Remember The Cosby Show?
The ground-breaking ’80s sitcom focused on the Huxtables, a well-off African-American family living in New York City. It starred Bill Cosby as Heathcliff “Cliff” Huxtable.
The show ran from 1984 to 1992, and was the top-rated program in the nation for five consecutive seasons (1985, ’86, ’87, ’88, and ’89).
And it influenced a whole bunch of baby names, such as…
Vanessa & Tempestt
Vanessa, the second-youngest Huxtable child, was played by Tempestt Bledsoe. The baby name Vanessa saw its highest-ever levels of usage during the years the show was on:
- 1989: 6,955 baby girls named Vanessa (ranked 50th)
- 1988: 7,515 baby girls named Vanessa (ranked 41st)
- 1987: 7,345 baby girls named Vanessa (ranked 43rd)
- 1986: 7,367 baby girls named Vanessa (ranked 43rd)
- 1985: 7,562 baby girls named Vanessa (ranked 42nd)
- 1984: 7,153 baby girls named Vanessa (ranked 45th)
- 1983: 6,383 baby girls named Vanessa (ranked 49th)
And the baby name Tempestt debuted on the charts the year after the show premiered:
- 1990: 70 baby girls named Tempestt
- 1989: 98 baby girls named Tempestt
- 1988: 72 baby girls named Tempestt
- 1987: 87 baby girls named Tempestt
- 1986: 78 baby girls named Tempestt
- 1985: 36 baby girls named Tempestt [debut]
- 1984: unlisted
- 1983: unlisted
The name Tempest also got a boost during the last half of the ’80s.
Rudy & Keshia
Rudith “Rudy” Huxtable, the baby of the family, was played by Keshia Knight Pulliam. The baby name Keshia entered the top 1,000 for the very first time the year after the show premiered:
- 1990: 385 baby girls named Keshia (ranked 594th)
- 1989: 496 baby girls named Keshia (ranked 479th)
- 1988: 398 baby girls named Keshia (ranked 547th)
- 1987: 483 baby girls named Keshia (ranked 457th)
- 1986: 511 baby girls named Keshia (ranked 426th)
- 1985: 321 baby girls named Keshia (ranked 596th)
- 1984: 96 baby girls named Keshia
- 1983: 64 baby girls named Keshia
The name Rudy also rose in usage, and the variant spelling Rudi debuted on the charts in 1985.
Phylicia
Huxtable mother Clair was played by actress Phylicia Rashad. The baby name Phylicia entered the top 1,000 for the first time two years after the show premiered:
- 1990: 257 baby girls named Phylicia (ranked 787th)
- 1989: 265 baby girls named Phylicia (ranked 744th)
- 1988: 286 baby girls named Phylicia (ranked 679th)
- 1987: 290 baby girls named Phylicia (ranked 649th)
- 1986: 213 baby girls named Phylicia (ranked 789th)
- 1985: 122 baby girls named Phylicia
- 1984: 13 baby girls named Phylicia
- 1983: 7 baby girls named Phylicia
Theo & Malcolm-Jamal
Theo, the middle Huxtable child (and the only male in the family besides Cliff) was played by Malcolm-Jamal Warner. The baby name Theo almost tripled in usage the year after the show premiered:
- 1990: 66 baby boys named Theo
- 1989: 75 baby boys named Theo
- 1988: 77 baby boys named Theo
- 1987: 75 baby boys named Theo
- 1986: 85 baby boys named Theo
- 1985: 76 baby boys named Theo
- 1984: 23 baby boys named Theo
- 1983: 26 baby boys named Theo
Usage of the baby name Malcolm also began to rise in the mid-’80s, and the baby name Malcolm-Jamal (rendered Malcolmjamal by the SSA, which leaves off hyphens) debuted on the baby name charts two years after the show premiered:
- 1990: unlisted
- 1989: unlisted
- 1988: 5 baby boys named Malcolm-Jamal
- 1987: unlisted
- 1986: 5 baby boys named Malcolm-Jamal [debut]
- 1985: unlisted
- 1984: unlisted
- 1983: unlisted
(Where did actor Malcolm-Jamal Warner get his name, btw? He was named after civil rights activist Malcolm X and jazz pianist Ahmad Jamal.)
So now here’s the question: Does The Cosby Show beat Family Ties in terms of impact on the baby name charts? Cosby clearly affected a greater number of names, but is that enough to offset the massive rises of both Mallory and Alex?
P.S. Did you know that Sondra, Denise, Theo, Vanessa and Rudy Huxtable were loosely based on Cosby’s real-life children, named Erika, Erinn, Ennis, Ensa, and Evin?
Image: © 1984 NBC
