How popular is the baby name Cynthia 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 Cynthia.

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Popularity of the baby name Cynthia


Posts that mention the name Cynthia

What gave the baby name Cyndi a boost in the 1980s?

Cyndi Lauper's debut album "She's So Unusual" (1983)
Cyndi Lauper album

The name Cyndi saw a steep rise in usage during the second half of the 1950s, thanks to a song featuring the name Cindy.

It saw another increase in the mid-1980s — though this second spike didn’t last as long, or reach as high. Here are the numbers, followed by the graph:

  • 1986: 58 baby girls named Cyndi
  • 1985: 88 baby girls named Cyndi
  • 1984: 61 baby girls named Cyndi
  • 1983: 28 baby girls named Cyndi
  • 1982: 25 baby girls named Cyndi
Graph of the usage of the baby name Cyndi in the U.S. since 1880
Usage of the baby name Cyndi

What caused the smaller spike?

Music again — but this time it was a singer, not a song.

Eclectic pop star Cyndi Lauper released her debut album, She’s So Unusual, in October of 1983.

The album produced six singles, four of which became top-5 hits on Billboard‘s Hot 100 chart during 1984:

  • “Girls Just Want to Have Fun” (reached #2 in March)
  • “Time After Time” (#1 in June)
  • “She Bop” (#3 in September)
  • “All Through the Night” (#5 in December)

Also in 1984, the video for “Girls Just Want to Have Fun” (below) won the inaugural MTV Video Music Award for Best Female Video.

Cyndi Lauper was born Cynthia Ann Stephanie Lauper in 1953 — several years before the names Cynthia and Cindy reached peak trendiness.

At the age of eighteen, she started going by “Cyndi” instead of “Cindy” at the suggestion of a friend with whom she’d been hitchhiking:

So Richie and I headed to Massachusetts, and we would set up camp and sleep in the woods along the way. We were sitting by the fire one time and he said to me, “You know what? You shouldn’t spell your name ‘Cindy,’ you should spell it C-Y-N-D-I.” So I did.

What are your thoughts on the name Cyndi? Which spelling do you prefer?

Sources:

What popularized the baby name Rosanna in 1982?

Toto single "Rosanna" (1982)
Toto single

According to the U.S. baby name data, the baby name Rosanna more than doubled in usage in 1982:

  • 1984: 367 baby girls named Rosanna [rank: 527th]
  • 1983: 488 baby girls named Rosanna [rank: 435th]
  • 1982: 492 baby girls named Rosanna [rank: 438th] (peak usage)
  • 1981: 194 baby girls named Rosanna [rank: 821st]
  • 1980: 202 baby girls named Rosanna [rank: 804th]

Here’s a visual:

Graph of the usage of the baby name Rosanna in the U.S. since 1880
Usage of the baby name Rosanna

Other spellings of the name (such as Roseanna, Rosana, Rozanna, Roseana, and the one-hit wonder Rosezanna) also saw higher usage that year.

What’s the reason?

The Grammy-winning song “Rosanna” by Los Angeles-based rock band Toto.

It was released in March of 1982 as the first single from the album Toto IV, which also featured the band’s biggest hit, “Africa.”

“Rosanna” peaked at #2 on Billboard‘s Hot 100 chart for five consecutive weeks during July. (The final two weeks, it was second to Survivor’s “Eye of the Tiger.”)

Here’s the music video:

(Fun fact: The woman who played Rosanna in the video, Cynthia Rhodes, went on to play Penny in Dirty Dancing five years later.)

So what’s the story behind the song?

Toto’s David Paich said that he wrote it “about a high school love, one of my first loves.” Around the time he was writing it, another band member, Steve Porcaro, started dating actress Rosanna Arquette. Rosanna’s name happened to “fit perfectly” in the song Paich was writing, so he decided to use it.

So it’s got her name on it, but it’s really about another high school sweetheart, which is how songs happen sometimes.

What are your thoughts on the baby name Rosanna? (How would you spell it?)

Sources: Roseanna (song) – Wikipedia, David Paich of Toto: Songwriter Interviews – Songfacts, SSA

How did “The Real World” influence baby names?

Title of the TV series "The Real World" (1992-2019)
“This is the true story…of seven strangers…picked to live in a loft…and have their lives taped…”

Several months ago, the cast of the inaugural season of MTV’s The Real World held a 6-day reunion in the very same NYC loft they shared back in 1992. The reunion — which was filmed, of course — is now airing as a series on the Paramount+ platform. (Here’s the trailer.)

