What gave the baby name Roseanna a boost in 1950?

The character Roseanna from the movie "Roseanna McCoy" (1949)
Roseanna from “Roseanna McCoy

According to the U.S. baby name data, the name Roseanna saw its highest-ever usage in 1950:

  • 1952: 126 baby girls name Roseanna [rank: 810th]
  • 1951: 141 baby girls name Roseanna [rank: 740th]
  • 1950: 275 baby girls name Roseanna [rank: 487th]
  • 1949: 129 baby girls name Roseanna [rank: 762nd]
  • 1948: 42 baby girls name Roseanna
  • 1947: 38 baby girls name Roseanna

Why?

Because of the movie Roseanna McCoy, which was released in the summer of 1949.

Set in the late 1800s, the film was a semi-fictionalized account of the romance between Johnson “Johnse” Hatfield and Roseanna McCoy. Their relationship reignited the long-standing feud between their respective families: the Hatfields of West Virginia and the McCoys of Kentucky.

The character of Roseanna was played by teenage actress Joan Evans (who was born in 1934 to a pair of Hollywood writers and named in honor of her godmother, Joan Crawford).

The movie was based on the 1947 book of the same name by Alberta Hannum.

What are your thoughts on the name Roseanna? (Do you like this spelling, or do you prefer Rosanna?)

Sources: Roseanna McCoy – Rotten Tomatoes, Roseanna McCoy – Wikipedia, Joan Evans (actress) – Wikipedia, SSA

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