How popular is the baby name Jerry 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 Jerry.

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Popularity of the baby name Jerry


Posts that mention the name Jerry

Where did the baby name Krisily come from in 2005?

American TV personality Krisily Kennedy
Krisily Kennedy

The rare name Krisily was a one-hit wonder in the U.S. baby name data in 2005:

  • 2007: unlisted
  • 2006: unlisted
  • 2005: 11 baby girls named Krisily [debut]
  • 2004: unlisted
  • 2003: unlisted

Where did it come from?

The Bachelor runner-up Krisily Kennedy.

Krisily (pronounced KRIS-ih-lee) was a contestant on the show’s seventh season, which aired during the spring of 2005 and featured bachelor Charlie O’Connell, younger brother of actor Jerry O’Connell.

During the show’s 3-hour finale — the first in which a bachelor made his final decision on live TV — Charlie chose the other remaining contestant, Sarah Brice, over Krisily.

Krisily (who was Miss Rhode Island USA in 2003, incidentally) went on to participate in the first season of Bachelor Pad in 2010.

What are your thoughts on the name Krisily?

P.S. One of Charlie’s twin nieces was named after him. (The other twin was named after Dolly Parton.)

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Where did the baby name Tondra come from in 1946?

Kidnapping victim Terry Taylor of Charlotte, North Carolina in 1946.
Terry Taylor, 4 years old

The interesting name Tondra first appeared in the U.S. baby name data in 1946:

  • 1949: unlisted
  • 1948: 9 baby girls named Tondra
  • 1947: unlisted
  • 1946: 9 baby girls named Tondra [debut]
  • 1945: unlisted
  • 1944: unlisted

I don’t know why it dropped out of the data and then returned in 1948 with the same (relatively high) number of babies — that’s not a typical pattern — but I can explain the initial appearance.

In February and March of 1946, the kidnapping of 4-year-old Terry Taylor of Charlotte, North Carolina, was front-page news across the nation for several days straight.

Terry, her 5-year-old sister Tondra Taylor, and their 19-year-old nursemaid Rosemary Johnson were at a park in Charlotte one Tuesday when Rosemary decided to take Terry on a bus ride out of state. (They left Tondra behind at the park.)

The pair remained missing until Thursday night, when they were discovered in Annapolis, Maryland. Rosemary had managed to find a position as a maid. She had told the homeowners that she was the child’s widowed mother, but the homeowners became suspicious (in part because the child called herself Terry even though Rosemary insisted the name was Jerry) and called the police.

Terry’s parents drove to Annapolis on Friday to retrieve her, and nursemaid Rosemary was arrested. (Turns out her real name was Loretta Brozek. She was found guilty in July and sentenced to seven years in federal prison, but in October she was transferred to a mental institution.)

Though older sister Tondra was never the focus of the story, her name was mentioned repeatedly in the news that week.

And, ironically, Tondra’s name wasn’t really Tondra — it was Tonda (according to the North Carolina birth records, the 1940 U.S. census, and at least one early news report). In fact, she seems to be the same Tonda Taylor who founded the LGBTQ group Time Out Youth in Charlotte in 1991.

The name Terry — already on the rise for both genders at that time — also saw a jump in usage in 1946.

Do you like the name Tondra? How about Tonda?

Sources:

Popular baby names in British Columbia (Canada), 2020

According to British Columbia’s Ministry of Health, the most popular baby names in the province last year were Olivia and Liam.

Here are British Columbia’s top 10 girl names and top 10 boy names of 2020:

Girl Names

  1. Olivia, 239 baby girls
  2. Emma, 184
  3. Charlotte, 161
  4. Ava, 157
  5. Amelia, 148
  6. Sophia, 138
  7. Isla, 130
  8. Hannah, 128
  9. Chloe, 125
  10. Emily, 111

Boy Names

  1. Liam, 223 baby boys
  2. Oliver, 215
  3. Noah, 206
  4. Lucas, 193
  5. Benjamin, 174 (tie)
  6. Theodore, 174 (tie)
  7. Ethan, 170
  8. Jack, 158
  9. Leo, 154
  10. William, 149

In the girls’ top 10, Hannah and Emily replaced Mia, Evelyn and Ella.

In the boys’ top 10, Jack replaced Logan.

Some of the baby names from lower down in the rankings include…

Girl NamesBoy Names
Arzoi (5 baby girls), Baani (16), Cordelia (5), Della (12), Eunice (8), Fenna (5), Gurasees (9), Holland (7), Izzy (5), Jana (9), Kairi (5), Lina (9), Maple (8), Navy (9), Ophelia (19), Prabhleen (5), Rubani (5), Sahara (5), Tayla (5), Veronica (8), Waverly (8), Yuna (8), Zelda (7)Axton (6 baby boys), Brandt (5), Clyde (7), Dalton (6), Elio (7), Franklin (8), Grey (6), Hendrik (8), Ivan (17), Jerry (7), Kabir (23), Leonidas (5), Merrick (7), Nova (7), Ollie (7), Pearson (5), Rupert (5), Sunny (5), Tegh (9), Viraaj (5), Westley (8), Yuvaan (8), Zoravar (5)

I love how specifically Canadian the names Maple and Pearson are. (Lester B. Pearson served as prime minister of Canada during the 1960s.)

In 2019, the top two names in British Columbia were Olivia and Oliver.

Source: Baby’s Most Chosen Names in British Columbia, 2020

What gave the baby name Arlynne a boost in 1951?

Newspaper photo of Roller Derby competitor Arlynne Buchman (1951)

The baby name Arlynne popped up a few times in the SSA data in the ’30s and ’40s before seeing its highest-ever usage in 1951:

  • 1953: unlisted
  • 1952: unlisted
  • 1951: 15 baby girls named Arlynne [peak]
    • 5 in New York specifically
  • 1950: unlisted
  • 1949: unlisted

What caused this isolated popularity spike?

Arlynne Buchmann, a 19-year-old New Jersey roller skater who was voted Roller Derby Beauty Queen of 1950. At least two different photos of her ran in various newspapers in from mid-1950 to mid-1951.

A former model, Arlynne had only been skating for only 14 months in the fledgling National Roller Derby League (NRDL) before being voted “Queen” by fans. At that time, the league consisted of six teams. Arlynne’s was the Jersey Jolters.

In fact, the early 1950s was when Roller Derby itself was at peak popularity. The sport, which had been around since the 1930s, began to be televised locally in New York City in 1948 — back when TV sets could only be found in bars and storefronts. This coverage was enough to kick off a national craze.

For instance, Roller Derby fans included well-known celebrities like Dean Martin, Jerry Lewis, Milton Berle, Ed Sullivan, Cesar Romero, Sonja Henie, Eddie Cantor, Marilyn Maxwell, Eleanor Powell, George Raft, Jack Benny, W. C. Fields, Cary Grant, George Burns, and Gracie Allen. Many were photographed either at games or socializing with Derby athletes.

Also notable is the fact that a multi-day “Roller Derby World Series” was held annually at Madison Square Garden starting in 1949. Here’s some video footage of the very first one.

By the mid-1950s, the public had grown tired of the sport due to TV overexposure (ironically). Though Roller Derby continues to this day, it has never again achieved the level of popularity that it had for a handful of years in the middle of the 20th century.

What are your thoughts on the baby name Arlynne? Would you use it?

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