What popularized the baby name Brandy in the early 1970s?

The baby name Brandy — which comes from the name of the alcoholic beverage — first appeared in the U.S. data as a girl name during the WWII era.

Over the next few decades, usage of the name slowly increased with some help from pop culture. The films Two of a Kind (1951), Destry (1954), and Hatari! (1962) all featured female characters named Brandy, and several early TV shows (such as The Untouchables, The Defenders, and Tales of Wells Fargo) likewise included minor female characters with the name.

Then, in the early 1970s, the usage of Brandy suddenly tripled:

• 1974: 3,831 baby girls named Brandy [rank: 80th]
• 1973: 3,714 baby girls named Brandy [rank: 82nd]
• 1972: 2,082 baby girls named Brandy [rank: 140th]
• 1971: 704 baby girls named Brandy [rank: 353rd]
• 1970: 610 baby girls named Brandy [rank: 385th]

Other spellings (such as Brandi, Brandie, Brandee, Brande, and Brandye) also got a boost.

Why?

Because of the soft-rock song “Brandy (You’re a Fine Girl)” [vid] by the New Jersey band Looking Glass.

It was released as a single in May of 1972 and reached the #1 spot on Billboard‘s Hot 100 chart in late August.

The song was about a female bartender named Brandy who, though she served many of the sailors passing through her harbor town, pined for a particular one (who’d left her to return to the sea).

Band member Elliot Lurie wrote the song. How did he choose Brandy’s name?

The name was derived from a high school girlfriend I had whose name was Randy with an “R.” Usually when I write […] I strum some guitar and kind of sing along with the first things that come to mind. Her name came up. Then I started writing the rest of the song, and it was about a barmaid. I thought Randy was an unusual name for a girl, it could go either way, and (the song was about) a barmaid, so I changed it to Brandy.

Thanks to the song, the name Brandy entered the girls’ top 100 in 1973.

But that’s not the end of the story. Later the same decade, the name got another boost from another song:

• 1980: 6,410 baby girls named Brandy [rank: 42nd]
• 1979: 6,775 baby girls named Brandy [rank: 39th]
• 1978: 6,699 baby girls named Brandy [rank: 37th] (peak ranking)
• 1977: 5,477 baby girls named Brandy [rank: 51st]
• 1976: 5,232 baby girls named Brandy [rank: 55th]

This time it was the R&B song “Brandy” [vid] by the vocal group The O’Jays.

It was released as a single in July of 1978 and went on to peak at #79 on Billboard‘s Hot 100 chart in October.

The song was about a dog named Brandy that had run away from home, believe it or not. An advertisement for the song in Billboard magazine offered the following visual:

Future R&B singer Brandy Norwood, who was born in early 1979, might have been named with the O’Jays tune in mind.

So, how did the liquor come to be known as “brandy” in the first place? The word derives from the Dutch term brandewijn, meaning “burnt wine” (as brandy is created from wine that has been distilled via heat). It’s possible that Brandy’s emergence as a baby name in the mid-20th century was inspired by the trendiness of Sherry (which, in turn, was likely influenced by the rise of Cheryl).

What are your thoughts on the name Brandy?

Sources:

• Looking Glass (band) – Wikipedia
• The Billboard Hot 100: Week of August 26, 1972, Week of October 7, 1978
• Paulson, Dave. “The urban legends of ‘Brandy (You’re a Fine Girl)’.” Nashville Tennessean 16 Dec. 2016.
• Cruse, Kiley. “Cleveland Evans: Brandy’s fame hasn’t translated to name’s popularity.” Omaha World-Herald 11 Feb. 2024.
• Brandy – Wikipedia
• IMDb
• SSA

Second image: Clipping from Billboard magazine (5 Aug. 1978)