When I was a teenager, I loved watching The Real World. (And I appreciated that the names of the cast members were always prominently displayed in the opening credits!) So I think now would be a great time to go back and see if any Real World cast member names had an influence on U.S. baby names.

First, let’s start with a comprehensive list of all the cast member names from each of RW‘s 33 (!) seasons…

  1. The Real World: New York (1992): Andre, Becky, Eric, Heather, Julie, Kevin, Norman
  2. The Real World: California (1993): Aaron, Beth (x2), David, Dominic, Glen, Irene, Jon, Tami
  3. The Real World: San Francisco (1994): Cory, Jo, Judd, Mohammed, Pam, Pedro, Puck, Rachel
  4. The Real World: London (1995): Jacinda, Jay, Kat, Lars, Mike, Neil, Sharon
  5. The Real World: Miami (1996): Cynthia, Dan, Flora, Joe, Melissa, Mike, Sarah
  6. The Real World: Boston (1997): Elka, Genesis, Jason, Kameelah, Montana, Sean, Syrus
  7. The Real World: Seattle (1998): David, Irene, Janet, Lindsay, Nathan, Rebecca, Stephen
  8. The Real World: Hawaii (1999): Amaya, Colin, Justin, Kaia, Matt, Ruthie, Teck
  9. The Real World: New Orleans (2000): Danny, David, Jamie, Julie, Kelley, Matt, Melissa
  10. The Real World: Back to New York (2001): Coral, Kevin, Lori, Malik, Mike, Nicole, Rachel
  11. The Real World: Chicago (2002): Aneesa, Cara, Chris, Keri, Kyle, Theo, Tonya
  12. The Real World: Las Vegas (2002-2003): Alton, Arissa, Brynn, Frank, Irulan, Steven, Trishelle
  13. The Real World: Paris (2003): Ace, Adam, Chris, Christina, Leah, Mallory, Simon
  14. The Real World: San Diego (2004): Brad, Cameran, Charlie, Frankie, Jacquese, Jamie, Randy, Robin
  15. The Real World: Philadelphia (2004-2005): Karamo, Landon, Melanie, M.J., Sarah, Shavonda, Willie
  16. The Real World: Austin (2005): Danny, Johanna, Lacey, Melinda, Nehemiah, Rachel, Wes
  17. The Real World: Key West (2006): Janelle, John, Jose, Paula, Svetlana, Tyler, Zach
  18. The Real World: Denver (2006-2007): Alex, Brooke, Colie, Davis, Jenn, Stephen, Tyrie
  19. The Real World: Sydney (2007-2008): Ashli, Cohutta, Dunbar, Isaac, KellyAnne, Parisa, Shauvon, Trisha
  20. The Real World: Hollywood (2008): Brianna, Brittini, Dave, Greg, Joey, Kimberly, Nick, Sarah, Will
  21. The Real World: Brooklyn (2009): Baya, Chet, Devyn, J.D., Katelynn, Ryan, Sarah, Scott
  22. The Real World: Cancun (2009): Ayiiia, Bronne, CJ, Derek, Emilee, Jasmine, Joey, Jonna
  23. The Real World: D.C. (2009-2010): Andrew, Ashley, Callie, Emily, Erika, Josh, Mike, Ty
  24. The Real World: New Orleans (2010): Ashlee, Eric, Jemmye, McKenzie, Preston, Ryan (x2), Sahar
  25. The Real World: Las Vegas (2011): Adam, Dustin, Heather (x2), Leroy, Michael, Nany, Naomi
  26. The Real World: San Diego (2011): Alexandra, Ashley, Frank, Nate, Priscilla, Sam, Zach
  27. The Real World: St. Thomas (2012): Brandon (x2), LaToya, Laura, Marie, Robb, Trey
  28. The Real World: Portland (2013): Anastasia, Averey, Jessica, Johnny, Joi, Jordan, Marlon, Nia
  29. Real World: Ex-Plosion (2014): Arielle, Ashley (x2), Brian, Cory, Hailey, Jamie, Jay, Jenna, Jenny, Lauren, Thomas
  30. Real World: Skeletons (2014-2015): Bruno, Jason, Madison, Nicole, Sylvia, Tony, Violetta
  31. Real World: Go Big or Go Home (2016): CeeJai, Chris, Dean, Dione, Dylan, Jenna, Kailah, Sabrina
  32. Real World Seattle: Bad Blood (2016-2017): Anika, Anna, Jennifer, Jordan, Kassius, Katrina, Kimberly, Mike, Orlana, Peter, Robbie, Theo, Tyara, Will
  33. The Real World: Atlanta (2019): Arely, Clint, Dondre, Justin, Meagan, Tovah, Yasmin

The names in boldface line up with a discernible increase in baby name usage. (Other Real World names may have affected baby names as well, but it can be hard to tell when, say, a name is already common, or already on the rise.)

