Baby Name: Maria

According to the U.S. baby name data, the name Eulalia saw a distinct spike in the early 1890s:

• 1895: 34 baby girls named Eulalia
• 1894: 39 baby girls named Eulalia
• 1893: 55 baby girls named Eulalia
• 1892: 19 baby girls named Eulalia
• 1891: 20 baby girls named Eulalia

The spike is mirrored in the Social Security Death Index (SSDI) data:

• 1895: 81 people named Eulalia
• 1894: 92 people named Eulalia
• 1893: 156 people named Eulalia
• 1892: 59 people named Eulalia
• 1891: 46 people named Eulalia

What caused it?

Spain’s 29-year-old Infanta Eulalia, whose full name at birth was María Eulalia Francisca de Asís Margarita Roberta Isabel Francisca de Paula Cristina María de la Piedad. (The name Eulalia is derived from the ancient Greek word eulalos, meaning “well spoken.”)

In 1893, she visited the U.S. to attend the Chicago World’s Fair — officially the “World’s Columbian Exposition” — held in commemoration of the 400th anniversary of Christopher Columbus’ discovery of America.

This Columbus connection made the fair’s organizers eager to host a member of the Spanish royal family as a guest of honor. So Queen Isabella II of Spain sent her youngest daughter, Eulalia, to represent the family.

Even before Eulalia appeared at the fair on June 7, she attracted U.S. media attention over the 49 days she spent traveling to various places (Puerto Rico, Cuba, Washington DC, and New York) along the way to Chicago.

Once she finally arrived, she was followed closely by the media. Newspapers like the Chicago Tribune offered daily updates on Eulalia and her various activities (e.g., parades, banquets, concerts).

However, despite the glowing reports on the front pages, the Tribune began carrying references to misunderstandings and insinuations of friction over matters of etiquette, precedence, and, especially, the Princess’ cavalier attitude toward arrangements made for her.

In fact, at the end of her “brief but not altogether satisfactory” visit, the Tribune went so far as to say the efforts put in by those who’d entertained Eulalia and her entourage were akin to “seeds flung away on barren ground.”

…All this press coverage, both positive and negative, gave the name a lot of extra exposure during 1893. And this resulted in more U.S. parents naming their babies “Eulalia” the same year.

What are your thoughts on the name Eulalia? Would you use it for a modern-day baby?

Sources:

• Eulalia – Behind the Name
• “The Royal Spaniards.” Salt Lake Herald 21 May 1893: 14.
• “The Living Infinite” imagines Princess Eulalia’s visit to the World’s Fair
• Wilson, Robert E. “The Infanta at the Fair.” Journal of the Illinois State Historical Society, vol. 59, no. 3, 1966, pp. 252-271.