How popular is the baby name Stedman 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 Stedman.

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Popularity of the baby name Stedman


Posts that mention the name Stedman

Where did the baby name Rolayne come from in 1948?

Arnie Ferrin, college basketball player in the 1940s

The rare name Rolayne has appeared in the U.S. baby name data a total of four times — all in the late 1940s and early 1950s. Usage was particularly high in Utah:

  • 1953: unlisted
  • 1952: 8 baby girls named Rolayne
  • 1951: 5 baby girls named Rolayne
  • 1950: unlisted
  • 1949: 16 baby girls named Rolayne
    • 8 born in Utah
  • 1948: 16 baby girls named Rolayne [debut]
    • 12 born in Utah
  • 1947: unlisted
  • 1946: unlisted

Where did the name come from?

RoLayne Rasmussen, the University of Utah homecoming queen who married well-known University of Utah basketball player Arnie Ferrin in June of 1948.

Arnie was born Chariton Arnold Ferrin, Jr. (The name Chariton is based on the ancient Greek word charis, meaning “grace, kindness.”) He was a four-time All-American during college, and after graduating in 1948 he played for the Minneapolis Lakers from 1948 to 1951. He helped the Lakers win the BAA championship in 1949 and the NBA championship in 1950.

And as Arnie made headlines, RoLayne was often mentioned in the articles as well. As were their children, as they came along. (They had four: Arnold III, Richard Bard, Louanne, and Shawn.)

RoLayne was one of several baby names to be influenced by the partner of a high-profile person. Names similarly influenced include Perian, Stedman, and Josanne.

Sources: Arnie Ferrin to be Inducted into Pac-12 Basketball Hall of Honor, Obituary: RoLayne Rasmussen Ferrin (1999)

What brought the baby name Stedman back in 1987?

Stedman Graham on "The Oprah Winfrey Show" (in 1989)
Stedman Graham on “The Oprah Winfrey Show

According to Wikipedia, Stedman Graham is an “educator, author, businessman and speaker.” But, without Wikipedia’s help, how would you describe Stedman? That’s right: “Oprah’s boyfriend.”

Oprah began dating Stedman Graham in mid-1986, a few months before The Oprah Winfrey Show premiered. We’ve already seen how the name Oprah debuted in the U.S. baby name data that year, but did you know that the talk show gave the baby name Stedman a boost as well?

  • 1990: 38 baby boys named Stedman
  • 1989: 82 baby boys named Stedman (peak usage)
  • 1988: 29 baby boys named Stedman
  • 1987: 20 baby boys named Stedman
  • 1986: unlisted
  • 1985: unlisted

Not only did “Stedman” reappear in the data in 1987 after a 48-year absence, but, the following year, the name Steadman similarly re-emerged, and the names Stedmen, Stedmon and Stedmond all appeared for the very first time.

And what accounts for the Stedman spike of 1989?

In February of that year, Stedman appeared as a guest on The Oprah Winfrey Show for the first time. The episode was about “men who marry or date famous women, and how they cope with it.” The other guests were actress Susan Lucci and her husband Helmut, and singer Barbara Mandrell and her husband Ken.

While usage of the name Stedman has tapered off since 1989, the relationship between Oprah and Stedman is still going strong nearly 3 decades later. They attended the Oscars together last month, in fact.

Stedman is one several “significant other” baby names I’ve spotted in the SSA’s baby name data so far. Others include Josanne, Movita and Tarita (all associated with Marlon Brando), Syreeta and Londie (both associated with Stevie Wonder), Loray and Altovise (both associated with Sammy Davis, Jr.), one-hit wonder Kayatana (girlfriend of Flip Wilson), Marva (first wife of Joe Louis) and Sonji (first wife of Muhammad Ali). Stedman is unique, though, in that it’s a male name that was popularized by a famous female — not a common scenario, it seems.

Sources: Stedman Graham – Wikipedia, Oprah’s Beau Drops In Her Main Squeeze Meets Star’s Tv ‘Family’

How did Oprah Winfrey get her name?

Talk show host Oprah Winfrey
Oprah Winfrey

We all know who Oprah Winfrey is. But do you know how she got her name?

Here’s the story, as told by Oprah herself:

I was born, as I said, in rural Mississippi in 1954. I was born at home. There were not a lot of educated people around and my name had been chosen from the Bible. My Aunt Ida had chosen the name, but nobody really knew how to spell it, so it went down as “Orpah” on my birth certificate, but people didn’t know how to pronounce it, so they put the “P” before the “R” in every place else other than the birth certificate. On the birth certificate it is Orpah, but then it got translated to Oprah, so here we are.

I’m not sure if she ever legally changed her named to Oprah.

The biblical character Orpah is mentioned in the Book of Ruth. Many sources agree that her name signifies the “nape” or the “back of the neck,” as Orpah turned her back on her mother-in-law, Naomi, when she decided to return to her family in Moab.*

Oprah’s very popular Oprah Winfrey Show debuted in 1986. As you’d expect, that’s the same year the baby name Oprah appeared on the SSA’s list for the very first time:

  • 1988: 17 baby girls named Oprah
  • 1987: 37 baby girls named Oprah
  • 1986: 12 baby girls named Oprah [debut]
  • 1985: unlisted
  • 1984: unlisted

The name dropped off the list after 1990, but has managed to return twice–in 2006 and 2007.

*Some Rabbinic interpretations of the name Orpah are much less complimentary.

Source: Oprah Winfrey Interview (1991)

P.S. Two more posts featuring Oprah-related names: Stedman, Canaan.