Where did the baby name Tandeka come from in 1967?

Tandeka and Zoleka Tukutese at 6 months old.
Tandeka and Zoleka Tukutese

The baby name Tandeka was a one-hit wonder in the U.S. baby name data in 1967:

  • 1969: unlisted
  • 1968: unlisted
  • 1967: 7 baby girls named Tandeka [debut]
  • 1966: unlisted
  • 1965: unlisted

Where did it come from?

A quintuplet!

Tandeka was the name of one of the famous Tukutese quintuplets born to Xhosa parents Nogesi Gquzulu (mom) and Tafeni Tukutese (dad) in South Africa in February of 1966.

The Tukutese quintuplets (b. 1966)
The Tukutese quintuplets

U.S. newspapers and periodicals spelled (and defined) the quints’ names in various ways…

  1. Kululekile or Kolekile (boy), “happy” or “happiness” (5 lbs., 2 oz.)
  2. Tembekile (boy), “trusted” (4 lbs. 12 oz.)
  3. Mbambile (boy), “devoted” or “I’ve got it” or “he’s got it” (4 lbs. 12 oz.)
  4. Zoleka (girl), “serenity” (4 lbs. 12 oz.)
  5. Tandeka (girl), “beloved” or “loved one” (4 lbs. 2 oz.)

And, interestingly, the name of quint #3 was later changed. The quints’ mother had “defied an age-old tribal custom” by choosing the names herself while at the hospital. According to tradition, it was “the prerogative of the grandfather or great grandfather to name children.”

One of the baby boys was named Mbambile, meaning “He’s Got It” by the mother, but he had his name changed by his great grandfather, 89-year-old Mr. Gqusungu Zenzile, who came from the Transkei to see his great grandchildren. Mr. Zenzile changed his name to Gilindoda, meaning “Giant.”

This change was never mentioned by the U.S. media, though. Even when Ebony magazine published an article about the quints in December of 1966 — an extra round of exposure that no doubt contributed to Tandeka appearing in the SSA data in 1967 — quint #3 was still being called Mbambile.

What are your thoughts on the name Tandeka?

P.S. These days, the names Tandeka and Tembekile are more commonly rendered “Thandeka” and “Thembekile.” In Xhosa, th is pronounced like t, but with more aspiration.

Sources:

Images: Clippings from Ebony magazine (Dec. 1966)

Baby born to rugby fans, named Leicester

rugby legs

New Zealand’s national rugby team, the All Blacks, recently welcomed a player named Leicester Fainga’anuku. (His first name is pronounced LEH-stir, just like “Lester.”)

Fainga’anuku was born in Tonga and grew up in New Zealand, but was named after a city in England.

Why?

Because, right around the time he was born, his father — a member of Tonga’s national rugby team — was abroad in England, playing in the 1999 Rugby World Cup. Specifically, Tonga was playing a match against Italy [vid] and unexpectedly won. As Leicester Fainga’anuku put it:

It was Leicester Stadium. They won by a dropped goal, three points and I think they were partying hard.

Sources:

Image: Adapted from Rugby socks by Steven Lilley under CC BY-SA 2.0.

Babies named for Arthur Wellesley, Duke of Wellington

British politician Arthur Wellesley, 1st Duke of Wellington (1769-1852)
Arthur Wellesley, 1st Duke of Wellington

British soldier and politician Arthur Wellesley, 1st Duke of Wellington, is best remembered for being the commander of the Anglo-allied army that (with the assistance of the Prussian Army) achieved victory at the Battle of Waterloo in 1815.

Alexander I, the Czar of Russia, was to call him ‘Le vainqueur du vainqueur du monde‘, the conqueror of the world’s conqueror, and the world’s conqueror was, of course, Napoleon.

But, even before that, Wellesley had gained fame for his victories during the Peninsular War. And, afterward, he served as British Prime Minister (primarily from 1828 to 1830, but also for a few extra weeks in 1834).

Thousands of baby boys across the United Kingdom (and beyond) were named in his honor starting in the early 1810s. Some examples…

Interestingly, Wellesley wasn’t born with the surname Wellesley. He was originally a Wesley. Sometime in the late 1790s, “the Wesley family reverted to the old Anglo-Norman spelling of Wellesley.” Arthur first signed his name “Arthur Wellesley” in May of 1798 (while he was stationed in India).

Sources:

Image: Adapted from Arthur Wellesley, 1st Duke of Wellington (c. 1815-16) by Thomas Lawrence

How did “Yentl” influence baby names in 1984?

The characters Avigdor and Yentl from the movie "Yentl" (1983).
Avigdor and Yentl from “Yentl“

The Jewish names Yentl and Avigdor both debuted in the U.S. baby name data in 1984:

Girls named YentlBoys named Avigdor
198611.
1985136
198412*5*
1983..
1982..
*Debut

Why?

Because both were featured in the 1983 musical film Yentl, which starred Barbra Streisand and Mandy Patinkin as students (Yentl and Avigdor) at a Jewish religious school in Poland in the early 1900s. Only males could attend the school, so Yentl had to dress and live as a young man, “Anshel,” in order to receive an education.

The film was based on a 1975 play which was, in turn, based on the short story “Yentl the Yeshiva Boy” (1963) by Isaac Bashevis Singer.

What do these names mean?

Yentl is a diminutive of Yente, which comes from the Yentille, the Yiddish version of the French name Gentille, meaning “noble, aristocratic.”

Avigdor is a Hebrew name derived from the expression avi Gedor, meaning “Gedor’s father.” The name Gedor means “wall.” (Avigdor was one of the by-names of Moses in the Talmud, the central text of Rabbinic Judaism.)

And Anshel, the name Yentl used while disguised as a male, is the Yiddish form of Anselm, a Germanic name made up of elements meaning “god” and “helmet, protection.”

What are your thoughts on these names?

Sources: Yentl (film) – Wikipedia, Behind the Name, The Name Avigdor | BH Open Databases,