How popular is the baby name Larry 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 Larry.
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Tuesday’s post about the Victorian-style Tylney Hall Hotel reminded me of a list of Victorian-era names that I’ve had bookmarked forever.
The list was created by amateur genealogist G. M. Atwater as a resource for writers. It contains names and name combinations that were commonly seen in the U.S. from the 1840s to the 1890s. Below is the full list (with a few minor changes).
| Victorian Era Female Names | Victorian Era Male Names |
|---|---|
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Which female name and male name do you like best?
Broadway star Mary Martin and her second husband, producer Richard Halliday, welcomed a daughter on November 4, 1941. The baby was named Mary Heller Halliday.
When Mary Martin talked to the press about the newborn, though, she left out the first name Mary and only mentioned the middle name Heller.
The actress-mother said they would name the child Heller.
“Down in Texas,” she explained, “Heller means a pert, vivacious youngster.”
One reporter decided to stir up trouble by asking residents of Weatherford, Texas — Mary Martin’s hometown — how they felt about the name Heller. The article was titled, in part, “Texas Town Shocked.”
[Mrs. Martin] announced immediately that she and her husband, Richard Halliday, would name her “Heller” because “that’s what folks in Weatherford call a particularly pert and vivacious girl.”
But the unanimous–and anonymous–consensus here was:
“Why I never heard the likes of that. Little girls aren’t called Heller in Weatherford.”
More anonymous quotes from Weatherford residents:
(1) “A name like that might do in Hollywood but never in Weatherford. We’re too conservative and too conventional.”
(2) “Mary was a little lady and a well-mannered child, certainly not a little devil and I don’t know where she could have gotten an idea like that.”
(3) “I think it’s not a very nice name for a girl to have.”
(4) “It’s probably just one of Mary’s passing whims. When the baby is christened, I’ll bet it will be as Mary and not as Heller.”
Oh, the drama!
The person who offered that last quote was correct, technically, but Mary Heller — who went on to play the role of Liza in Peter Pan with her mother several times — always went by the name Heller.
Interestingly, Mary Martin later altered her story on the origin of Heller. She told People in the early ’80s that the name was inspired by the fact that Heller “kicked like mad” before she was born.
P.S. During her first marriage, Mary Martin welcomed a baby boy named Larry Martin Hagman. He went on to become an actor (like his mother) and was best known for his portrayal of J. R. Ewing on Dallas.
Sources:
Image: Screenshot of the TV series Producers’ Showcase (3 Jan. 1956)
Annette Funicello, the most popular member of the original Mickey Mouse Club (1955-1959), passed away a couple of days ago.
Seeing her name in the news made me think about the other original Mouseketeers, most of whom were born in the early to mid-1940s (making them teens in the late 1950s). If you’re looking for a baby name reminiscent of sock hops and soda fountains, the first batch of Mouseketeers is not a bad place to start:
Which of the above names do you like the most?
Sources: Girl next door Annette Funicello dies at 70, The Original Mickey Mouse Club Show
Image: Mickey Mouse Club Mouseketeers 1957 (public domain)
Fred and Edith Schoville of Soldiers Grove, Wisconsin, had their first child in 1926, their last in 1952, and 20 in between. That’s a total of 22 children. All were single births.
Here are the names of all 22, plus as many of the birth years as I could verify.
More than half of the Schoville children are listed on the 1950 U.S. Census:
Which girl name is your favorite? How about boy name?
Sources:
Image: Clipping from the Spokane Daily Chronicle (18 Apr. 1950)
[Latest update: Oct. 2024]
