How did the movie “El Cid” influence baby names in 1962?

The characters Rodrigo and Chimène from the movie "El Cid" (1961).
Rodrigo and Chimène from “El Cid

The historical epic El Cid opened in movie theaters in December of 1961.

The movie was a romanticized version of the tale of 11th-century Spanish knight Rodrigo Diaz de Vivar, who came to be known as El Cid — from the Spanish-Arabic term al-sid, meaning “the lord” — during his lifetime.

El Cid starred Charlton Heston as Rodrigo, and Sophia Loren as Rodrigo’s wife Chimène (pronounced shee-mehn). El Cid’s wife was actually named Jimena (sometimes spelled Ximena); for some reason, the filmmakers decided to use the French form of the name for the character, though they didn’t similarly turn “Rodrigo” into “Rodrigue.”

The following year, three El Cid-inspired baby names popped up for the first time in the U.S. baby name data: the girl name Chimene, and the boy names Cid and Elcid.

Chimene (f)Cid (m)Elcid (m)
1964135.
1963177.
196220*6*5*
1961...
1960...
*Debut

(Elcid never returned to the data, making it a one-hit wonder.)

What are your thoughts on these names?

P.S. Here’s a famous Chimene who was born in England in the early 1980s…

Sources: El Cid (1961) – TCM, El Cid – Britannica

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