The top two debut names of 1953 were Trenace (for girls) and Caster (for boys). And you know what? Both have me stumped.
We’ve already talked about Trenace, so here are some details about Caster:
- 1957: unlisted
- 1956: 5 baby boys named Caster
- 1955: 11 baby boys named Caster
- 1954: 16 baby boys named Caster
- 1953: 21 baby boys named Caster [debut]
- 1952: unlisted
Caster doesn’t seem to be a variant of some other name (like Casper, or Lancaster). So I’m assuming this usage corresponds to someone named Caster — either real or fictional — who was in the public eye for several years in a row.
The tricky thing is, of course, that any online search for the name “Caster” turns up all sorts of extraneous stuff — fishing, furniture, music (stratocaster), sports (sportscaster), and so forth.
Still, I was able to track down a few clues.
Records suggest that the majority of these 1950s Casters had middle names that started with D. Here’s a Caster D. born in 1953, and another Caster D. born in 1957.
And every single D-middle I tracked down included the letter L and/or the letter R. Some examples: Dell, Derrell, Derrel, Derriel, Daryl, Deryl, Derald, Derra, Doria, and Doral. A handful of people even had combination names like Casterdale or Casterdell (b. 1953).
Finally, it looks like most of the people named Caster D. were born in the South.
Do you have any idea where the name Caster might have come from?
