One of the original Star Trek (1966-1969) characters was Lt. Uhura, played by Nichelle Nichols.
Uhura, who never went by her first name, was “one of the first characters of African descent to be featured in a non-menial role on American television series.”
Star Trek was canceled after three seasons, but became popular in syndication. We see a handful of babies named Uhura in the U.S. baby name data in the ’70s:
- 1979: not listed
- 1978: 8 baby girls named Uhura
- 1977: 6 baby girls named Uhura
- 1976: 5 baby girls named Uhura
- 1975: not listed
- 1974: not listed
- 1973: 5 baby girls named Uhura
- 1972: not listed
- 1971: 8 baby girls named Uhura [debut]
- 1970: not listed
Lt. Uhura’s surname was based on the title of a book — Uhuru (1962) by Robert Ruark. Nichelle Nichols had the book with her the day she read for the part. Uhuru is the Swahili word for “freedom.”
The name Uhuru also appeared in the U.S. data during the ’70s:
- 1974: not listed
- 1973: 7 baby boys named Uhuru
- 1972: 7 baby boys and 5 baby girls named Uhuru
- 1971: 9 baby boys named Uhuru
- 1970: 5 baby boys named Uhuru [debut]
- 1969: not listed
Source: Uhura – Wikipedia