The sitcom I Love Lucy (1951-1957) was TV’s first mega-hit. It won five Emmys and was ranked the #1 TV show in America four out of its six seasons.
The central characters were Lucy and Ricky Ricardo, played by real-life couple Lucille Ball (born in New York in 1911) and Desiderio “Desi” Arnaz (born in Cuba in 1917).
Ricky worked as a singer and bandleader at the Tropicana nightclub, while Lucy was a housewife on a quest for show business fame who “concocted hilarious (and ultimately doomed) schemes to finagle her way out of the kitchen and into the limelight.”
Though the original show ended in 1957, a modified version called The Ford Lucille Ball-Desi Arnaz Show kept the characters on the air for several more years.
So did I Love Lucy affect U.S. baby names? Yes, though not as much as one might expect, given its popularity.
Lucy & Lucille
The old-fashioned names Lucy and Lucille spent most of the 20th century declining in usage.
But Lucy saw an increase in 1952, and both names saw increases in 1953. (The most fashionable L-name at that time was #1 Linda.)
Ricky & Ricardo
Both Ricky and Ricardo — which had been rising in usage since the 1940s — saw accelerated rises during the 1950s.
One event that drew attention to Ricky specifically was the birth of Lucy and Ricky’s baby, “Little Ricky,” on an especially popular episode of I Love Lucy that aired in January of 1953 (the day before the inauguration of Dwight D. Eisenhower). In fact, the Cesarean birth of Lucille and Desi’s real-life baby Desiderio “Desi” Arnaz, Jr., was scheduled to coincide with the birth of Little Ricky.
Speaking of Desi…
Desi & Arnaz
The 1950s is the first decade we see Desi (pronounced DEH-zee) appearing regularly the U.S. baby name data — thanks to both father and son (though Junior’s birth in 1953 is no doubt behind the name’s increase in usage that particular year).
Several months after baby Desi was born, the very first issue of TV Guide magazine came out — and guess who was on the cover?
The surname Arnaz (pronounced ahr-NEZ) debuted in the data in 1958, and spelling variant Arnez first popped up in 1960.
Now it’s your turn: Do you love the name Lucy? Or do you prefer Lucille?
P.S. Another influence on the name Ricky during this period was Ricky Nelson, the son of another TV couple: Ozzie and Harriet Nelson.
Sources:
- I Love Lucy – Britannica.com
- Logan, Michael. “TV Guide Magazine’s 60th Anniversary: How Desi Arnaz Jr. Became Our First Cover Star.” TV Guide 3 Apr. 2013.
- SSA
Images:
- Clipping from the cover of Life magazine (6 Apr. 1953)
- Clipping from the cover of TV Guide magazine (3 Apr. 1953)
