The baby name Lorry had appeared in the U.S. name data as a boy name about a dozen times before it finally debuted as a girl name in 1943:
- 1945: 11 baby girls named Lorry
- 1944: 10 baby girls named Lorry
- 1943: 9 baby girls named Lorry [gender-specific debut]
- 1942: unlisted
- 1941: unlisted
What caused the debut?
A story that was being serialized in the newspapers at the time.
The story was called Glider Girl, and it was published in 30 short chapters from March to April of 1943. One of the main characters, named Loraine “Lorry” Stuart, was engaged to a man in the U.S. Army Glider Corps. When another woman (Pat) came along to take glider lessons (and flirt with Lorry’s fiancé), Lorry became quite vindictive.
Cupid pulled the ripcord on romance when Captain Jimmy Carr helped Pat Friday adjust her parachute harness — but Loraine Stuart, the captain’s fiancee, was determined to send Pat Friday’s high-gliding dreams into a tailspin.
The author of Glider Girl was journalist and novelist Oren Arnold (1900-1980).
Do you like the name Lorry? Do you like it more for girls or for boys?
Source: “Glider Girl.” San Bernardino Daily Sun 2 Mar. 1943: 17.