How popular is the baby name Mattlock 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 Mattlock.

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Popularity of the baby name Mattlock


Posts that mention the name Mattlock

Where did the baby name Devara come from in 1967?

The name Devara was a one-hit wonder in the U.S. baby name data back in 1967:

  • 1969: unlisted
  • 1968: unlisted
  • 1967: 7 baby girls named Devara [debut]
  • 1966: unlisted
  • 1965: unlisted

Where did it come from?

Celebrity gossip…plus a typo. :)

In early 1967, newspapers reported that TV actor Vince Edwards was going to take his ex-wife, actress Kathy Kersh, to court because she “[made] it inconvenient for him to visit their 14-month-old daughter, Devara.”

This relatively minor item landed on the front page of certain (smaller) newspapers.

As we saw the other day, though, their daughter’s first name was actually Devera — making “Devara” yet another baby name inspired by a typo. (Others include Aleeta, Bedar, Clintonia, Glenalee, Kior, Mattlock, Rainelle, Reeshemah, and Terria.)

What are your thoughts on the name Devara? Do you like it more or less than Devera?

Source: “Wants His Ex-Wife Punished.” Salina Journal 15 Mar. 1967: 1.

Interesting one-hit wonder names in the U.S. baby name data

single flower

They came, they went, and they never came back!

These baby names are one-hit wonders in the U.S. baby name data. That is, they’ve only popped up once, ever, in the entire dataset of U.S. baby names (which accounts for all names given to at least 5 U.S. babies per year since 1880).

There are thousands of one-hit wonders in the dataset, but the names below have interesting stories behind their single appearance, so these are the one-hits I’m writing specific posts about. Just click on a name to read more.

2020s

  • 2020: Jexi

2010s

2000s

1990s

1980s

1970s

1960s

1950s

1940s

1930s

1920s

1910s

1900s

  • (none yet)

1890s

As I discover (and write about) more one-hit wonders in the data, I’ll add the names/links to this page. In the meanwhile, do you have any favorite one-hit wonder baby names?

Image: Adapted from Solitary Poppy by Andy Beecroft under CC BY-SA 2.0.

[Latest update: Apr. 2024]

Where did the baby name Matlock come from in 1987?

Title of the the TV show "Matlock" (1986-1995).
“Matlock“

The surname Matlock first appeared in the U.S. baby name data in 1987:

  • 1989: unlisted
  • 1988: unlisted
  • 1987: 5 baby boys named Matlock [debut]
  • 1986: unlisted
  • 1985: unlisted

Why?

Because of the TV series Matlock, which premiered in September of 1986.

The main character of the legal drama was Benjamin “Ben” Matlock (played by Andy Griffith), a criminal defense attorney from Georgia “whose folksy demeanor belies his considerable investigative and courtroom abilities.”

So then…why did a two-T version of the name, Mattlock, pop up in the data two years earlier?

  • 1987: unlisted
  • 1986: unlisted
  • 1985: 7 baby boys named Mattlock [debut]
  • 1984: unlisted
  • 1983: unlisted

The 1986 pilot for Matlock was being mentioned in the newspapers in late 1985 — and I did see the show’s title misspelled “Mattlock” at least once.

Title of the the TV show "Matt Houston" (1982-1985)
“Matt Houston“

But I think a better explanation for the two-T debut is a separate series: Matt Houston, which aired from 1982 to 1985. It was a crime drama that starred actor Lee Horsley as Matlock “Matt” Houston, a wealthy Texan who enjoyed working as a private investigator in his spare time.

Though the character’s first name was spelled with a single T, the nickname “Matt” probably suggested to viewers that it was spelled “Mattlock.”

Both Matlock (one T) and Mattlock (two T’s) were one-hit wonder baby names.

The surname Matlock, which comes from an English place name (the town of Matlock in Derbyshire), ultimately derives from the Old English words mæthel, meaning “assembly” or “speech,” and ac, meaning “oak tree.”

What are your thoughts on Matlock as a first name?

Sources:

  • “TV Notes.” Evening Independent 3 Dec. 1985: 8-B.
  • Newcomb, Horace. (Ed.) Encyclopedia of Television. 2nd ed. New York: Routledge, 2013.
  • Matt Houston – Wikipedia
  • Hanks, Patrick. (Ed.) Dictionary of American Family Names. New York: Oxford University Press, 2003.
  • SSA

Images: Screenshots of Matlock and Matt Houston

[Latest update: Oct. 2023]