How popular is the baby name Daktari 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 Daktari.

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Popularity of the baby name Daktari


Posts that mention the name Daktari

Interesting one-hit wonder names in the U.S. baby name data

single flower

They came, they went, and they never came back!

These baby names are one-hit wonders in the U.S. baby name data. That is, they’ve only popped up once, ever, in the entire dataset of U.S. baby names (which accounts for all names given to at least 5 U.S. babies per year since 1880).

There are thousands of one-hit wonders in the dataset, but the names below have interesting stories behind their single appearance, so these are the one-hits I’m writing specific posts about. Just click on a name to read more.

2020s

  • (none yet)

2010s

2000s

1990s

1980s

1970s

1960s

1950s

1940s

1930s

1920s

1910s

1900s

  • (none yet)

1890s

As I discover (and write about) more one-hit wonders in the data, I’ll add the names/links to this page. In the meanwhile, do you have any favorite one-hit wonder baby names?

Image: Adapted from Solitary Poppy by Andy Beecroft under CC BY-SA 2.0.

[Latest update: Dec. 2023]

Where did the baby name Daktari come from in 1966?

Title of the TV series "Daktari" (1966-1969)
“Daktari”

The baby name Daktari was a one-hit wonder in the U.S. baby name data in 1966:

  • 1968: unlisted
  • 1967: unlisted
  • 1966: 5 baby boys named Daktari [debut]
  • 1965: unlisted
  • 1964: unlisted

Where did it come from?

The TV series Daktari, which premiered on CBS in that year.

The show was about an American veterinarian, Dr. Marsh Tracy (played by actor Marshall Thompson), who ran an the fictional Wameru Study Center for Animal Behaviour in East Africa.

The two most notable cast members were non-human: Judy the chimp and Clarence the cross-eyed lion — perhaps not surprising, given the fact that the show’s producer was Ivan Tors, who gave us the original Flipper movie in 1963.

Another cast member, Hari Rhodes (who played Mike Makula), may have been behind the debut of Hari in 1968, but it’s hard to know for sure.

The title comes from a Swahili word for “doctor,” which was based directly on the English word “doctor.”

Do you like the name Daktari? (Do you like it more or less than the name Doctor?)