We may not know the exact origin of the name Cheryl (is it Cherie + Beryl…?), but we do know that the name saw a drastic rise in popularity during the first half of 20th century. Cheryl went from a rarity in the early 1900s to one of the most popular girl names in the U.S. by the mid-1950s.
How did it manage to do that?
With a little help from pop culture!
The first pop culture boost happened in 1938:
| U.S. girls named Cheryl | Calif. girls named Cheryl | |
| 1940 | 285 [rank: 408th] | 42 |
| 1939 | 289 [rank: 390th] | 49 |
| 1938 | 397 [rank: 312th] | 76 |
| 1937 | 145 [rank: 563rd] | 16 |
| 1936 | 94 [rank: 688th] | 10 |
What was drawing attention to the name (particularly in California) around that time?
A 19-year-old from Pasadena named Cheryl Walker. In late 1937, she was selected as the 1938 Queen of the Tournament of Roses. Local newspapers (including the Los Angeles Times) talked about Cheryl quite a bit during the last month of 1937 and the first few months of 1938.
Cheryl Walker went on to work in movies for about a decade. Her biggest picture was the wartime hit Stage Door Canteen, in which she played a canteen hostess (named Eileen) who fell in love with a soldier. Released in mid-1943, Stage Door Canteen became one of the highest-grossing films of the year.
In both 1943 and 1944, the number of babies named Cheryl increased significantly:
- 1945: 8,150 baby girls named Cheryl [rank: 32nd]
- 1944: 7,970 baby girls named Cheryl [rank: 36th]
- 1943: 2,878 baby girls named Cheryl [rank: 102nd]
- 1942: 590 baby girls named Cheryl [rank: 280th]
- 1941: 439 baby girls named Cheryl [rank: 311th]
The name of Cheryl’s character, Eileen, also saw increased usage, as did many variant spellings of Cheryl:
| 1942 | 1943 | 1944 | 1945 | 1946 | |
| Cheryl | 590 | 2,878 | 7,970 | 8,150 | 11,525 |
| Sheryl | 324 | 588 | 949 | 1,055 | 1,632 |
| Sherrill | 202 | 207 | 263 | 206 | 250 |
| Cheryle | 27 | 80 | 176 | 184 | 238 |
| Sherryl | 49 | 71 | 104 | 140 | 203 |
| Cheryll | 11 | 41 | 69 | 98 | 120 |
| Sheryle | 12 | 19 | 26 | 31 | 52 |
| Cherryl | 9 | 19 | 59 | 58 | 104 |
| Sharelle | – | 28* | 10 | – | – |
| Charyl | – | 24* | 27 | 17 | 21 |
| Scheryl | – | 11* | 11 | 7 | 5 |
| Cherril | – | 6 | 6 | 7 | – |
| Sherral | – | 6 | 6 | – | 8 |
| Sherelle | – | 6* | – | – | – |
| Sheril | – | 5 | 11 | 6 | 9 |
| Chyrl | – | 5* | 8 | 7 | 10 |
| Cheril | – | – | 6* | 7 | – |
| Cherl | – | – | 6* | 5 | 8 |
| Sherryll | – | – | 5 | 6 | 5 |
| Cherill | – | – | 5* | – | – |
| Cheyrl | – | – | 5* | 5 | 9 |
| Chyrel | – | – | – | 7* | 10 |
| Cheryal | – | – | – | 6* | 5 |
| Cherryle | – | – | – | 5* | – |
| Sherell | – | – | – | 5* | – |
| Sherrille | – | – | – | 5* | – |
| Chryl | – | – | – | – | 9* |
| Sherryle | – | – | – | – | 7* |
| Cherel | – | – | – | – | 5* |
| Cherle | – | – | – | – | 5* |
| Cherryll | – | – | – | – | 5* |
| Chyral | – | – | – | – | 5* |
| Shyrel | – | – | – | – | 5* |
But the skyrocketing interest in the name Cheryl was due to more than just a movie.
A few weeks after the film was released, Hollywood star Lana Turner and her husband Stephen Crane welcomed a daughter they decided to call Cheryl Christina Crane. (Lana said the name “Cheryl” came to her in a dream.)
Baby Cheryl was often mentioned in the news — particularly during 1944, when she was at the center of a custody battle that lasted from April until August.
Usage of the name Cheryl plateaued in the late ’40s and early ’50s, then began to rise again in 1954:
- 1956: 21,280 baby girls named Cheryl [rank: 18th]
- 1955: 19,100 baby girls named Cheryl [rank: 19th]
- 1954: 15,000 baby girls named Cheryl [rank: 22nd]
- 1953: 12,271 baby girls named Cheryl [rank: 28th]
- 1952: 12,197 baby girls named Cheryl [rank: 31st]
Why?
Likely because of a short-lived TV show called Waterfront (1954-1956). The central character, John Herrick, was the captain of a San Pedro Harbor tugboat called the “Cheryl Ann.” The show also gave a boost to the compound names Cherylann, Cherylanne and Sherylann specifically.
The rise continued with the help of Mouseketeer Cheryl Holdridge (b. 1944), who was featured on the immensely popular children’s TV series The Mickey Mouse Club from 1956 to 1958.
The name Cheryl reached peak popularity in 1958 — which just so happens to be the year that Lana Turner’s daughter Cheryl (now age 14) was back in the headlines, this time for killing her mother’s abusive boyfriend (a gangster named Johnny Stompanato).
After that, usage of the name began to decline. Cheryl fell out of the top 20 in 1962, then out of the top 50 in 1972.
It saw a minor resurgence at the end of the 1970s — thanks to actress Cheryl Ladd, singer Cheryl Lynn, and/or model Cheryl Tiegs — but was out of the top 100 by 1980.
- 1980: 2,609 baby girls named Cheryl [rank: 119th]
- 1979: 3,210 baby girls named Cheryl [rank: 94th]
- 1978: 3,167 baby girls named Cheryl [rank: 94th]
- 1977: 2121 baby girls named Cheryl [rank: 134th]
And in 1998, exactly 40 years after nearly reaching the top 10, Cheryl fell out of the top 1,000 entirely.
What are your thoughts on the name Cheryl? (How about the specific spelling Cherrill?)
P.S. Thank you to all the people who’ve left helpful comments below! I’ve finally revised this post to incorporate your ideas/suggestions. :)
Sources:
- 1943 in film – Wikipedia
- Cheryl Walker – Wikipedia
- “Stage Door Canteen Girl.” LIFE 22 Feb. 1943: 76-78.
- “Lana’s Baby Steals Scene.” San Bernardino Sun 23 Sept. 1943: 1.
- “Lana Turner and Husband Separate.” Imperial Valley Press 4 Apr. 1944: 3.
- “Lana Turner Wins Her Divorce Suit.” Press Democrat 22 Aug. 1944: 3.
- Crane, Cheryl and Cliff Jahr. Detour: A Hollywood Story. New York: Arbor House/William Morrow, 1988.
- SSA
Images: Screenshot of Stage Door Canteen; Cheryl Crane photo (public domain)
[Latest update: Feb. 2024]
