How popular is the baby name Kelinda 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 Kelinda.

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Popularity of the baby name Kelinda


Posts that mention the name Kelinda

Sasheer Zamata’s name came from “Star Trek”

Actress and comedian Sasheer Zamata on the TV talk show "The Talk" (Oct. 2024)
Sasheer Zamata on “The Talk“

In her stand-up act, actress and comedian Sasheer Zamata (pronounced sah-SHEER zah-MAY-tah) mentions that her parents created her unique first name from a word they heard while watching the sci-fi TV series Star Trek.

Here’s how she told the story on The Talk in October:

Captain Kirk was flirting with this alien princess, as he does, and he handed her a rose. And she was like, “Oh, we have something like this on my planet, except it’s made out of crystal and its called sahsheer.” And my parents wrote it down, [and] named me years later.

That sahsheer scene was part of the episode “By Any Other Name,” which first aired in February of 1968. My hunch is that Zamata’s parents were watching a re-run during the early 1980s, because Zamata wasn’t born until mid-1986.

Here’s the relevant dialogue from “By Any Other Name” between Capt. James T. Kirk and the alien woman Kelinda (of the planet Kelva):

Kelinda: (picks a flower, smells it) These are lovely. Captain Kirk, what is it you call them?

Kirk: Flowers. I don’t know the variety.

Kelinda: Our memory tapes tell us of such things on Kelva. Crystals that form with such rapidity, they seem to grow. They look like this fragile thing, somewhat. We call them sahsheer.

Kirk: (mumbles) A rose by any other name.

Kelinda: Captain?

Kirk: A quote from a great human poet, Shakespeare. “That which we call a rose by any other name would smell as sweet.”

I’m not sure how many other babies were named after the flower-shaped crystals, but we know that at least a few were named after Kelinda…

Sources:

Image: Screenshot of The Talk

Shahna, Philana, Kelinda: More “Star Trek” baby names

We’ve already looked at Uhura, and Jeanluc…so are you ready for the next three Star Trek baby names?

Today we’ve got Shahna, Kelinda, and Philana — each of which came from single episodes of the original TV series, which ran from 1966 to 1969.

shahna, star trek, television, 1960s
Shahna (not Lady Gaga)

The baby name Shahna debuted in 1968:

  • 1972: unlisted
  • 1971: unlisted
  • 1970: unlisted
  • 1969: 9 baby girls named Shahna
  • 1968: 15 baby girls named Shahna [debut]
  • 1967: unlisted

The character Shahna (played by Angelique Pettyjohn) was in the season 2 episode “The Gamesters of Triskelion,” which first aired on January 5, 1968. The setting of the episode was the planet Triskelion, where the rulers — disembodied entities called the “Providers” — forced their captives to fight against one another, gladiator-style, for their own entertainment.

kelinda, star trek, television, 1960s
Kelinda

The baby name Kelinda debuted in 1968:

  • 1972: unlisted
  • 1971: unlisted
  • 1970: unlisted
  • 1969: unlisted
  • 1968: 7 baby girls named Kelinda [debut]
  • 1967: unlisted

The character Kelinda (played by Barbara Bouchet) was in the season 2 episode “By Any Other Name,” which first aired on February 23, 1968. The episode starts with the U.S.S. Enterprise responding to fake distress call from a small planet on which encounter a strand group of Kelvans, who plan to hijack their ship in order to find planets to colonize.

philana, star trek, television, 1960s
Philana

The baby name Philana debuted in 1969:

  • 1972: 12 baby girls named Philana
  • 1971: 20 baby girls named Philana
  • 1970: 19 baby girls named Philana
  • 1969: 10 baby girls named Philana [debut]
  • 1968: unlisted
  • 1967: unlisted

The character Philana (played by Barbara Babcock) was in the season 3 episode “Plato’s Stepchildren,” which first aired on November 22, 1968. The setting of the episode was the planet Platonius, where they encounter the sadistic leader of a psychokinetic society modeled after ancient Greece. (This also happens to be the infamous “interracial kiss” episode.)

No doubt Philana’s name was based on the ancient Greek word philos, meaning “friend” or “lover.”

So, which of these three single-episode Star Trek names do you like more: Shahna, Kelinda, or Philana?