What popularized the baby name Arianny in the early 2010s?

UFC "Ring Girl" Arianny Celeste
Arianny Celeste

The name Arianny, which started popping up in the U.S. baby name data in the 1990s, began rising in usage around 2008 and peaked in 2013:

  • 2014: 126 baby girls named Arianny
  • 2013: 158 baby girls named Arianny [peak]
  • 2012: 147 baby girls named Arianny
  • 2011: 149 baby girls named Arianny
  • 2010: 120 baby girls named Arianny
  • 2009: 55 baby girls named Arianny
Graph of the usage of the baby name Arianny in the U.S. since 1880
Usage of the baby name Arianny

Why?

I’d say the most direct influence was model and “octagon girl” Arianny (pronounced ahr-ee-AH-nee) Celeste, who was born (as Penelope López Márquez) in Las Vegas in 1985.

She started working as a ring girl with the mixed martial arts promotion company UFC in 2006, and she was declared “Ringcard Girl of the Year” four times in a row (2008-2011) by the World MMA Awards. (She has since won the award two more times, in 2014 and 2015.)

That said…the prevailing trendiness of names like Arianna and Ariana must have made the name Arianny sound particularly appealing to expectant parents around that time. (Interesting fact: Both of those names saw peak usage the year after Ariana Grande released her 2013 debut album, then immediately started slipping.)

What are your thoughts on the name Arianny?

Sources: Arianny Celeste – Wikipedia, SSA

P.S. Another UFC-related name, Chael, peaked the very same year…

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