Here are details on all the boldfaced names, plus two more influential RW names (from seasons 6 and 18) that didn’t even belong to primary cast members.

  • The name Jacinda (from season 4; 1995) saw peak usage in 1996.
  • The name Flora (5; 1996) saw increased usage in 1997.
  • The name Kameelah (6; 1997) saw increased usage in 1998.
  • The name Syrus (6; 1997) saw increased usage in 1997.
  • The name Jason (6; 1997) was probably not affected, but the name of Jason’s girlfriend, Timber, saw increased usage in 1998.
  • The name Amaya (8; 1999) saw sharply increased usage in 1999 and 2000.
  • The name Kaia (8; 1999) saw increased usage in 1999.
  • The name Ruthie (8; 1999) saw increased usage in 1999.
  • The name Aneesa (11; 2002) saw peak usage in 2002.
  • The name Arissa (12; 2002-3) saw peak usage in 2003.
  • The name Brynn (12; 2002-3) saw sharply increased usage in 2003.
  • The name Irulan (12; 2002-3) debuted in the data in 2003.
    • It looks like she was named after the fictional character Princess Irulan from Frank Herbert’s Dune books…?
  • The name Trishelle (12; 2002-3) saw peak usage in 2004.
  • The name Mallory (13; 2003) saw increased usage in 2003 and 2004.
  • The name Cameran (14; 2004) saw peak usage in 2004.
  • The name Jacquese (14; 2004) both returned to the data and saw peak usage in 2004.
  • The name Johanna (16; 2005) saw increased usage in 2005.
  • The name Nehemiah (16; 2005) saw increased usage in 2005 and 2006.
  • The name Janelle (17; 2006) saw increased usage in 2006.
  • The name Svetlana (17; 2006) saw peak usage in 2007.
  • The name Colie (18; 2006-7) both returned to the data and saw peak usage in 2007.
  • The name Tyrie (18; 2006-7) saw peak usage in 2007.
  • The name of Tyrie’s girlfriend, Jazalle, debuted in 2007 and is a one-hit wonder so far.
  • The name Kellyanne (19; 2007-8) returned to the data in 2008.
  • The name Baya (21; 2009) saw sharply increased usage in 2009. In fact, Baya was one of the fastest-rising baby names of 2009.
  • The name Averey (28; 2013) saw peak usage in 2013.
  • The name Kassius (32; 2016-17) saw increased usage in 2017.

Of all the names above, which one(s) do you like most?

And, for all the Real World fans out there: which season(s) do you like most? :)

Source: The Real World (TV series) – Wikipedia

Where did the baby name Narice come from in 1926?

"Cosmopolitan" magazine (Feb. 1926)
Cosmopolitan, Feb. 1926

Back in 1926, the name Narice popped up in the U.S. baby name data with an impressive 13 baby girls. Right after that, it dropped out of the data — and it’s been out of the data ever since, making it a one-hit wonder. (It was the top one-hit wonder of the year, in fact.)

  • 1928: unlisted
  • 1927: unlisted
  • 1926: 13 baby girls named Narice [debut]
  • 1925: unlisted
  • 1924: unlisted

What put the name in the data in the first place?

A short story called The Dice of God. It was serialized in Cosmopolitan magazine (back when Cosmo focused on fiction) starting in February of 1926, and appears to have been expanded and published as a standalone book the same year.

The tale was written by South African romance novelist Cynthia Stockley (1863-1936), who was popular in various English-speaking countries during the early 20th century. Several of her books were even turned into American silent films.

The story was set “amidst the lush and dangerous scenery of the Victoria Falls in Rhodesia,” and its two main characters were women named Anne Havilland and Narice Vanne — an author and an illustrator working on a travel book together. Here’s more from the synopsis on dust jacket:

When Sir Anthony Tulloch, better known to his fellows as “Bad Luck,” looked upon the girlish beauty of Narice Vanne, his fate was clear to him; but he had not reckoned with Anne Havilland, who was also beautiful,–in a very different way.

What are your thoughts on the baby name Narice?

Source: Book Review Digest, 1926