Where did the baby name Aeon come from in 1995?

Aeon Flux

I’m on a cartoon kick now. I’ve only posted about Pebbles and Cheetara so far, but there are many other cartoon-inspired baby names out there.

Including Aeon.

The name Aeon (pronounced EE-on) was invented for the character Æon Flux, who was first featured on MTV’s Liquid Television in 1991. Æon Flux became a standalone show in 1995. That’s when we first start seeing the name pop up in the U.S. baby name data:

  • 2000: unlisted
  • 1999: 6 baby girls named Aeon
  • 1998: unlisted
  • 1997: 5 baby boys named Aeon
  • 1996: 7 baby girls named Aeon
  • 1995: 6 baby boys named Aeon [debut]
  • 1994: unlisted

Notice that both boys and girls were named Aeon. Interesting, isn’t it? The reason may be that the character, while female, wasn’t exactly feminine. She was an assassin who “dressed like a dominatrix” and “always managed to rack up an astonishingly high body count,” according to MTV’s description of the series. The show itself was dark, gritty, violent, sexual…definitely not something you’d see in the Saturday morning line-up.

The name Aeon didn’t emerge in the data again until 2006, following the late 2005 release of the not-very-well-received live-action Æon Flux movie, which starred Charlize Theron.

  • 2009: 7 baby girls named Aeon
  • 2008: 6 baby girls & 8 baby boys named Aeon
  • 2007: 5 baby boys named Aeon
  • 2006: 11 baby girls & 6 baby boys named Aeon
  • 2005: unlisted

Do you think we’ll see more baby Aeons on the 2010 list?

Source: SSA

Where did the baby name Cheetara come from in 1985?

The character Cheetara from the animated TV series "Thundercats" (1985-1989).
Cheetara from “Thundercats“

The curious name Cheetara first appeared in the U.S. baby name data in the mid-1980s, and it remained in the data for four successive years before falling back below the SSA’s 5-baby threshold:

  • 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

What put it there?

The animated TV series ThunderCats (1985-1989).

The main characters of the cartoon were cat-like humanoids with names like Lion-O, Tygra and Panthro.

But only the primary female character, Cheetara — who could run with cheetah-like speed — was able to boost her name into the SSA data.

Dozens of baby girls were named Cheetara in the ’80s, and dozens more were given variants of the name, such as:

1984198519861987
Shetara.8*3724
Chitara.8*119
Chatara.5*1721
Jatara.5*2021
Chetara..26*26
*Debut

What do you think of the baby name Cheetara? Would you consider using it?

Sources: ThunderCats – Wikipedia, SSA

Baby names that won’t make a comeback?

About.com guide Robin Elise Weiss recently published a list of 10 Baby Names That Won’t Make a Comeback. These were her picks:

  • Girl names – Mildred, Eula, Deloris, Gladys, Norma
  • Boy names – Herman, Chester, Elbert, Norman, Ralph

Hm. I can’t quite agree with Robin here. The only thing holding most of these back is style, and style is always in flux.

Even Ralph, which became a slang term for “vomit” several decades ago, isn’t necessarily doomed. Slang meanings stick for a while, but not forever. (Just look at Roger.)

Do you think there are any names out there that will never make a comeback? Which ones, and why?

Pop culture baby name game, 2010

Britney Spears album

Know what today is? It’s Britney Spears’ birthday! (Come on, you didn’t already know that?)

So today is the perfect day to start playing the Pop Culture Baby Name Game.

What’s that? It’s a game in which we try to predict which pop culture-inspired baby names will appear on the SSA’s official baby name list for the first time in 2010. Danity and Daughtry made it for the first time in 2007, Obama and Palin in 2008, the infamous Renesmee in 2009…which pop culture baby names will make their debut in 2010?

Think back to notable occurrences of 2010 and late 2009. Think about movies, music, books, video games, sports, politics, products, and whatever else made headlines and/or caught your attention. What brand-new baby names might these things have inspired?

Here are some possibilities I’ve already blogged about:

Another that has since come to mind is Etsy, which looks and sounds like Betsy with the B chopped off.

What other potential names can you think of? (Remember — oddball names like Chachi and Darth have made the SSA’s list in years past, so don’t be afraid to think outside the box on this!)