Where did the baby name Perette come from in 1962?

Perette Dijon, a minor character from the TV series "Route 66" (1960-1964).
Perette Dijon from “Route 66“

The name Perette first appeared in the U.S. baby name data in 1962:

  • 1964: unlisted
  • 1963: unlisted
  • 1962: 16 baby girls named Perette [debut]
  • 1961: unlisted
  • 1960: unlisted

Ultimately, Perette was a one-hit wonder — the top one-hit wonder of the year, in fact.

And where did it come from?

A single-episode character on the popular TV show Route 66. The episode, “Mon Petit Chou,” first aired on November 24, 1961. It was set in Pittsburgh and guest-starred French actress Macha Méril as character Perette Dijon, a chanteuse with a Svengali-like manager named Glenn (played by Lee Marvin).

Macha was born Maria-Magdalena Vladimirovna Gagarina, and is technically a princess. (Her parents were Ukrainian nobility who fled to the south of France during the Russian Revolution.) When she decided to become an actress, she continued to use her nickname Macha, a diminutive of Maria, and added the surname Méril in tribute to jazz singer Helen Merrill (born Jelena Ana Milcetic).

Do you like the name Perette? Do you like it more or less than Macha?

Sources: “Mon Petit Chou,” Route 66, TV Episode 1961 – IMDb, Macha Méril – Wikipedia

Triplets named for Dodgers pitchers

On October 6, 1963, the Los Angeles Dodgers won the fourth and final game of the 1963 World Series against the New York Yankees. They swept the series with the help of their pitchers — Sandy Koufax, Don Drysdale, Johnny Podres, and reliever Ron Perranoski — who collectively gave up only four runs in all four games combined.

The same day, Mr. and Mrs. Eddie A. Turner of Compton, California, welcomed triplets — two boys and one girl. Several days later, they announced that they’d named the babies after Dodgers pitchers:

  • Donald Scott – for Donald Scott “Don” Drysdale
  • Ronald Peter – for Ronald Peter “Ron” Perranoski
  • Sandy (the girl) – for Sanford “Sandy” Koufax

Sources:

Where did the baby name Catana come from in 1948?

The character Catana Perez from the movie "Captain from Castile" (1947).
Catana Perez from “Captain from Castile“

The curious name Catana* popped up in the baby name data in late 1940s:

  • 1951: unlisted
  • 1950: 6 baby girls named Catana
  • 1949: 7 baby girls named Catana
  • 1948: 8 baby girls named Catana [debut]
  • 1947: unlisted

Why?

Because of the historical adventure movie Captain from Castile, released in December of 1947.

The film’s protagonist was young Spanish nobleman Pedro de Vargas, who traveled to the New World to help Hernán Cortés conquer Mexico. Pedro’s love interest was Catana Perez.

Pedro was played by actor Tyrone Power (father of Romina and Taryn) and Catana by actress Jean Peters (who went on to marry Howard Hughes).

The movie was based on the 1945 book of the same name by Samuel Shellabarger. Captain from Castile was the 8th-best selling novel in the nation the year it came out.

*Not to be confused with Cortana…

Popular baby names in Northern Ireland (UK), 2020

Flag of the United Kingdom
Flag of the United Kingdom

According to the Northern Ireland Statistics and Research Agency (NISRA), the most popular baby names in Northern Ireland last year were Grace and James.

Here are the Northern Ireland’s top 10 girl names and top 10 boy names of 2020:

Girl Names

  1. Grace, 176 baby girls
  2. Emily, 146
  3. Isla, 144
  4. Fiadh, 138
  5. Olivia, 133
  6. Sophia, 125
  7. Sophie, 123
  8. Amelia, 115
  9. Lucy, 112
  10. Freya and Ella, 101 each (tie)

Boy Names

  1. James, 190 baby boys
  2. Jack, 175
  3. Noah, 174
  4. Charlie, 169
  5. Oliver, 134
  6. Thomas, 119
  7. Finn, 112 (tie)
  8. Theo, 112 (tie)
  9. Harry, 111 (tie)
  10. Cillian, 111 (tie)

In the girls’ top 10, Fiadh, Lucy and Freya replaced Anna and Evie.

In the boys’ top 10, Finn, Theo, and Cillian replaced Jacob, Daniel, and Alfie.

And here’s a selection of names from the other end of the spectrum — names that were given to just 3 babies each in Northern Ireland last year:

Rare girl namesRare boy names
Alaia, Bronagh, Charley, Darla, Eriu, Florrie, Gabriella, Harmony, Izzy, Jill, Keeva, Liadan, Marnie, Nessa, Ottilie, Paisley, Realta, Sinead, TeaganArijus, Beauden, Connaire, Dubhaltach, Ephraim, Fiontan, Ger, Iarla, Jarlath, Kodi, Loughlin, Maxwell, Neil, Omar, Pauric, Quinton, Rogan, Seosamh, Terence

NISRA didn’t release the 2019 data during 2020, so I never wrote a post with the 2019 rankings. But I did write about the 2018 rankings, which were topped by Grace and James/Noah.

Next door in the Republic of Ireland, the top names of 2020 were Grace and Jack.

Source: Baby Names – NISRA

Image: Adapted from Flag of the United Kingdom (public domain)