Baby Name: Franklin

The Great Depression began in October of 1929. When Franklin Delano Roosevelt replaced Herbert Hoover as U.S. President in early 1933, he got to work on the New Deal, which was intended to bring immediate economic relief.

Part of the New Deal was the National Industrial Recovery Act (NIRA), which “sanctioned, supported, and in some cases, enforced an alliance of industries.” It was enacted on June 16, 1933.

Soon after, Roosevelt created the corresponding National Recovery Administration (NRA), which was “empowered to make voluntary agreements dealing with hours of work, rates of pay, and the fixing of prices.” Participating businesses were encouraged to display the NRA emblem, the Blue Eagle.

At first, the public was excited by the NIRA and the NRA. So was Hollywood, which put out short films promoting the NRA.

And all this excitement spilled over onto birth certificates.

According to the U.S. baby name data, more than 200 baby girls were named Nira in 1933. This was enough to make Nira the 463rd most popular baby girl name in the nation that year.

• 1937: unlisted
• 1936: 9 baby girls named Nira
• 1935: 12 baby girls named Nira
• 1934: 38 baby girls named Nira
• 1933: 201 baby girls named Nira [peak]
• 1932: unlisted
• 1931: 8 baby girls named Nira
• 1930: unlisted

Here’s a visual of the spike:

Newspapers heralded the births of several of these 1933 Niras, including:

• Nira Collins, born on July 25th to Mr. and Mrs. Christopher J. Collins of Philadelphia. The father, unemployed for ten months, found work two weeks before she was born.
• Nira Davis, born on August 30th to Mrs. Geraldine Davis of Newburgh, New York.
• Nira Lavallee, born on September 1st to Mr. and Mrs. George E. Lavallee of Marlborough, Massachusetts. Her father “returned to work after a lengthy period of unemployment soon after her birth.”
• Nira Coelho, born on September 25th to Mr. and Mrs. Pedro Coelho of Los Angeles. “The parents are ardent believers in the President’s recovery program.”

One reporter cautioned that, while Nira was “a pretty name,” parents should “take into account the fact that everyone who keeps posted on current national history will know Nira was born in 1933. Which might be embarrassing 25 or 30 years hence.”

The flood of baby Niras prompted at least one person to write to the editor of the New York Times and ask if Washington had offered an “official pronunciation of the name” yet.

But the popular support didn’t last long. The NIRA and the NRA were widely criticized, and ended up doing little to speed up economic recovery. (We can get a feel for how quickly the excitement dried up by looking at the downward trajectory of those SSA numbers: 201, 38, 12.)

The NIRA had been set to expire in June of 1935, but was nullified even earlier when the Supreme Court unanimously declared the NIRA unconstitutional in May of 1935.

Sources:

• “Baby Is Named Nira After Father Gets Job.” Hartford Courant 3 Sep. 1933: 2.
• “Father Gets a Job; Baby Is Named NIRA.” Telegraph-Herald 27 Jul 1933: 1.
• “Named and Dated.” Painesville Telegraph 25 Aug. 1933: 4.
• National Industrial Recovery Act (1933) – OurDocuments.gov
• “Newburgh Child Named Nira.” New York Times 31 Aug. 1933: 4.
• S., H. T. “Pronouncing NIRA.” Letter. New York Times 5 Aug. 1933: 10.
• Schechter Poultry Corp. v. United States – Wikipedia
• “Visalia Baby Named Nira.” Los Angeles Times 27 Sept. 1933: 9.

Image: LOC

[Follow-up posts: Blue Eagle, Nira (Iowa), Fera.]