How popular is the baby name Babs 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 Babs.

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Popularity of the baby name Babs


Posts that mention the name Babs

What popularized the baby name Lugene in the 1950s?

Actress Lugene Sanders in the TV series "The Life of Riley" (1953-1958)
Lugene Sanders in “The Life of Riley“

After re-emerging in the U.S. baby name data in 1953, the dual-gender name Lugene saw its highest usage (as a girl name) in the mid-1950s:

  • 1958: 26 baby girls named Lugene
  • 1957: 42 baby girls named Lugene
  • 1956: 73 baby girls named Lugene [peak usage]
  • 1955: 66 baby girls named Lugene
  • 1954: 62 baby girls named Lugene
  • 1953: 30 baby girls named Lugene
  • 1952: unlisted

Why?

Because of actress Lugene Sanders (born Trevalene Lugene Sanders in Oklahoma in 1934).

Lugene was a regular on the popular TV show The Life of Riley, which aired on NBC from early 1953 until mid-1958. She played the role of Barbara “Babs” Riley, the older of Chester A. Riley’s two children.

At the start of the series, Babs Riley was a college freshman. By the end of the series, Babs was a married college graduate with a baby boy (also named Chester).

In November of 1953, Lugene Sanders was featured (as Babs) on the cover of TV Guide magazine, which had launched earlier the same year.

Lugene Sanders on the cover of TV Guide (Nov. 1953)
Lugene Sanders on the cover of TV Guide

Prior to Riley, Lugene’s biggest role had been that of the title character in the live TV series Meet Corliss Archer (1951-1952). She retired from acting in the early 1960s.

What are your thoughts on the name Lugene?

P.S. Earlier adaptations of the 1940s radio show The Life of Riley had an influence on the baby name Lanny…

Sources: Lugene Sanders – Wikipedia, The Life of Riley (TV series 1953-1958) – IMDb, SSA

Images:

What gave the baby name Lanny a boost in 1949?

Actor Lanny Rees in the TV series "The Life of Riley" (1949-1950)
Lanny Rees in the TV series “The Life of Riley“

We already know that singer Lanny Ross popularized the baby name Lanny during the 1930s and early 1940s. But why did the name see a sudden jump in usage several years later, in 1949?

  • 1951: 409 baby boys named Lanny [rank: 336th]
  • 1950: 489 baby boys named Lanny [rank: 306th]
  • 1949: 498 baby boys named Lanny [rank: 303rd] (peak usage)
  • 1948: 298 baby boys named Lanny [rank: 392nd]
  • 1947: 335 baby boys named Lanny [rank: 376th]

Ross could still be heard on the radio in the late 1940s, but I think this renewed interest in the name was due to another Lanny: teenage actor Lanny Rees.

In 1949, Lanny Rees was featured in two different adaptations of the popular 1940s radio sitcom The Life of Riley. In both, he played the main character’s son, Chester A. Riley, Jr. (known simply as “Junior”).

The first adaptation, the film The Life of Riley, was released in theaters in April.

The second adaptation, the TV series The Life of Riley, started airing on NBC in October. Despite being proclaimed the “Best Film Made for & Viewed on Television” at the second-ever Emmy Awards in January of 1950, the show lasted only two-thirds of a season (ending in March).

Lanny Rees, the youngest of eight siblings, was born in Washington state in 1933. Given the year of his birth, it’s likely that he himself was an early Lanny Ross namesake.

P.S. The fictional Riley family also included a daughter named Barbara “Babs” Riley, who was older than Junior. Babs played a key part in the film (which featured her wedding) — this could could explain why the baby name Babs saw an uptick in usage in 1949.

Sources:

Image: Screenshot of the TV series The Life of Riley (Jan. 1950)