Yesterday I mentioned that Korla Pandit leaving Snader Telescriptions circa 1951 opened the door for a Vegas pianist named Wladziu Valentino Liberace to have a shot at television.
And the rest is history: Liberace’s energetic live TV performances quickly made him famous. He went on to become one of highest-paid entertainers ever.
He was known as “Lee” to family and friends, but as a showman he preferred to go by his Italian surname, pronounced lib-er-AH-chee. It can probably be traced back to the Latin word liber, meaning “free.”
And while the baby name Liberace has never been popular enough to appear in the SSA’s baby name data — I would have told you a long time ago if it had! — it has been used as a given name before. As you’d expect, most Liberaces were born in the early-to-mid ’50s. Here are some examples:
- Liberace Harris, b. 1953
- L. Liberace Parker, b. 1953 in Indiana
- Liberace Williams, b. 1953 in California
- Liberace Atkins, b. 1954
- Liberace Sharpe, b. 1954 in North Carolina
- Liberace Ford, b. 1955 in North Carolina
- Liberace Jackson, b. 1955 in Kentucky
- Liberace Malbon, b. 1957 in Texas
- L. Liberace Hamilton, b. 1959 in Texas
What are your thoughts on Liberace as a baby name?
Image: Radio-TV Mirror, July 1954, page 32