How popular is the baby name Cochise 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 Cochise.

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Popularity of the baby name Cochise


Posts that mention the name Cochise

Pope Benedict talks baby names

Pope Benedict XVI mentioned baby names over the weekend. Well, maybe not baby names — baptismal names is more precise. In any case, here’s what he said while baptizing a 21 infants in the Sistine Chapel on Sunday:

Every baptism should ensure that the child is given a Christian name, an unmistakable sign that the Holy Spirit will allow the person to blossom in the bosom of the Church. Do not give your children names that are not in the Christian calendar.

I’ve seen other church officials comment on this issue, but never the Pope himself. I wonder what sort of impact it will have on Catholic parents.

BONUS: Here are some interesting quotes I collected from news articles covering this story.

The first little examples of Mela (Italian for Apple) and Pesche (Peaches) are already up and walking, say the Italian newspapers, thanks to the decisions of Gwyneth Paltrow and Bob Geldof to pick names at the greengrocer.

Celebrity baby names in translation. Trippy.

Even leading politicians have chosen unusual names. The pugnacious Defence Minister Ignazio La Russa christened his three sons Geronimo, Lorenzo Cochis and Leonardo Apache.

Geronimo and Cochise were both Apache leaders.

[Names] banned in Portugal include Lolita, Maradona and Mona Lisa.

Diego Maradona (b. 1960) is a former pro soccer player from Argentina.

Another source mentioned something about a Sue Ellen trend in Italy during the 1980s, thanks to the popularity of American TV show Dallas, but I can’t locate the original article/link.

Sources: For heaven’s sake, Pope hopes to end trend for exotic names, Pope makes a plea to parents to give their children traditional names

Where did the baby name Hondo come from in 1967?

The character Hondo Lane from the TV series "Hondo" (1967).
Hondo Lane from “Hondo”

The odd name Hondo first appeared in the U.S. baby name data in 1967:

  • 1969: unlisted
  • 1968: 7 baby boys named Hondo
  • 1967: 5 baby boys named Hondo [debut]
  • 1966: unlisted
  • 1965: unlisted

Where did it come from?

A short-lived TV western called Hondo, which featured a main character named Hondo Lane (played by Ralph Taeger) who was a former Confederate cavalry officer. The series was only on the air during the last third of 1967 (September to December).

Hondo was based on a 1953 John Wayne movie of the same name, which itself was based on the 1952 short story “The Gift of Cochise” by Louis L’Amour. While Wayne shot the film, L’Amour turned the movie’s screenplay into a novel, and both the movie and the book were released at the same time, with the same title.

The name Hondo wasn’t original to the story; Wayne borrowed it from a minor character in another film he’d starred in called The Angel and the Badman (1947). (In that film, Wayne’s character had the quirky name Quirt Evans.)

What are your thoughts on the name Hondo?

Sources:

  • Hondo (TV series) – Wikipedia
  • Howard, Donald E. The Role of Reading in Nine Famous Lives. Jefferson, NC: McFarland, 2005.
  • Joyner, C. Courntey. The Westerners: Interviews with Actors, Directors, Writers and Producers. Jefferson, NC: McFarland, 2009.