According to the U.S. baby name data, the name Jana has seen two distinct spikes in usage: the first in the early 1960s, the second in the late 1970s.
The initial spike pushed the name up to it’s highest-ever usage (in terms of numbers of babies):
- 1963: 1,311 baby girls named Jana [rank: 240th]
- 1962: 1,311 baby girls named Jana [rank: 242nd]
- 1961: 1,459 baby girls named Jana [rank: 226th]
- 1960: 980 baby girls named Jana [rank: 295th]
- 1959: 938 baby girls named Jana [rank: 296th]
What caused it?
A Twilight Zone character named Jana (pronounced JAY-nuh).
She was featured in the episode “The Lateness of the Hour,” which aired in December of 1960.
Jana (played by actress Inger Stevens) was a young woman who lived with her parents, plus a number of humanoid robots. Her father, an inventor, had created the robots to take care of the family’s every need. This arrangement pleased Jana’s parents, but made Jana feel increasingly uncomfortable. She eventually demanded that her father dismantle the robots and that the three of them start leading normal lives. He did, but — as usual with The Twilight Zone — this led to a disconcerting plot twist…
We’ll take a look at the name’s second spike next week. In the meanwhile, what are your thoughts on the name Jana? (How would you pronounce it?)
Sources: The Lateness of the Hour – IMDb, SSA
P.S. Jimbo Cobb, another single-episode Twilight Zone character, also had an influence on U.S. baby names.
