The rare name Pearlette has only popped up in the U.S. baby name data four times, and three of those times with minimal usage (5 baby girls). It did see slightly elevated usage the fourth year, though:
- 1964: unlisted
- 1963: unlisted
- 1962: 7 baby girls named Pearlette [peak]
- 1961: unlisted
- 1960: unlisted
Why?
Because that was the year the Pearlettes, a four-member girl-group from Los Angeles, released their most successful song, “Duchess of Earl” [vid].
“Duchess of Earl” — an answer song to Gene Chandler’s 1961 “Duke Of Earl” — peaked at #96 on Billboard‘s Hot 100 chart in March of 1962.
The Pearlettes consisted of Lynda Galloway and Sheila Galloway (sisters), Mary Meade, and Priscilla Kennedy.
What are your thoughts on the name Pearlette?
Source: Whitburn, Joel. Joel Whitburn Presents Across the Charts, the 1960s. Menomonee Falls, WI: Record Research, 2008.