Baby Name: Linc

The Mod Squad, a police drama that premiered on television in September of 1968, was one of the first prime-time shows to “acknowledge the existence of the hippie counterculture.”

Its protagonists were a diverse trio of streetwise youths — Peter “Pete” Cochran (Michael Cole), Julie Barnes (Peggy Lipton), and Lincoln “Linc” Hayes (Clarence Williams III) — who, after getting into trouble with the law, were given the chance to work as undercover detectives for the L.A.P.D. in lieu of going to jail. Their mentor was Capt. Adam Greer (Tige Andrews).

Notably, Linc — who had been arrested for participating the Watts riots prior to being recruited by Greer — was one of the few prominent African-American characters on television in the 1960s.*

The year after the series started airing, the baby names Linc and Lincoln saw increased usage, and Tige appeared for the very first time in the U.S. baby name data:

Tige, the highest-debuting boy name of 1969, is pronounced like the first part of tiger — which makes sense, given that actor Tige Andrews was born Tiger David Androus in New York City in 1920. His parents, immigrants from Syria, had named him “after a strong animal to ensure good health, following a Syrian custom.”

*Two of the others were Lt. Uhura of Star Trek and Jemal David of The Outcasts.

Sources:

• Wikipedia: The Mod Squad, Tige Andrews
• Gates, Anita. “Peggy Lipton, ‘Mod Squad’ and ‘Twin Peaks’ Actress, Dies at 72.” New York Times 12 May 2019.
• Gates, Anita. “Clarence Williams III, a Star of ‘Mod Squad,’ Is Dead at 81.” New York Times 6 Jun. 2021.
• “Tige Andrews, 86, ‘Mod Squad’ Actor, Dies.” New York Times 12 Feb. 2007.
• Say How? – National Library Service for the Blind and Print Disabled (NLS) | Library of Congress
• FamilySearch.org
• SSA

Images: Screenshots of The Mod Squad