The name Zhane first appeared in the U.S. baby name data in 1993. It saw peak usage the very next year:
- 1995: 203 baby girls named Zhane [rank: 934th]
- 1994: 391 baby girls named Zhane [rank: 584th]
- 1993: 69 baby girls named Zhane [debut]
- 1992: unlisted
- 1991: unlisted
Here’s a visual:
The sudden trendiness of Zhane gave boosts to similar names (like Zana) and produced a crop of sound-alike names, such as…
| 1992 | 1993 | 1994 | 1995 | |
| Jhane | . | 12* | 63 | 37 |
| Zhana | . | 8* | 48 | 26 |
| Zhanae | . | . | 14* | 8 |
| Jhanae | . | . | 10* | 10 |
| Zhanee | . | . | 10* | . |
| Jhanee | . | . | 5* | 5 |
| Zhanea | . | . | 5* | . |
It also inspired parents to create Zhane-based names, including Dazhane, Dezhane, Azhane, Daizhane, Tazhane, Auzhane, Dayzhane, Razhane, Ajhane, Dezhanae, Dejhanae, Zhania, and Zhanaya.
So, what was influencing all of these names?
R&B duo Zhané (pronounced zhah-NAY), made up of vocalists Jean Norris and Renée Neufville.
Zhané’s biggest hit, the catchy “Hey, Mr. D.J.,” was released in August of 1993 and reached #6 on Billboard‘s Hot 100 chart. Their next-biggest hit, “Groove Thang,” came out early the following year.
Both songs were included on the duo’s 1994 debut album, the cleverly titled Pronounced Jah-Nay.
So how did the two singers — who met while attending Temple University in Philadelphia in the early 1990s — come up with the name “Zhane”? Here’s what Norris told Soul Train about a decade ago:
For our name, Renée had the idea of using the French pronunciation of our names Jean and Renée, which sounded like “Jahnay”. We added a Z for a little flavor and we came up with Zhané.
What are your thoughts on the name Zhane?
Sources:
- “Soul Flashback: Zhané’s Jean Baylor Talks About Life as a Solo Artist.” Soultrain.com 17 Nov. 2011.
- SSA
- Zhané – Wikipedia
P.S. The duo’s success may have had an influence on the similar-sounding name Dijonnaise as well…