How popular is the baby name Gloria 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 Gloria.

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Popularity of the baby name Gloria


Posts that mention the name Gloria

Where did the baby name Murjani come from in 1980?

"Gloria Vanderbilt by Murjani" commercial (featuring Debbie Harry of Blondie)
“Gloria Vanderbilt by Murjani” commercial

In 1930, a man named Bhagwandas Kewalram “B. K.” Murjani left India to start a clothing manufacturing company in China.

In the late 1960s, his U.S.-educated son Mohan Murjani joined the business. Mohan Murjani eventually transformed the “small American marketing arm of his family’s company into a Seventh Avenue corporation with $300 million in annual sales.”

One of the keys to this growth was teaming up with American heiress/fashion designer Gloria Vanderbilt and launching one of the very first designer jean brands, Gloria Vanderbilt, in 1977.

According to the Murjani Group website, Gloria Vanderbilt “was perhaps the first apparel brand to be advertised in marketing channels such as buses, phone booths and TV.” Gloria herself was featured in many of the television commercials.

By 1979, sales of GV jeans — which cost $32 at a time when “Levi jeans were selling for about $15” — were booming.

In 1980, the company started using younger celebrities to endorse the brand. They put out print ads featuring baseball player Reggie Jackson and TV commercials featuring Blondie singer Debbie Harry.

We’ve already seen that advertisements (and especially TV commercials) have the power to influence baby name trends, so it’s not surprising that 1980 is also the year the name Murjani (pronounced mur-ZHAH-nee) first appears in the U.S. baby name data:

  • 1983: unlisted
  • 1982: 6 baby girls named Murjani
  • 1981: 10 baby girls named Murjani
  • 1980: 8 baby girls named Murjani [debut]
  • 1979: unlisted
  • 1978: unlisted

Like Jordache, though, Murjani dropped out of the data after only a few years.

I don’t know what the etymology of the surname Murjani is, but Mohan Murjani has been quoted as saying that he is “sometimes mistaken as an Italian because of [his] family name.”

What are your thoughts on the baby name Murjani?

Sources:

  • Duttagupta, Ishani. “Indian style guru: Building global lifestyle brands.” Economic Times 15 May 2008.
  • Hellman, Peter. “Sic Transit Gloria.” New York Magazine 15 Feb. 1993: 34-41.
  • Hollie, Pamela G. “Murjani Seeking a Stable of Designers.” New York Times 21 Jun. 1983: D4.
  • Murjani Group
  • SSA

Image: Screenshot of a TV commercial for Gloria Vanderbilt jeans

Where did the baby name Jordache come from in 1980?

Jordache commercial
Jordache commercial

Young people have been wearing jeans since the 1950s, thanks to the influence of jeans-wearing movie stars like Marlon Brando, James Dean and Paul Newman.

But designer jeans didn’t catch on until the late 1970s.

Designer jeans, made for the dance floor and the roller-disco rink, were tighter, sexier, and more sophisticated. Their hallmarks were instantly recognizable: a covetable name and logo on the back pocket, a high price, and a curve-hugging fit.

And what brand went on to become one of the most popular designer jean brands of the 1980s?

Jordache (pronounced JOR-dash).

Jordache Logo
Jordache Logo

The Jordache Jeans label was created in New York City in 1978 by Israeli brothers Josef (Joe), Raphael (Ralph) and Abraham (Avi) Nakash.

The word Jordache was created from the “Jo” of Joe, the “R” of Ralph, the “D” of David (Ralph’s eldest son), the “A” of Avi, and sh-sound of Nakash.

The brothers had built up a small chain of stores selling brand-name jeans at discounted prices during the ’70s, but during the New York City blackout of 1977, their largest store was looted and burned down. With the insurance settlement, they decided to start manufacturing their own jeans.

But designer jeans by Calvin Klein, Gloria Vanderbilt, Chic, Sergio Valente, Sasson, Zena, Bon Jour, and others were already on the market. To differentiate themselves, the bothers launched a controversial advertising campaign for Jordache Jeans in January of 1979.

Banned by all three major television networks at first, the 1979 30-second spot featured a topless model on horseback clad only in Jordache and accompanied by the jingle “You’ve got the look I want to know better.”

The ad may have been too lewd for the big networks, “but the independent New York stations carried it, and within weeks Jordache was a hit among teenage girls.”

And so, by the start of the 1980s, Jordache was huge.

How huge?

So huge that it became a baby name.

Jordache first popped up in the U.S. baby name data in 1980:

  • 1982: unlisted
  • 1981: 8 baby boys named Jordache
  • 1980: 12 baby boys named Jordache [debut]
  • 1979: unlisted
  • 1978: unlisted

But the baby name Jordache didn’t catch on. It made the list three more times during the ’80s, then dropped off, never to return.

I find it really interesting that Jordache, a fashion brand, was use more often as a boy name than as a girl name. (I have found a handful of females with the name, so they do exist.)

What do you think — does the name “Jordache” seem masculine or feminine to you?

Sources:

Top image: Screenshot of Jordache commercial

Baby born during Hurricane Hilda, named Hilda

hurricane

Hilda was a Category 4 hurricane that made landfall in Louisiana in early October, 1964.

While the storm was raging, “a baby girl was born in a Morgan City school being used as a refugee center. She was promptly named Hilda.”

The name Hilda comes from the Germanic word hild, meaning “battle.” It was originally a short form of names containing hild, like Hildegard and Brunhilde.

Other hurricane baby names: Alicia, Andrew, Dorian, Elena, Gloria, Iniki, Isabel, Barbara & Florence, Charlie & Gilbert

Source: “Hurricane-born twisters rip Gulf Coast; many dead.” Press-Courier 3 Oct. 1964: 1+.

Image: Adapted from Hurricane Elena by NASA (public domain)

Celebrity baby name: Gloria

Actress Maggie Gyllenhaal, who had her first baby girl five years ago, welcomed a second baby girl in April. The first daughter was named Ramona, and the second has been named Gloria.

Why Gloria?

Here’s what she told talk show host Jimmy Fallon last month:

Maggie: We thought of her name when we were at this concert that Patti Smith played at. And she played Gloria.

Jimmy: Oh she does one of the best versions of Gloria.

Maggie: Yeah. And it was a couple of years ago, and we just thought, “Maybe we’ll name our daughter that one day.”

The 1964 song “Gloria” [vid] was originally written and performed by Van Morrison and his band Them. Patti Smith’s version [vid] came out about a decade later, on her acclaimed album Horses (1975).

Source: Late Night With Jimmy Fallon NBC June 13, 2012 (Archive.org)