The curious name Yancy, after dropping out of the U.S. baby name data for a year in 1957, made a strong return in 1958 and reached peaked usage in 1959:
- 1960: 67 baby boys named Yancy
- 1959: 123 baby boys named Yancy (peak usage)
- 1958: 25 baby boys named Yancy
- 1957: unlisted
- 1956: 6 baby boys named Yancy
Why?
Because of the single-season adventure TV series Yancy Derringer, which aired on CBS from October of 1958 to June of 1959.
The show was set in New Orleans during the late 1860s. The title character, Yancy Derringer (played by actor Jock Mahoney), was “a onetime wealthy plantation owner reduced to working as a professional gambler during the post-Civil War era.” But he wasn’t merely a gentleman gambler — he was also secretly working as a Federal agent, helping protect the city of New Orleans from crime and corruption.
Fittingly, the state that welcomed the most babies named Yancy in 1959 was Louisiana (with 12). In second place was New York (with 11).
The first name Yancy represents transferred usage of the surname Yancy, which is of obscure origin. It might be based on any of various other surnames, such as Jansen (Dutch) or Jancey (English).
What are your thoughts on the first name Yancy?
Sources:
- Yancy Derringer – Western Clippings
- Yancy Derringer – Wikipedia
- Brode, Douglas. Shooting Stars of the Small Screen: Encyclopedia of TV Western Actors, 1946–Present. Austin: University of Texas Press, 2009.
- Hanks, Patrick, Simon Lenarcic and Peter McClure. (Eds.) Dictionary of American Family Names. 2nd ed. New York: Oxford University Press, 2022.
- SSA
Image: Screenshot of Yancy Derringer
I have a fondness for Yancy, and I confess it’s been on my ‘possible future dog names’ list for ages. However, for humans, I think it’s just uncommon enough that it’s more suited to being used as a middle name.