Annette Funicello, the most popular member of the original Mickey Mouse Club (1955-1959), passed away a couple of days ago.
Seeing her name in the news made me think about the other original Mouseketeers, most of whom were born in the early to mid-1940s (making them teens in the late 1950s). If you’re looking for a baby name reminiscent of sock hops and soda fountains, the first batch of Mouseketeers is not a bad place to start:
- Annette Funicello (b. 1942)
- Thanks to Funicello’s fame, the baby name Annette saw a drastic rise in usage during the latter half of the 1950s.
- Billie Beanblossom (b. 1944)
- Bonita “Bonnie” Lynn Fields (b. 1944)
- Bonni Lou Kern (b. 1941)
- Bronson Scott (b. 1947) – who was a girl, despite her name
- Charles “Charlie” Laney (b. 1943)
- Cheryl Holdridge (b. 1944) – who went on to marry Lance Reventlow
- Carl “Cubby” O’Brien (b. 1946)
- Dallas Johann (b. 1944)
- Darlene Gillespie (b. 1941)
- The baby name Darlene also saw a steep rise in usage while The Mickey Mouse Club was on the air.
- Dennis Day (b. 1942)
- Joseph Richard “Dickie” Dodd (b. 1945)
- Don Agrati (b. 1944)
- Donald “Don” Underhill (b. 1941)
- Doreen Tracey (b. 1943)
- Eileen Diamond (b. 1943)
- John “Johnny” Crawford (b. 1946)
- John Joseph “Jay-Jay” Solari (b. 1943)
- (John) Lee Johann (b. 1942)
- Judy Harriet (b. 1942)
- Karen Pendleton (b. 1946)
- Larry Larsen (b. 1939)
- Linda Hughes (b. 1946)
- Leonard “Lonnie” Burr (b. 1943)
- (Lowrey) Lynn Ready (b. 1944)
- Margene Storey (b. 1942)
- Mark Sutherland (b. 1944)
- Mary Espinosa (b. 1945)
- Mary Sartori (b. 1943)
- Mickey Rooney, Jr. (b. 1945)
- Michael “Mike” Smith (b. 1945)
- Nancy Abbate (b. 1942)
- (William) Paul Petersen (b. 1945)
- Robert “Bobby” Burgess (b. 1941)
- Ronald “Ronnie” Steiner (b. 1942)
- Sharon Baird (b. 1942)
- Sharyn “Sherry” Alberoni (b. 1946)
- Timothy “Tim” Rooney (b. 1947)
- Thomas “Tommy” Cole (b. 1941)
Which of the above names do you like the most?
Sources: Girl next door Annette Funicello dies at 70, The Original Mickey Mouse Club Show
Image: Mickey Mouse Club Mouseketeers 1957 (public domain)
