In 1973, the name “Season” debuted in the U.S. baby name data rather impressively. (It wasn’t the #1 debut of the year, but it did make the top 10, just above Sacheen.)
- 1975: 66 baby girls named Season
- 1974: 68 baby girls named Season
- 1973: 28 baby girls named Season [debut]
- 1972: unlisted
- 1971: unlisted
Word-based baby names like “Season” are notoriously hard to figure out, but I eventually stumbled upon the influence: actress Season Hubley, whose birth name was Susan.
Her first major role was as the title character in the movie Lolly-Madonna XXX, which was released in early 1973. The film depicted two feuding families in rural Tennessee. It was based on the Sue Grafton novel The Lolly-Madonna War (1969).
Usage of the name peaked in 1979 — the year Season played Priscilla Presley in the made-for-TV movie Elvis, for which she is best remembered. She married her Elvis co-star Kurt Russell that year as well.
Season and Kurt had a son in 1980 (before divorcing in 1983) and named him Boston. Their usage of the name gave it a slight boost in ’81, but didn’t kick off the high usage that was to come in the early 2000s.
And now for the question of the day: If you were having a baby girl and had to choose either Susan or Season for the first name, which one would you pick?
P.S. One of Season’s siblings was actor Whip Hubley (birth name: Grant Hubley), who played “Hollywood” in Top Gun. So far, “Whip” has never been in the SSA data.
Could the Terry Jacks song “Seasons in the Sun” also have influenced Season? It was one of the most popular songs of 1974.
Possibly. If so, it would help explain the strong usage of the name through the mid-1970s. That said, though, the song didn’t frame the song as a name, and only used it (I think?) in the plural. So it’s hard to say.