According to the U.S. baby name data, the usage of Miles rose slowly during the first half of the 1980s, then saw a higher-than-expected increase in 1986 specifically:
| Boys named Miles | Boys named Myles | |
| 1988 | 887 [rank: 265th] | 385 [rank: 464th] |
| 1987 | 835 [rank: 262nd] | 411 [rank: 434th] |
| 1986 | 777 [rank: 275th] | 382 [rank: 440th] |
| 1985 | 456 [rank: 397th] | 213 [rank: 602nd] |
| 1984 | 409 [rank: 408th] | 162 [rank: 681st] |
The spelling Myles saw a similar increase the same year.
Why?
My guess is a character from the children’s TV series Sesame Street, which was “the most-watched program on public television” in the mid-1980s. (Fourteen million people — five million of whom were adults — tuned in to the daily program at least once per week.)
In December of 1985, two of the show’s main characters, married couple Susan and Gordon (played by actors Loretta Long and Roscoe Orman), adopted a baby boy named Miles. He was played by Roscoe Orman’s own 1-year-old son, Miles Orman.
The real Miles continued portraying the fictional Miles on Sesame Street for about eight years. The role was then handed off to child actor Imani Patterson.
What are your thoughts on the baby name Miles?
P.S. A year before joining the cast of Sesame Street, Roscoe Orman played the title character in the movie Willie Dynamite…
Sources:
- Miles’ adoption – Muppet Wiki – Fandom
- Miles Orman – Muppet Wiki – Fandom
- Blau, Eleanor. “‘Sesame Street’ Girls for Bumpy Times.” New York Times 23 Mar. 1986.
- Miles Orman Instagram post (16 Feb. 2023)
- SSA
Image: Screenshot of Sesame Street