Where did the baby name Chevelle come from in 1963?

Part of a Chevrolet Chevelle advertisement from the 1960s
Chevrolet Chevelle

Ready for another car-inspired baby name?

Today’s name is Chevelle, which made a big splash in the data in 1963 when it debuted both as a girl name and as a boy name — an uncommon occurrence.

  • 1966: 35 baby girls named Chevelle
  • 1965: 43 baby girls named Chevelle
  • 1964: 83 baby girls and 5 baby boys named Chevelle
  • 1963: 49 baby girls and 6 baby boys named Chevelle [dual debut]
  • 1962: unlisted
  • 1961: unlisted

But that’s not all! Also debuting in the data around this time were a slew of similar names: Chevell, Chevella, Shevelle, Shevell, and Shavelle.

The source, of course, was the Chevrolet Chevelle. The new car was introduced in August of 1963 and was an instant success.

How did the company come up with the name?

In all, Chevrolet personnel submitted some 3,000 suggestions for a name. Eventually the list was cut to a half-dozen, including Chevalle (which sounded too much like the French for “horse”) and Chevair.

Bunky Knudsen, Chevy’s general manager, made the final choice.

According to another source, Bunky* admitted that Chevelle was “a coined name with no special meaning.”

What do you think of the baby name Chevelle?

*Bunky’s real name was Semon. The nickname “Bunky,” given to him by his father, was a World War I-era term for bunkmate, or buddy.

Sources:

Popular baby names in Placer County (California), 2019

Flag of California
Flag of California

Over 9,000 babies were born in the California county of Placer two years ago.

What were the most popular names among these babies? Olivia and Lucas, according to data from the Placer County Clerk-Recorder’s Office.

Here are Placer County’s top 10 girl names and top 10 boy names of 2019:

Girl names

  1. Olivia
  2. Amelia
  3. Emma
  4. Charlotte
  5. Abigail
  6. Mia
  7. Evelyn
  8. Sophia
  9. Ella
  10. Penelope

Boy names

  1. Lucas
  2. Liam
  3. Benjamin
  4. Jacob
  5. Noah
  6. James
  7. Oliver
  8. Elijah
  9. Levi
  10. Wyatt

I’ve never posted rankings for Placer County before, but I have posted 2019 rankings for two other California counties: Sonoma (located roughly 200 miles to the west) and San Diego (located roughly 800 miles to the southeast).

Source: Top 10 baby names of 2019 – Placer County, CA

Image: Adapted from Flag of California (public domain)

[Latest update: Jan. 2025]

What gave the baby name Aleeta a boost in 1933?

The characters Aleeta and Spud from the comic strip "Tim Tyler's Luck" (1928-1996)
Aleeta and Spud

In 1933, the rare baby name Aleeta saw an isolated spike in usage:

  • 1935: unlisted
  • 1934: unlisted
  • 1933: 17 baby girls named Aleeta [peak]
  • 1932: unlisted
  • 1931: unlisted

What gave it a boost that year?

My guess is Princess Aleeta, a character featured in the comic strip Tim Tyler’s Luck in 1933 (from April to October).

In Aleeta’s storyline, which was set in Africa, titular character Tim Tyler (and his friend Spud) were forced to join the “jungle army” of sinister Emperor Karlos. Here’s how Spud described the army:

They raid and capture caravans, safaris an’ tradin’ posts and steal gold, guns, clothes an’ food!

Emperor Karlos had arranged for his daughter Aleeta to marry the villainous Captain Dumont, but the wedding ceremony was interrupted by the arrival of the French Foreign Legion. A battle ensued, after which Karlos’ army was defeated and Aleeta was free to marry the man she loved (Colonel Paul Stagg).

What are your thoughts on the name Aleeta?

P.S. A real-life Aleeta — Aleeta Fleming, a “young farm wife” from Ohio — was also in the papers in 1933, from August to November. Why? Because she and her husband had murdered two of their three children. It’s unlikely that Americans were naming their babies with Fleming in mind, but the news stories about her would have increased readers’ exposure to the name Aleeta nonetheless.

Sources:

Image: Clipping from the Washington Times (23 May 1933)

[Latest update: Sept. 2025]

What turned Gamble into a baby name in 1961?

Gamble Benedict and Andrei Porumbeanu on the cover of Life magazine (April 1960)
Gamble and Andrei

Like the name Tirrell, the curious name Gamble appears regularly these days in the boys’ data, but it first popped up as a girl name — just once — in 1961:

  • 1963: unlisted
  • 1962: unlisted
  • 1961: 5 baby girls named Gamble [debut]
  • 1960: unlisted
  • 1959: unlisted

Where did it come from?

Another runaway heiress! This one was New York debutante/heiress Gamble Benedict, the granddaughter of Henry Harper Benedict (1844-1935), co-owner of the Remington Typewriter Company.

During the last days of 1959, 18-year-old Gamble ran away from home to be with her 35-year-old Romanian-born boyfriend, Andrei Porumbeanu (who already had a wife, Helma, and daughter, Gigi).

Gamble and Andrei first fled to Paris, where they stayed for most of January. (Gamble turned 19 mid-month.) At the end of the month, Gamble was apprehended by Paris police and “flown home to her stern dowager grandmother.”

The pair ran off again in April, after Andrei had obtained a Mexican divorce. This time they went south. They married in North Carolina on the 6th, then took a plane to Florida for a honeymoon.

The story was in the news for months on end during the first half of the year. (Several years later, in 1964, Time magazine summed it up as an “endlessly publicized…runaway marriage.”)

So what became of the couple? They ended up having two sons (George and Gregory) and spent most of their time in Switzerland…before Gamble initiated divorce proceedings in mid-1963.

Though I never found an explanation for Gamble’s unique first name, my guess is that it’s a surname that can be found somewhere in her family tree.

What are your thoughts on the name “Gamble” for a baby (male or female)? Would you use it?

Sources:

Image: Clipping from the cover of Life magazine (18 Apr. 1960)