The baby name Davy went into decline after reaching peak usage in 1955 (thanks to Davy Crockett).
During the second half the ’60s, though, the name did see a two-year uptick. It even re-entered the boys’ top 1,000 one last time.
- 1969: 48 baby boys named Davy
- 1968: 57 baby boys named Davy [rank: 974th]
- 1967: 43 baby boys named Davy
- 1966: 22 baby boys named Davy
- 1965: 26 baby boys named Davy
What accounts for this brief rise?
British actor and singer Davy Jones.
Jones was one of the stars of the musical sitcom The Monkees, which aired on NBC for two seasons (from September of 1966 to March of 1968).
The series followed a struggling rock ‘n’ roll quartet called The Monkees (which was patterned after The Beatles). The four Monkees — Davy, Micky, Michael, and Peter — “romp[ed] through miscellaneous comic misadventures,” taking breaks to sing original songs penned by professional songwriters (including Carole King and Neil Diamond).
The Monkees was a hit — winning the Emmy Award for Outstanding Comedy Series in mid-1967, and turning diminutive Davy Jones into a teen idol.
The show’s fictional rock band also achieved impressive real-life success. Six of the Monkees’ singles reached the top five on Billboard‘s Hot 100 chart. Jones sang lead vocals on three of these singles:
- “A Little Bit Me, a Little Bit You,” which peaked at #2 in April of 1967,
- “Daydream Believer” [vid], the #1 song in the nation for four weeks straight in December of 1967, and
- “Valleri,” which peaked at #3 in March of 1968.
David “Davy” Jones was born in Manchester in 1945. Prior to becoming a Monkee, he’d acted in West End and Broadway productions of Oliver! and released a solo single [vid]. He was well-known enough that another British David “Davy” Jones — an aspiring singer-songwriter — decided to differentiate himself by adopting the stage name David Bowie in early 1966.
Sources:
- Wikipedia: Davy Jones, The Monkees (TV series), Can’t Help Thinking About Me
- “Fall Preview 1977-1967 Shows.” TV Guide 10 Sept. 1966.
- Greene, Andy. “Davy Jones: The Life of a Monkee.” Rolling Stone 29 Mar. 2012.
- SSA
Image: Screenshot of The Monkees