Jon-Erik Hexum was an up-and-coming actor in the early 1980s.
Hexum’s first TV role was as Phineas Bogg in the short-lived sci-fi series Voyagers! (1982-1983), which gave a boost to the rare baby name Phineas in 1983.
Hexum’s final TV role was as Mac Harper in the short-lived action series Cover Up (1984-1985), but he only appeared in eight episodes. His career was cut short when, in October of 1984, he accidentally killed himself with one of the guns used for filming.
The compound names Jonerik and Joneric both debuted in the U.S. baby name data in 1983. (The SSA’s data excludes hyphens and ignores internal capitalization.) The names went on to see peak usage in 1985, the year after Hexum died.
| Boys named Jonerik | Boys named Joneric | |
| 1986 | 25 | 7 |
| 1985 | 62† | 19† |
| 1984 | 25 | 15 |
| 1983 | 20* | 5* |
| 1982 | . | . |
| 1981 | . | . |
By the early 1990s, both names had fallen back out of the data (i.e., below the five-baby threshold).
What are your thoughts on the name Jon-Erik?
Sources: Jon-Erik Hexum – Wikipedia, SSA
Image: Screenshot of Voyagers!