The curious name Cheetara first appeared in the U.S. baby name data in the mid-1980s:
- 1989: unlisted
- 1988: 9 baby girls named Cheetara
- 1987: 29 baby girls named Cheetara
- 1986: 36 baby girls named Cheetara
- 1985: 7 baby girls named Cheetara [debut]
- 1984: unlisted
- 1983: unlisted
Where did it come from?
A cartoon!
ThunderCats was an animated kids’ show that originally aired from 1985 through 1990. The main characters were cat-like humanoids with names like Lion-O, Tygra and Panthro.
But the main female character, Cheetara — who could run with cheetah-like speed — was the only character whose name made it onto the SSA data.
So far, at least 81 baby girls in the U.S. have been named Cheetara.
If we throw in some of the variant spellings that also emerged in the data during this time period, though, the total is even higher:
| Year | Shetara | Chitara | Chatara | Jatara | Chetara | Shetarra |
| 1989 | 11 | 12 | 12 | 11 | 5 | 5* |
| 1988 | 5 | 7 | 12 | 10 | 6 | – |
| 1987 | 24 | 9 | 21 | 21 | 26 | – |
| 1986 | 37 | 11 | 17 | 20 | 26* | – |
| 1985 | 8* | 8* | 5* | 5* | – | – |
| 1984 | – | – | – | – | – |
*Debut
What do you think about the baby name Cheetara? Would you ever consider using it? If so, would it be because of the cartoon, or in spite of it? :)