In mid-1991, Russian politician Boris Yeltsin became the first President of the Russian Federation.
In early 1992, the New York Times announced that President Bush and President Yeltsin had “proclaimed a new era of “friendship and partnership” as they declared a formal end to seven decades of rivalry” (i.e., the Cold War).
That same year, the baby name Yeltsin appeared in the U.S. baby name data for the first time:
- 1994: unlisted
- 1993: 8 baby boys named Yeltsin
- 1992: 7 baby boys named Yeltsin [debut]
- 1991: unlisted
- 1990: unlisted
It stuck around one more year before disappearing again. (Perhaps because Yeltsin’s popularity declined drastically during the 1990s, as his economic policies caused mass poverty and hyperinflation in Russia.)
What does the Russian surname Yeltsin mean? “The Yeltsin surname derives from yel’, Russian for “fir tree,” and is a fairly common one in the [Ural] region,” which is where Boris was born.
Sources:
- Colton, Timothy J. Yeltsin: A Life. New York: Basic Books, 2011.
- Wines, Michael. “Bush and Yeltsin Declare Formal End to Cold War; Agree to Exchange Visits.” New York Times 2 Feb. 1992.
Image: Adapted from Leonid Kravchuk, Stanislav Shushkevich and Boris Yeltsin by RIA Novosti under CC BY-SA 3.0.
Here’s one confirmed Yeltsin (though he’s not from the U.S.): soccer player Yeltsin Tejeda, born in Costa Rica in March of 1992.
Im a upcoming artist and my name is Yeltsin Paz.
It was interesting knowing this
Thanks for the comment, Yeltsin!
Do you know why Yeltsin returned in 2015? He’s no longer a two-hit wonder…
Good catch — thanks Elizabeth. I don’t know why Yeltsin reappeared in the data in 2015. If it had been 2007, that would have made sense, as that was when he died. But 2015 is curious. Hm…