On July 18, 1976, 14-year-old Romanian gymnast Nadia Comaneci became the first Olympian to score a perfect 10. (She was on the uneven bars at the time.) She ended up winning 3 gold medals in Montreal that summer.
The name Comaneci popped up on the SSA’s baby name list for the first and only time in 1976:
- 1978: unlisted
- 1977: unlisted
- 1976: 9 baby girls named Comaneci [debut]
- 1975: unlisted
- 1974: unlisted
Comaneci is one of several Romanian surnames that refer to the Cumans, a Turkic nomadic people who came to the Carpathian region in the early 13th century.
The name Nadia also got quite a boost in 1976 — not just into the top 1,000, but straight into the top 500:
- 1978: 610 baby girls named Nadia [rank: 353rd]
- 1977: 790 baby girls named Nadia [rank: 303rd]
- 1976: 585 baby girls named Nadia [rank: 360th]
- 1975: 86 baby girls named Nadia
- 1974: 88 baby girls named Nadia
Her first name was inspired by a Russian movie character called Nadezhda. Nadia is a nickname for Nadezhda, which means “hope” in Russian.
Nadia Comaneci now lives in the U.S. and is married to fellow Olympic gymnast Bart Conner. They have a son, Dylan Paul, who is named for Bart’s favorite musician, Bob Dylan, and Bart’s former University of Oklahoma coach, Paul Ziert.
Sources:
- Nadia Comaneci, Bart Conner Welcome Baby Boy
- Overman, Steven J. and Kelly Boyer Sagert. Icons of Women’s Sport. Santa Barbara, California: ABC-CLIO, 2012.
- Romanian Surnames – Radio Romania International