How did “I Love Lucy” influence baby names in the 1950s?

Lucille Ball, Desi Arnaz, and their two children on the cover of LIFE magazine (Apr. 1953)
The Arnaz family

The sitcom I Love Lucy (1951-1957) was TV’s first mega-hit. It won five Emmys and was the most-watched TV show in the nation for four out of its six seasons.

The central characters were Lucy and Ricky Ricardo, played by real-life couple Lucille Ball (born in New York in 1911) and Desiderio “Desi” Arnaz (born in Cuba in 1917).

Ricky worked as a singer and bandleader at the Tropicana nightclub, while Lucy was a housewife on a quest for show business fame who “concocted hilarious (and ultimately doomed) schemes to finagle her way out of the kitchen and into the limelight.”

Though the original show ended in 1957, a modified version called The Ford Lucille Ball-Desi Arnaz Show kept the characters on the air for several more years.

So did I Love Lucy affect U.S. baby names? Yes, though not as much as one might expect, given its popularity.

Lucy & Lucille

The old-fashioned names Lucy and Lucille spent most of the 20th century declining in usage.

But Lucy saw an increase in 1952, and both names saw increases in 1953. (The most fashionable L-name at that time was #1 Linda.)

Ricky & Ricardo

Both Ricky and Ricardo — which had been rising in usage since the 1940s — saw accelerated rises during the 1950s.

One event that drew attention to Ricky specifically was the birth of Lucy and Ricky’s baby, “Little Ricky,” on an especially popular episode of I Love Lucy that aired in January of 1953 (the day before the inauguration of Dwight D. Eisenhower). In fact, the Cesarean birth of Lucille and Desi’s real-life baby Desiderio “Desi” Arnaz, Jr., was scheduled to coincide with the birth of Little Ricky.

Speaking of Desi…

Desi & Arnaz

The 1950s is the first decade we see Desi (pronounced DEH-zee) appearing regularly the U.S. baby name data — thanks to both father and son (though Junior’s birth in 1953 is no doubt behind the name’s increase in usage that particular year).

Several months after baby Desi was born, the very first issue of TV Guide magazine came out — and guess who was on the cover?

Desi Arnaz, Jr., on the cover of the first issue of "TV Guide" magazine
Desi Arnaz, Jr.

The surname Arnaz (pronounced ahr-NEZ) debuted in the data in 1958, and spelling variant Arnez first popped up in 1960.

Now it’s your turn: Do you love the name Lucy? Or do you prefer Lucille?

P.S. Another influence on the name Ricky during this period was Ricky Nelson, the son of another TV couple: Ozzie and Harriet Nelson.

Sources:

Images:

  • Clipping from the cover of Life magazine (6 Apr. 1953)
  • Clipping from the cover of TV Guide magazine (3 Apr. 1953)

Baby name story: Garance

Madder (Garance in French)
Madder (Garance in French)

American journalist/editor Garance Franke-Ruta was born in the summer of 1972 in southeastern France, then “raised by artistic parents in Mexico and New Mexico.”

Here’s how Garance (pronounced gah-RAHNSS) explained the origin of her unusual first name (links added by me):

The river Durance runs through the Vaucluse, and I was named Garance in honor of that sound and the main character in Marcel Carne’s Les Enfants du Paradis, one of the classics of French cinema. The character, played by Arletty, uses Garance as a stage name, though her real name in the movie is Claire Reine.

The French word garance refers to several things: the madder plant, the dye made from the root of the madder plant, and the deep purple-red color of that dye.

What are your thoughts on the name Garance?

Sources:

P.S. Garance was also the name of one of the days (Brumaire 23/November 13) of the French republican calendar, which was used during the French Revolution.

Where did the baby name Camacho come from in 1985?

Puerto Rican boxer Hector Camacho (1962-2012)
Hector Camacho

The baby name Camacho was a one-hit wonder in the U.S. baby name data in 1985:

  • 1987: unlisted
  • 1986: unlisted
  • 1985: 5 baby boys named Camacho [debut]
  • 1984: unlisted
  • 1983: unlisted

Why?

Because of Puerto Rican boxer Héctor “Macho” Camacho. He’d been competing professionally since 1980, and in 1985 he won the WBC lightweight title (defeating José Luis Ramírez of Mexico in August).

The “very common” Portuguese surname Camacho probably originated in the Andalusia region of Spain, but its meaning is unknown.

Sources:

Image: Clipping from the cover of KO Magazine (Jun. 1984)

Baby name story: Mikado

The Mikado

From mid-1885 until the end of 1886, English actor James Danvers appeared in the D’Oyly Carte Opera Company’s touring production of the Gilbert and Sullivan comic opera The Mikado.

During that period — specifically, in early 1886 — he and his wife welcomed a baby boy in Liverpool.

What did they name him?

William Mikado Danvers.

That baby grew up to become comedic entertainer Billy Danvers. He appeared in music hall and variety shows from the age of four until the year he died (1964).

The Japanese word mikado, pronounced mih-KAH-doh, was formerly used as a title for the emperor of Japan. (These days, the preferred term is tenno.)

Sources: James Danvers – The D’Oyly Carte Opera Company, Willie Mikado Danvers – FamilySearch, Don Ross and ‘Thanks for the Memory’ – Voices of Variety, Tenno – Japanese title – Britannica