The baby name Nalda first appeared in the U.S. baby name data in 1923. In fact, it was the top debut name of the year.
- 1925: unlisted
- 1924: unlisted
- 1923: 15 baby girls named Nalda [debut]
- 1922: unlisted
- 1921: unlisted
What gave it a boost?
A story called “The Regeneration of Malcolm Starmount” that had been serialized in the newspapers in 1923. One of the characters was a beautiful actress named Nalda Courteney.
I haven’t read the entire story, but I do know that Nalda ended up dying in a plane crash (along with the married man she’d been dating). The character’s obituary read: “Nalda Courteney had for some years been noted on Broadway. Her pearls, motors and love affairs have featured [on] the first pages of newspapers for the last five or six years.”
The story was written by journalist Idah McGlone Gibson (1860-1933), who, according to one source, was the “writer of the first syndicated story ever published in a newspaper in this country.” (Tantalizing claim! I don’t have any other details, though.)
What are your thoughts on the baby name Nalda?
Sources:
- Gibson, Idah McGlone. “The Regeneration of Malcolm Starmount.” Hamilton Daily News 1 Sept. 1923: 5.
- “Woman Writer Dies in Hollywood Home.” Ogden Standard-Examiner 17 Dec. 1933: 14.
- SSA
Image: Ad for “The Regeneration of Malcolm Starmount” in the Capital Journal (Nov. 14, 1922, page 8)