mortal woman.
In 1895 a New York Times writer guessed that the name of Nodier’s Trilby might be “an endearing diminutive of “trall,” a member of the brownie clan,” but I can’t find any outside confirmation that the word “trall” even exists. (Perhaps it’s a Scottish variant of the word “troll”…?)
How many people in the U.S. have been named Trilby?
According to the SSA data, Trilby was the 978th most popular girl name in the U.S. in 1895, the year after the book was published. This was the only time Trilby managed to rank within the U.S. top 1,000.
1897: unlisted
1896: 6 baby girls named Trilby
1895: 12 baby girls named Trilby [debut] (rank: 978th)
1894: unlisted
1893: unlisted
But the SSA data from that period is incomplete, so here are the Social Security Death Index (SSDI) numbers for the same years:
1897: 10 people with the first name Trilby
1896: 22 people with the first name Trilby
1895: 34 people with the first name Trilby
1894: 5 people with the first name Trilby
1893: 2 people with the first name Trilby
These days, Trilby rarely appears on the SSA’s list:
2014: unlisted
2013: unlisted
2012: unlisted
2011: unlisted
2010: 6 baby girls named Trilby
2009: unlisted
2008: 7 baby girls named Trilby
2007: unlisted
2006: unlisted
2005: unlisted
2004: unlisted
2003: unlisted
2002: unlisted
2001: unlisted
2000: unlisted
Trilby may be an unfashionable name right now, but for the parents-to-be who want something a bit retro-sounding, this could be a good thing.
The name is also an intriguing option for lovers of trivia and/or quirky history, as it’s tied to a fascinating pop culture craze from over a century ago. (We might be saying the same thing about Renesmee 100 years from now!)
Plus, Trilby is one of a small number of names with that distinctive “-by” ending, such as Ruby, Shelby, Darby, Colby, Kirby and Rigby.
One possible drawback to the name is the not-so-subtle anti-Semitism in the book itself. Svengali is not merely the “greasily, mattedly unkempt” antagonist of the story, but he’s also Jewish — with “bold, black, beady Jew’s eyes” no less. Then again…similar things could be said about other historical pieces of literature that have inspired baby names.
If you’re considering the naming your baby girl Trilby, I highly encourage you to head over to Project Gutenberg and read (or at least skim) the text of Trilby.
Turns out the sparsely populated Canadian territory — which is next door to Alaska, larger than California, and home to only about 34,000 people — releases baby name rankings that cover 5 years at a time. So let’s roll the five most recent lists (i.e., 25 years of popular names) into a single post, shall we?
According to the Yukon Bureau of Statistics, these were the most popular baby names in the territory over the last quarter century…
From 1991 to 1995, the top baby names in Yukon were Ashley/Brittany/Samantha (3-way tie) and Michael:
Chimere debuted with 78 baby girls in 1979. Inspired by the Prince Matchabelli perfume Chimere.
Naidelyn debuted with 78 baby girls in 1998. Inspired by Naidelyn Navarrete, an actress on the telenovela Maria Isabel.
Joyel & Tynisa, 2-way tie for #39
Joyel debuted with 79 baby girls in 1975. I’m not sure what inspired it. Inspired by Joyelle, a character on the soap operaHow to Survive a Marriage. (Thank you C in DC!)
Audreanna debuted with 80 baby girls in 1989. I’m not sure what inspired it. Inspired by Adriana, a character on the soap operaSanta Barbara. (Thank you C in DC!)
Leilene, #37
Leilene debuted with 81 baby girls in 2007. Inspired by Leilene Ondrade, a contestant on the reality TV show Flavor of Love.
Evolet, #36
Evolet debuted with 82 baby girls in 2008. Inspired by Evolet, a character in the movie 10,000 BC.
Joyelle & Trenyce, 2-way tie for #35
Joyelle debuted with 88 baby girls in 1975. I’m not sure what inspired it. Same reason as #39.
Trenyce debuted with 88 baby girls in 2003. Inspired by singer Trenyce.
Irania & Shelva, 2-way tie for #34
Irania debuted with 89 baby girls in 1995. Inspired by Irania Paniagua, a character on the telenovela Maria Celeste.
Shelva debuted with 89 baby girls in 1936. Inspired by Shelby Barret, a character in the movie The Woman in Red.
Alliyah debuted with 94 baby girls in 1994. Inspired by singer Aaliyah.
Dalett debuted with 94 baby girls in 2010. Inspired by a baby from the reality TV show Larrymania.
Do you have any thoughts on Latrenda, Audreanna, or Joyelle/Joyel?
More of the top 50 baby name debuts for girls: 50-41, 40-31, 30-21, 20-11, 10-1
Image: Adapted from LotusBud0048a (public domain) by Frank “Fg2” Gualtieri
[Latest update: 7/2021]
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