Where did the baby name Ardoth come from in 1933?

Ardoth after winning a race (circa 1930)
Ardoth Schneider after winning a race

The rare name Ardoth was a one-hit wonder in the U.S. baby name data in 1933:

  • 1935: unlisted
  • 1934: unlisted
  • 1933: 6 baby girls named Ardoth [debut]
  • 1932: unlisted
  • 1931: unlisted

What gave the name a boost that year?

My guess is female jockey and trick rider Ardoth Schneider.

She’d been winning races since the late 1920s, so her name — often misspelled “Ardath” — had been mentioned in the newspapers before.

But 1933 was the year she was declared Sweetheart of California Rodeo:

While thousands cheered themselves hoarse at the western arena [in Salinas] this afternoon as the spectacular 22nd annual rodeo got under way, the 1933 Sweetheart crown was placed over the lustrous, black locks of winsome Ardoth Schneider, 23, of Long Beach.

Following the win, various photos of Ardoth — typically astride or beside a horse — began popping up in the newspapers. And I think the photos (as opposed to the mere mentions) are what made the difference.

As the new “Sweetheart,” she went on a tour of Panama, Cuba, Mexico, Guatemala and El Salvador with a letter of introduction from President Roosevelt that described her as California’s “finest outdoor girl.”

What are your thoughts on the name Ardoth? Would you use it for a modern-day baby?

Sources:

  • “The Fair Sex in a New Field.” Cincinnati Enquirer 1 Apr. 1928: 110.
  • “Favorite of Rodeos.” Oakland Tribune 24 Sept. 1933: 57.
  • “Girl Student Rise to Tijuana Triumph.” New York Times 12 Mar. 1928: 25.
  • “Long Beach Girl Wins Sweetheart of Rodeo Honors.” Santa Cruz Sentinel 22 Jul. 1933: 3.
  • Davis-Platt, Joy. “She filled a long life with love, adventures.” St. Petersburg Times 1 Mar. 2003.

Image: © 1940 British Pathé (screenshot of USA: Female Jockeys Competing In Turf Classic Race)

P.S. For several months in the winter of 1928, Ardoth was in Japan performing for the coronation of Emperor Hirohito. Twice a day, she jumped her Shetland pony Betty off a 40-foot platform into a pool of water “to entertain the enthusiastic Japanese crowds.”

P.P.S. Tuesdee is another female jockey-inspired baby name I discovered in the data.

One thought on “Where did the baby name Ardoth come from in 1933?

  1. Ardeth, Ardyth, Aerdeth for a girl (Kind of like Arwen)

    Ordoth, Ardoth, Ierdoth (the first letter is an ‘eye’) for a boy (Kind of like Oloro from Magic the Gathering)

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