How popular is the baby name Averell in the United States right now? How popular was it historically? Use the popularity graph and data table below to find out! Plus, see all the blog posts that mention the name Averell.

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Popularity of the baby name Averell


Posts that mention the name Averell

What gave the baby name Adlai a boost in the 1950s?

Politician Adlai E. Stevenson II (1900-1965)
Adlai E. Stevenson II

According to the U.S. baby name data, the name Adlai saw peak usage in 1952, then a smaller spike four years later:

  • 1959: unlisted
  • 1958: unlisted
  • 1957: 6 baby boys named Adlai
  • 1956: 22 baby boys named Adlai
  • 1955: 12 baby boys named Adlai
  • 1954: 7 baby boys named Adlai
  • 1953: 18 baby boys named Adlai
  • 1952: 39 baby boys named Adlai [peak]
    • 6 born in Illinois
  • 1951: unlisted
  • 1950: unlisted

Why?

Because of politician Adlai Ewing Stevenson II — the namesake of politician Adlai Ewing Stevenson I, his grandfather.

Adlai Stevenson II served as the governor of Illinois from 1949 to 1953. He was elected “by a larger majority than any other candidate had received in the history of the state.”

On a national level, though, he’s better remembered for being the unsuccessful Democratic candidate for the presidency in both 1952 and 1956.

In spite of his refusal to seek the presidential nomination in 1952, he was drafted by the Democratic National Convention in Chicago. He waged a vigorous campaign, but the popular appeal of wartime hero Gen. Dwight D. Eisenhower proved irresistible. Stevenson was defeated a second time four years later, again by Eisenhower.

One of the other candidates for the Democratic nomination in both ’52 and ’56 was W. Averell Harriman.

Sources: SSA, Adlai Stevenson II – Wikipedia, Adlai E. Stevenson | American Statesman | Britannica

Where did the baby name Averell come from in 1956?

Politician W. Averell Harriman (1891-1986)
W. Averell Harriman

In 1956, the rare name Averell appeared for the first time in the U.S. baby name data:

  • 1958: unlisted
  • 1957: 6 baby boys named Averell
  • 1956: 6 baby boys named Averell [debut]
  • 1955: unlisted
  • 1954: unlisted

My best guess on this one is businessman and politician William Averell Harriman, who served as the Governor of New York from 1955 to 1958. He was also a candidate for the Democratic presidential nomination twice: in 1952 and in 1956.

His middle name — also his mother’s maiden name — looks to be a variant of Averill, which has several possible derivations, including the Old French word Avrill (meaning “April”) and the English place name Haverhill, made up of the Old English words hafri (“oats”) and hyll (“hill”).

(To complicate things…socialite “Mrs. Averell Clark Jr.” of Seattle was on the cover of LIFE in late 1955. This may have given the name an extra nudge. Incidentally, Mrs. Clark’s first name was Armene, and her mother’s was Armenouhie. The family was of Armenian descent.)

Source: Hanks, Patrick. (Ed.) Dictionary of American Family Names. New York: Oxford University Press, 2003.

P.S. Harriman also developed America’s very first destination winter resort — Sun Valley, Idaho — in the 1930s.