Where did the baby name Sacario come from in 2002?

Rapper Sacario in the music video for "If I Could Go!" (2002)
Sacario

The name Sacario appeared in the U.S. baby name data for three years straight, then dropped back below the 5-baby threshold:

  • 2005: unlisted
  • 2004: 6 baby boys named Sacario
  • 2003: 14 baby boys named Sacario [peak]
  • 2002: 12 baby boys named Sacario [debut]
  • 2001: unlisted

What put it there?

A rapper named Sacario, who was featured (along with Lil’ Mo) in one of 2002’s catchiest songs: “If I Could Go!” by Angie Martinez.

“If I Could Go!” [vid] was released in May of 2002. In September, it peaked on several different Billboard charts — most notably the Hot 100 chart (at #15), but also the Hot Rap Songs chart (#11) and the Hot R&B/Hip Hop Songs chart (#26).

Sacario, whose real name is Jamar Austin, co-wrote the track. His featured part is fairly extensive, and he even name-checked himself in one line:

Sacario, the name awaits the whole issue

His rap name may be based on the Spanish word sicario, meaning “hitman.”

What are your thoughts on the name Sacario?

P.S. Angie Martinez had a second career as a rapper in the late ’90s and early 2000s, but she’s better known as a longtime NYC radio personality. She was recently inducted into the Radio Hall of Fame, in fact.

Sources: Angie Martinez – Billboard, If I Could Go! – Wikipedia, Angie Martinez – If I Could Go | Genius Lyrics, SSA

Image: Screenshot of the music video for “If I Could Go!”

Another tennis player named after Martina Navratilova

Tennis player Martina Navratilova (in 1980)
Martina Navratilova

About a decade ago, I wrote a post about how tennis great Martina Hingis (b. 1980) was named after tennis legend Martina Navratilova (b. 1956).

Recently, I learned that yet another professional tennis player — Martina Trevisan, who was born in Italy in 1993 — was also named for Navratilova.

At a post-match press conference held during the French Open a couple of months ago, Martina Trevisan was asked about her name. She responded (about a third of the way though this video):

“My mom gave me that name and for sure it’s for Navratilova. And I’m not feeling pressure for the name. I mean, I like [it] also.”

Currently, Trevisan is ranked #1 in Italy and #24 in the world according to the WTA (Women’s Tennis Association).

Sources:

Image: Adapted from Martina Navratilova photo by Hans van Dijk via Nationaal Archief under CC0.

Babies named for Gebhard Leberecht von Blücher

Prussian military leader Gebhard Leberecht von Blücher (1742-1819)
Gebhard Leberecht von Blücher

At the age of 71, retired Prussian military leader Gebhard Leberecht von Blücher returned to active service after war broke out (again) between Prussia and France in early 1813.

Later the same year, he was one of the victors in the Battle of Leipzig (the “largest military engagement in 19th-century Europe”), and, in mid-1815, he became an important contributor to the Allied defeat of Napoleon at the Battle of Waterloo.

Many dozens of babies were named for Blücher in the early 1800s. Most of them were born in Germany and England, but others were born in the U.S. and elsewhere. Here’s a sampling…

  • Frederick Von Blucher Scrutton, b. 1814 in England
  • John Christoph Blucher Ehringhaus, b. 1814 in the U.S. (North Carolina)
  • William Blucher Dolton, b. 1814 in England
  • Christian Gebhard Lebrecht Karup, b. 1814 in Denmark
  • Blucher Wellington Macan, b. 1815 in England
  • Gebhard Leberecht Friedrich Wilhelm Klammrott, b. 1815 in Germany
  • Wellington Blucher Peirce, b. 1815 in the U.S. (Vermont)
  • Friedrich Gebhard Leberecht Conrad, b. circa 1815 in Germany
  • Henry Wellington Blucher Haggis, b 1816 in England
  • Blücher Wellington Bülow Leopold Herrmann, b. circa 1816 in Germany
    • His third given name no doubt refers to Bülow. :)
  • Franz Blücher Wellington Victor Fischer, b. 1816 in Prussia
  • Gebhard Lebrecht Weltzein, b. 1816 in Germany
  • Blucher Ingham, b. circa 1817 in England
  • Paul Gebhard Lebrecht Riebow, b. 1818 in Germany
  • Nelson Wellington Blucher Jefferys, b. 1819 in England
  • Wellington Blucher Fisher, b. 1819 in the U.S. (West Virginia)
  • Picton Blucher Liddle, b. circa 1820 in England
    • His first name refers to Gen. Thomas Picton, who was killed at Waterloo.
  • Marshall Blucher Dumford, b. circa 1821 in the U.S. (Ohio)
  • Friedrich Wilhelm Gebhard Leberecht Büttner, b. 1822 in Germany

A handful of German baby girls got feminized versions of the name, such as Blücherdine, Blücherine, Blüchertine, and Blücherhilde (hilde means “battle, war”).

Blücher’s middle name, Leberecht, was a relatively recent Protestant coinage made up of the German words lebe, “live,” and recht, “right.”

Sources:

Where did the baby name Kecia come from in 1962?

Finnish model Kecia Nyman on the cover of Vogue (Sept. 15, 1965)
Kecia Nyman

The baby name Kecia both debuted and peaked in the U.S. baby name data in the 1960s:

  • 1966: 208 baby girls named Kecia [rank: 672nd]
  • 1965: 560 baby girls named Kecia [rank: 392nd] (peak usage)
  • 1964: 265 baby girls named Kecia [rank: 617th]
  • 1963: 43 baby girls named Kecia
  • 1962: 11 baby girls named Kecia (debut)
  • 1961: unlisted
  • 1960: unlisted

What was making it so trendy?

A Finnish fashion model named Kecia Nyman.

The height of her career was in the mid-to-late ’60s, when she was being featured on magazine covers, in television commercials, and apparently even on boxes of Kotex.

But she’d been appearing on major magazine covers since at least 1962. She was on the cover of the U.S. edition of Vogue that September, for instance.

Right after Kecia debuted in the data, a slew of Kecia-like names followed suit:

1963196419651966
Kisha7*175034
Kesia.17*2912
Keshia.14*1930
Kesha.14*3434
Kechia.12*12.
Keesha.8*1312
Kasha.6*57
Kiesha..16*13
Keica..8*.
Keicha..8*.
Keysha..6*6
Lakecia..6*5
Kicia..6*.
Keisa...5*
*Debut

(Keshia was later popularized by The Cosby Show.)

I don’t know the story behind Kecia Nyman’s name. It could be based on the Biblical name Keziah, or on the Finnish word kesä, meaning “summer.” It also happens to bear a resemblance to Kaisa, a Finnish diminutive of Katherine.

I also couldn’t find a clip of Kecia saying her name, so I can’t offer you an official pronunciation.

But here’s an interesting (if random) fact: Kecia’s older sister Tamara, who was also a successful model, stopped modeling in 1966 when she married into the royal family of Liechtenstein.

What are your thoughts on the baby name Kecia? How would you spell it?

Sources: Girl Name Kecia – BabyNamesHub.com, Kecia Nyman – Wikipedia, SSA