The baby name Wrayanne was a one-hit wonder in the U.S. baby name data in the late 1940s:
- 1950: unlisted
- 1949: unlisted
- 1948: 5 baby girls named Wrayanne [debut]
- 1947: unlisted
- 1946: unlisted
What was the source?
A girl in a bathing suit!
A photo of 17-year-old Wrayanne Teeple ran in newspapers nationwide in September of 1948. The caption revealed that Wrayanne would be one of about 50 girls posing for amateur photographers at the sixth annual Beach Girl-Amateur Photographer Contest in Long Beach, California. (She didn’t end up winning.)
Her name (sometimes misspelled Rayanne) was also mentioned in local California papers later that year, when she was selected as the “princess” of the Long Beach float in the Tournament of Roses Parade, which was held on the first day of 1949.
Wrayanne’s name was likely coined as a combination of her parents’ names, Ray and Georgiana.
What are your thoughts on the baby name Wrayanne?
Sources:
- “Lens Target.” Middlesboro Daily News 22 Sept. 1948: 8.
- “Fairy Float Wins Sweepstakes.” Long Beach Independent 2 Jan. 1949: 1.
- Wrayanne Teeple Lee (1930-2010) – Find A Grave