How popular is the baby name Deprise 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 Deprise.

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Popularity of the baby name Deprise


Posts that mention the name Deprise

What popularized the baby name Kiana in the 1990s?

Fitness instructor Kiana Tom
Kiana Tom on “Kiana’s Flex Appeal

The baby name Kiana started picking up steam in the late 1980s. The name’s rise accelerated through the first half of the 1990s, and it reached peak popularity in 1996:

Girls named Kiana (U.S.)Girls named Kiana (HI)
19981,371 [rank: 226th]49 [rank: 9th]
19971,507 [rank: 198th]47 [rank: 11th]
19961,585† [rank: 190th]56 [rank: 8th]
19951,535 [rank: 192nd]41 [rank: 17th]
19941,117 [rank: 249th]39 [rank: 23rd]
1993712 [rank: 358th]36 [rank: 31st]
1992633 [rank: 402nd]38 [rank: 25th]
1991333 [rank: 658th]20 [rank: 65th]
†Peak usage

The name was particularly trendy in the state of Hawaii.

Here’s a visual of the national usage:

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

What was drawing attention to the name Kiana during those years?

Fitness personality Kiana Tom.

It all started in the mid-1980s, when ESPN began broadcasting fitness shows. Their first, Bodies in Motion hosted by Gilad Janklowicz, premiered in 1985. Their second, Getting Fit with Denise Austin, followed two years later.

Their third, BodyShaping, started airing in 1988 and was originally hosted by 6-time Ms. Olympia Corinna “Cory” Everson. As the series evolved, though, hosting duties were transferred to Kiana Tom (who’d been one of Cory’s assistants) and bodybuilder Rick Valente.

Kiana Tom — who is of Chinese, Hawaiian, and Irish descent, and who typically did her beach workouts in a bikini — proved so popular with viewers that, in 1995, she was given her own fitness show: Kiana’s Flex Appeal on ESPN2.

She also hosted several other programs (such as ESPN Summer Sizzle) and gave acting a try (appearing in the fourth Universal Soldier film with Jean-Claude Van Damme, for instance) during the 1990s.

In a 2001 interview, she mentioned that she knew about dozens of her namesakes:

[A]t least 83 children have been named Kiana now — that’s the ultimate compliment!

She was born Joanne Kiana Tom in Hawaii in 1965. Her middle name is the Hawaiian form of the name Diana.

What are your thoughts on the name Kiana? (Do you like it more or less than the homophone Qiana?)

P.S. DePrise Brescia was another BodyShaping regular.

Sources:

Image: Screenshot of Kiana’s Flex Appeal

How did DePrise Brescia influence baby names?

Swimsuit model DePrise Brescia
DePrise Brescia

The rare name Deprise appeared in the U.S. baby name data for three consecutive years:

  • 1994: unlisted
  • 1993: 5 baby girls named Deprise
  • 1992: 12 baby girls named Deprise
  • 1991: 5 baby girls named Deprise [debut]
  • 1990: unlisted

The even rarer name Brescia was a one-hit wonder in the data a few years later:

  • 1997: unlisted
  • 1996: unlisted
  • 1995: 5 baby girls named Brescia [debut]
  • 1994: unlisted
  • 1993: unlisted

I’m pretty sure the source of both names is a single person: swimsuit model and actress DePrise Brescia, pronounced deh-PREESS — think “Denise” — BRESH-uh.

It’s hard to pinpoint a specific reason, though.

During the early-to-mid ’90s, she was one of the co-hosts on ESPN’s workout show BodyShaping (1988-98), she was featured in multiple Bikini Open pay-per-view specials (as was Symba Smith of Star Search), and she had small roles on several television shows (like Silk Stalkings and Renegade).

I’ve seen her first name rendered various ways (e.g., Deprise, De Prise) but I don’t know how it was coined.

Her surname, on the other hand, has a straightforward explanation: it refers to the city of Brescia in northern Italy.

What are your thoughts on the names DePrise and Brescia? Which one do you like better as a baby name?

Sources: