How popular is the baby name Lori in the United States right now? How popular was it historically? Find out using the graph below! Plus, check out all the blog posts that mention the name Lori.

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Popularity of the Baby Name Lori


Posts that Mention the Name Lori

What popularized the baby name Torey in 1959?

The character Torey Peck from the TV series "Peck's Bad Girl" (1959).
Torey Peck from “Peck’s Bad Girl”

According to the U.S. baby name data, the name Torey shot up in usage for baby girls in 1959:

  • 1961: 20 baby girls named Torey
  • 1960: 51 baby girls named Torey
  • 1959: 103 baby girls named Torey [peak usage]
  • 1958: unlisted
  • 1957: unlisted

Variant spellings of the name — like Tori, Torie, Tory, Torri, Torrie, Torre, and Torry — also saw higher usage that year. Torri, in fact, was the fastest-rising girl name of 1959.

To explain this one fully, we need to start with Wisconsin newspaper publisher-turned-politician George Wilbur Peck (1840-1916), who wrote a series of humorous “Peck’s Bad Boy” stories starting in the 1880s.

The main character, Henry Peck, was mischievous trickster. In fact, he became so well known in the late 1800s that the phrase “Peck’s Bad Boy” entered the language; Merriam-Webster defines it as “one whose bad behavior is a source of embarrassment or annoyance.”

The stories were later adapted for the big screen, with young Jackie Cooper playing the part of Henry. But in one of the movies, Peck’s Bad Girl (1918), the character was turned into a girl named Minnie Peck.

The main character was once again a girl in the single-season TV sitcom Peck’s Bad Girl, which aired originally from May to August, 1959. This time around, the “bad girl” was named Torey Peck, and she wasn’t mischievous so much as tomboyish. She was played by Patty McCormack of Bad Seed fame.

The show only lasted 13 episodes, but that was long enough to give Torey a sizeable boost in usage. (No doubt the rhyming name Lori, which was very trendy in the 1950s, had helped set the stage for Torey.)

Do you like the name Torey? Which spelling do you prefer?

Sources:

How did “The Real World” influence baby names?

“This is the true story…of seven strangers…picked to live in a loft…and have their lives taped…”

Several months ago, the cast of the inaugural season of MTV’s The Real World held a 6-day reunion in the very same NYC loft they shared back in 1992. The reunion — which was filmed, of course — is now airing as a series on the Paramount+ platform. (Here’s the trailer.)

When I was a teenager, I loved watching The Real World. (And I appreciated that the names of the cast members were always prominently displayed in the opening credits!) So I think now would be a great time to go back and see if any Real World cast member names had an influence on U.S. baby names.

First, let’s start with a comprehensive list of all the cast member names from each of RW‘s 33 (!) seasons…

  1. The Real World: New York (1992): Andre, Becky, Eric, Heather, Julie, Kevin, Norman
  2. The Real World: California (1993): Aaron, Beth (x2), David, Dominic, Glen, Irene, Jon, Tami
  3. The Real World: San Francisco (1994): Cory, Jo, Judd, Mohammed, Pam, Pedro, Puck, Rachel
  4. The Real World: London (1995): Jacinda, Jay, Kat, Lars, Mike, Neil, Sharon
  5. The Real World: Miami (1996): Cynthia, Dan, Flora, Joe, Melissa, Mike, Sarah
  6. The Real World: Boston (1997): Elka, Genesis, Jason, Kameelah, Montana, Sean, Syrus
  7. The Real World: Seattle (1998): David, Irene, Janet, Lindsay, Nathan, Rebecca, Stephen
  8. The Real World: Hawaii (1999): Amaya, Colin, Justin, Kaia, Matt, Ruthie, Teck
  9. The Real World: New Orleans (2000): Danny, David, Jamie, Julie, Kelley, Matt, Melissa
  10. The Real World: Back to New York (2001): Coral, Kevin, Lori, Malik, Mike, Nicole, Rachel
  11. The Real World: Chicago (2002): Aneesa, Cara, Chris, Keri, Kyle, Theo, Tonya
  12. The Real World: Las Vegas (2002-2003): Alton, Arissa, Brynn, Frank, Irulan, Steven, Trishelle
  13. The Real World: Paris (2003): Ace, Adam, Chris, Christina, Leah, Mallory, Simon
  14. The Real World: San Diego (2004): Brad, Cameran, Charlie, Frankie, Jacquese, Jamie, Randy, Robin
  15. The Real World: Philadelphia (2004-2005): Karamo, Landon, Melanie, M.J., Sarah, Shavonda, Willie
  16. The Real World: Austin (2005): Danny, Johanna, Lacey, Melinda, Nehemiah, Rachel, Wes
  17. The Real World: Key West (2006): Janelle, John, Jose, Paula, Svetlana, Tyler, Zach
  18. The Real World: Denver (2006-2007): Alex, Brooke, Colie, Davis, Jenn, Stephen, Tyrie
  19. The Real World: Sydney (2007-2008): Ashli, Cohutta, Dunbar, Isaac, KellyAnne, Parisa, Shauvon, Trisha
  20. The Real World: Hollywood (2008): Brianna, Brittini, Dave, Greg, Joey, Kimberly, Nick, Sarah, Will
  21. The Real World: Brooklyn (2009): Baya, Chet, Devyn, J.D., Katelynn, Ryan, Sarah, Scott
  22. The Real World: Cancun (2009): Ayiiia, Bronne, CJ, Derek, Emilee, Jasmine, Joey, Jonna
  23. The Real World: D.C. (2009-2010): Andrew, Ashley, Callie, Emily, Erika, Josh, Mike, Ty
  24. The Real World: New Orleans (2010): Ashlee, Eric, Jemmye, McKenzie, Preston, Ryan (x2), Sahar
  25. The Real World: Las Vegas (2011): Adam, Dustin, Heather (x2), Leroy, Michael, Nany, Naomi
  26. The Real World: San Diego (2011): Alexandra, Ashley, Frank, Nate, Priscilla, Sam, Zach
  27. The Real World: St. Thomas (2012): Brandon (x2), LaToya, Laura, Marie, Robb, Trey
  28. The Real World: Portland (2013): Anastasia, Averey, Jessica, Johnny, Joi, Jordan, Marlon, Nia
  29. Real World: Ex-Plosion (2014): Arielle, Ashley (x2), Brian, Cory, Hailey, Jamie, Jay, Jenna, Jenny, Lauren, Thomas
  30. Real World: Skeletons (2014-2015): Bruno, Jason, Madison, Nicole, Sylvia, Tony, Violetta
  31. Real World: Go Big or Go Home (2016): CeeJai, Chris, Dean, Dione, Dylan, Jenna, Kailah, Sabrina
  32. Real World Seattle: Bad Blood (2016-2017): Anika, Anna, Jennifer, Jordan, Kassius, Katrina, Kimberly, Mike, Orlana, Peter, Robbie, Theo, Tyara, Will
  33. The Real World: Atlanta (2019): Arely, Clint, Dondre, Justin, Meagan, Tovah, Yasmin

The names in boldface line up with a discernible increase in baby name usage. (Other Real World names may have affected baby names as well, but it can be hard to tell when, say, a name is already common, or already on the rise.)

Here are details on all the boldfaced names, plus two more influential RW names (from seasons 6 and 18) that didn’t even belong to primary cast members.

  • The name Jacinda (from season 4; 1995) saw peak usage in 1996.
  • The name Flora (5; 1996) saw increased usage in 1997.
  • The name Kameelah (6; 1997) saw increased usage in 1998.
  • The name Syrus (6; 1997) saw increased usage in 1997.
  • The name Jason (6; 1997) was probably not affected, but the name of Jason’s girlfriend, Timber, saw increased usage in 1998.
  • The name Amaya (8; 1999) saw sharply increased usage in 1999 and 2000.
  • The name Kaia (8; 1999) saw increased usage in 1999.
  • The name Ruthie (8; 1999) saw increased usage in 1999.
  • The name Aneesa (11; 2002) saw peak usage in 2002.
  • The name Arissa (12; 2002-3) saw peak usage in 2003.
  • The name Brynn (12; 2002-3) saw sharply increased usage in 2003.
  • The name Irulan (12; 2002-3) debuted in the data in 2003.
    • It looks like she was named after the fictional character Princess Irulan from Frank Herbert’s Dune books…?
  • The name Trishelle (12; 2002-3) saw peak usage in 2004.
  • The name Mallory (13; 2003) saw increased usage in 2003 and 2004.
  • The name Cameran (14; 2004) saw peak usage in 2004.
  • The name Jacquese (14; 2004) both returned to the data and saw peak usage in 2004.
  • The name Johanna (16; 2005) saw increased usage in 2005.
  • The name Nehemiah (16; 2005) saw increased usage in 2005 and 2006.
  • The name Janelle (17; 2006) saw increased usage in 2006.
  • The name Svetlana (17; 2006) saw peak usage in 2007.
  • The name Colie (18; 2006-7) both returned to the data and saw peak usage in 2007.
  • The name Tyrie (18; 2006-7) saw peak usage in 2007.
  • The name of Tyrie’s girlfriend, Jazalle, debuted in 2007 and is a one-hit wonder so far.
  • The name Kellyanne (19; 2007-8) returned to the data in 2008.
  • The name Baya (21; 2009) saw sharply increased usage in 2009. In fact, Baya was one of the fastest-rising baby names of 2009.
  • The name Averey (28; 2013) saw peak usage in 2013.
  • The name Kassius (32; 2016-17) saw increased usage in 2017.

Of all the names above, which one(s) do you like most?

And, for all the Real World fans out there: which season(s) do you like most? :)

Source: The Real World (TV series) – Wikipedia

Where did the baby name Nasiriyah come from in 2003?

Aftermath of the Battle of Nasiriyah, 2003

The name Nasiriyah was a one-hit wonder in the U.S. baby name data in 2003:

  • 2005: unlisted
  • 2004: unlisted
  • 2003: 15 baby girls named Nasiriyah [debut]
  • 2002: unlisted
  • 2001: unlisted

Where did “Nasiriyah” come from, and what happened in 2003 to draw people’s attention to it?

It came from the city of Nasiriyah in southern Iraq. The city was founded and named after a local sheikh name Nasir in the 1870s. (The Arabic name Nasir means “helper.”)

The event that introduced Nasiriyah to the American public was the Iraq War (which overthrew the government of Saddam Hussein and, thereby, had an influence on Iraqi baby names). The Battle of Nasiriyah, one of the first major battles of the war, was fought between U.S. Marines and Iraqi forces and lasted from March 23 to April 2.

(One of the female soldiers involved in the battle, Jessica Lynch, had a baby girl in 2007 and gave her the middle name Ann in honor of Lori Ann Piestewa, the first woman in the U.S. military killed in the Iraq War.)

What do you think of Nasiriyah as a baby name? Do you like it more or less than the similar names Nayirah and Nasiya?

Sources: Nasiriyah – Wikipedia, U.S. Marines in Battle: An-Nasiriyah (PDF)

Baby names in the news: Gloria, Google, Pink

Some recent and not-as-recent baby names from the news…

Balfour: A baby boy born in Orkney, Scotland, on June 15 was named Balfour because he was the first baby born in the new Balfour Hospital in Kirkwall. (Press and Journal)

Fani: A baby girl born in Bhubaneswar, India, on May 3 — in the midst of Cyclone Fani — was named Fani. (Outlook India)

Gloria: A baby girl born in St. Louis on June 12 — minutes before the start of Game 7 of the Stanley Cup Final, which was won by St. Louis — was named Vivian LeAnne Gloria Moore, second middle name in honor of the Blues’ season anthem, “Gloria.” (St. Louis Post-Dispatch)

Google: A baby boy born in Indonesia in November of 2018 was given the single name Google because his father hoped he would be “useful” to people, as Google is. The father chose not to add a surname so that “the essence” of the name would not be diluted. (Mirror)

Hayes and Jersey: Twins born in Winnipeg to NHL player Dale Weise in April of 2019 were named Hayes (boy) and Jersey (girl). Hayes was named for country singer Hunter Hayes and Jersey was named for the state of New Jersey. (NHL.com)

Lea: A baby girl born in Pittsburgh on May 3 was named Noa Lea, middle name in honor of Lori Gilbert-Kaye (Hebrew name: Leah bat Reuven), who was murdered in a synagogue shooting in California in April. (Chabad)

Narendra Modi: A baby boy born in India on May 23 — the day Narendra Modi’s National Democratic Alliance (NDA) was victorious in India’s general election — was named Narendra Modi. (Khaleej Times)

Pink: A baby girl born at a Pink concert in Liverpool on June 25 was named Dolly Pink. (EW)

Xale: A baby girl born in Belgium on April 19 was named Xale. She has eight older siblings: Alex (age 11), Axel (10), Xela (8), Lexa (7), Xael (6), Xeal (5), Exla (3) and Leax (2). (Tagtik)