What gave the baby name Arlayne a boost in 1930?

Arlayne in the papers, 1930

The name Arlayne was the fastest-rising girl name (relatively speaking) of the year 1930:

  • 1932: 13 baby girls named Arlayne
  • 1931: 12 baby girls named Arlayne
  • 1930: 25 baby girls named Arlayne [peak usage]
  • 1929: 6 baby girls named Arlayne
  • 1924: 5 baby girls named Arlayne

What gave the name a boost that year?

A young St. Louis pistol shooter named Arlayne Brown.

In the fall and winter of 1929, at the age of 13, she won over 19 shooting medals and national titles in competition against adults at Camp Perry. From late 1929 through 1930, many newspapers ran photos of and articles about Arlayne. She was also sometimes featured in advertisements.

She went on to become “one of the nation’s foremost exhibition shooters of the mid-1930s and ’40s,” but she also continued to compete. By the age of 18, for instance, she was up to 32 medals and working as part of the Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus “Wild West” show.

What are your thoughts on the name Arlayne?

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