The 15 children of John Tyler

10th U.S. President John Tyler (1790-1862)
John Tyler: 10th president, 15 children

John Tyler became the unexpected 10th president of the United States in 1841, upon the sudden death of William Henry Harrison.

He wasn’t a particularly impressive commander-in-chief, but he was notable for at least one thing: having more legitimate children than any other U.S. president.

He married this first wife, Letitia Christian, in 1813. They had eight children:

  • Mary (b. 1815)
  • Robert (b. 1816)
  • John (b. 1819)
  • Letitia (b. 1821)
  • Elizabeth (b. 1823)
  • Anne Contesse (1825-1825) – John Tyler’s paternal grandmother’s maiden name was Contesse.
  • Alice (b. 1827)
  • Tazewell, called “Taz” (b. 1830) – He “was named by the older children after the Tyler family’s close friend, Littleton W. Tazewell.”

Letitia had a stroke in 1839, and died in 1842.

John married his second wife, Julia Gardiner, in 1844. They had seven more children:

  • David (b. 1846)
  • John (b. 1848)
  • Julia (b. 1849)
  • Lachlan (b. 1851) – Julia’s mother’s maiden name was McLachlan.
  • Lyon (b. 1853) – Probably named in honor of Julia’s ancestor Lion Gardiner.
  • Robert Fitzwalter, called “Fitz” (b. 1856) – He was “[n]amed Robert Fitzwalter in honor of Julia Tyler’s ancestor of thirteenth-century England.” (I found several contenders, but my guess is this guy.)
  • Pearl (b. 1860) – She “was originally to be named Margaret, but she was christened Pearl instead.”

The grand total? 15.

Which of the Tyler kids’ names do you like best?

Sources:

Where did the baby name Myzel come from in 2003?

myzel, television, baby name, 2000s

The rare name Myzel debuted impressively in the U.S. baby name data in 2003:

  • 2005: unlisted
  • 2004: 5 baby boys named Myzel
  • 2003: 20 baby boys named Myzel [debut]
  • 2002: unlisted
  • 2001: unlisted

Where did it come from?

A TV commercial.

Specifically, one of the four 2003 Nike shoe commercials that were built around the tagline, “There’s more fast out there.”

Three of the commercials featured professional athletes, but the fourth featured 14-year-old actor Myzel Robinson confidently rattling off all the people/things he’d race, and beat:

I’ll race my coach. I’ll race my dog. I’ll race any dog. I’ll race your dog. Pick the animal, I’ll race it and beat it. I’ll race you, your cousin, your auntie, your mom, your dad, your nephew, your nieces, whoever. You name somebody, and I’ll race ’em. I’ll race an all-American, all-state, world-class athlete. Point him out to me. I’ll race Lance Armstrong on his bike — 100 meters. 200 meters. Anybody. Anywhere. Anytime. Put ’em next to me, you say ‘go,’ I’ll race ’em. And I’ll beat ’em.”

His full name is on the screen for the first few seconds of the commercial:

Do you like the name Myzel?

Sources:

Popular baby names in Tasmania, 2020

According to the Tasmanian Government, the most popular baby names in Australia’s island state last year were Willow and Charlie.

Here are Tasmania’s top 10 girl names and top 10 boy names of 2020:

Girl Names

  1. Willow
  2. Grace
  3. Ruby
  4. Lucy
  5. Matilda
  6. Ava
  7. Ivy
  8. Hazel
  9. Charlotte
  10. Isla

Boy Names

  1. Charlie
  2. Oliver
  3. Noah
  4. Henry
  5. Elijah
  6. Theodore
  7. Jack
  8. Archie
  9. Mason
  10. Arlo

In the girls’ top 10, Grace, Matilda, and Hazel replaced Amelia, Evie, and Harper.

In the boys’ top 10, Elijah, Mason, and Arlo replaced George, Leo, and Harrison.

In 2019, the top two names were Willow and Oliver.

Source: Tasmanian top baby names – Tasmanian Government

Where did the baby name Zorita come from in 1950?

Zorita dancing with a snake in the movie "I Married a Savage" (1949).
Zorita (and snake) in “I Married a Savage“

The rare name Zorita has only ever popped up in the U.S. baby name data twice. The first time it appeared was 1950:

  • 1952: unlisted
  • 1951: unlisted
  • 1950: 5 baby girls named Zorita [debut]
  • 1949: unlisted
  • 1948: unlisted

Why?

My guess is an American burlesque dancer named Zorita, who was famous for dancing with a snake during her routines.

She performed from the 1930s to the 1950s, but did two things circa 1950 that would have garnered more attention than usual.

  • Starting in late 1949, she could be seen in the sexploitation film I Married a Savage. The trailer tempted viewers to watch “the beautiful Zorita do the secret sacred snake dance!”
  • In mid-1950, Zorita became the featured performer in the “girl show” section of a traveling carnival called World of Mirth. “The show consisted of Zorita dancing with a snake and clips from her movie. It grossed $82,000.”

I don’t think expectant parents were necessarily lining up to see the movie or the carnival act. But I do think that marketing for the film (and perhaps for the carnival) gave the name “Zorita” extra exposure, and that this exposure increased the usage of name just enough for it to debut in the baby name data.

The Miami Herald asked Zorita’s daughter Tawny about her mother’s stage name in 2001. Tawny said, “She told me a lot of stories, but she never told me that one. She liked to sound exotic. All I know is it had a ‘Z’ in it, and you could make it into a snake.” Sure enough, when Zorita signed her name, to the “Z” she added a loop (like the head of a snake) and an extra line (as a tongue).

There’s disagreement over Zorita’s birth name, but many sources from the late ’30s and early ’40s mention that her legal name (at that time) was Ada Brockett.

Do you like the name Zorita? (Do you like it more or less than the similar name Zorina?)

Sources:

Image: adapted from the I Married a Savage trailer – Internet Archive