Baby Name: Michael

The Jackson 5, whose “bubblegum soul” sound made them remarkably successful in the early 1970s, consisted of five musically gifted brothers out of Gary, Indiana. Their names were:

• Sigmund Esco “Jackie” Jackson, b. 1951
• Toriano Adaryll “Tito” Jackson, b. 1953
  • Records suggest that Tito’s first name was actually “Tariano,” but the press typically spelled it “Toriano.”
• Jermaine LaJuane Jackson, b. 1954
• Marlon David Jackson, b. 1957
• Michael Joe Jackson, b. 1958

The brothers began performing together in the mid-1960s, but Jacksonmania didn’t hit until 1970, with the success of songs like “I Want You Back” (1969), “ABC” (1970), “The Love You Save” (1970), and “I’ll Be There” (1970) — all four of which hit #1 on Billboard‘s Hot 100 chart.

At the height of their fame, the boys even had a Saturday morning cartoon show called The Jackson 5ive (1971-72).

So how did the Jacksons’ celebrity affect U.S. baby names in the early 1970s? Let’s go brother by brother…

Jackie

Jackie Jackson couldn’t stop the name Jackie from trending downward, and he didn’t do much for the unusual name Esco, but the name Sigmund did see a distinct uptick in usage in 1971.

Fun fact: Jackie dated Debraca Foxx during the early ’70s.

Tito

Tito Jackson popularized his nickname, Tito, and boosted his legal names, Toriano and Adaryll, into the data for the first time:

Toriano was the top debut name of 1970. In fact, it currently ranks as one of the top boy-name debuts ever. And its trendiness gave rise to variant spellings like Torriano and Torianno.

Tito Jackons’s influence doesn’t stop there: His first son, Tariano Adaryll “Taj” Jackson, Jr. (b. 1973) — whose nickname was derived from his initials — gave the name Taj a boost. His second son, Taryll (b. 1975), caused the debut of the name Taryll.

Jermaine

Jermaine Jackson, the co-lead vocalist of the group (with Michael), brought so much attention to the name Jermaine that it not only entered the top 1,000, but nearly cracked the top 100:

• 1974: 1,628 baby boys named Jermaine [rank: 151st]
• 1973: 2,039 baby boys named Jermaine [rank: 127th]
• 1972: 1,966 baby boys named Jermaine [rank: 135th]
• 1971: 1,015 baby boys named Jermaine [rank: 233rd]
• 1970: 171 baby boys named Jermaine [rank: 622nd]
• 1969: 5 baby boys named Jermaine

Jermaine was the fastest-rising boy name in the U.S. in both 1970 and 1971 — two years in a row, impressively.

On the heels of Jermaine’s rise, a number of variant spellings of the name either saw similarly increased usage or appeared for the first time in the boys’ data:

Jermaine’s middle name, LaJuane, also debuted (in 1971).

Jermaine had a total of nine children, one of whom was (rather infamously) named Jermajesty.

Marlon

Marlon Jackson was the main reason that the name Marlon saw peak usage in 1972. (But he had some help from Marlon Brando, whose movie The Godfather came out the same year.)

Michael

Michael Jackson — who was still a decade away from releasing his massively popular solo album Thriller — couldn’t ultimately reverse the decline of the name Michael. But the combined influence of Michael Jackson and other famous Michaels (like basketball star Michael Jordan, and TV star Michael Landon) did help the name’s usage level out somewhat during the 1970s and ’80s.

Which Jackson 5 name is your favorite? (And, if you were around during Jacksonmania: Which group member was your favorite?)

While you ponder these questions, check out the group’s appearance on the Ed Sullivan show in December of 1969:

Sources:

• The Jackson 5 – Rock & Roll Hall of Fame
• The Jackson 5 – Wikipedia
• Jackson, Jermaine. You Are Not Alone: Michael Through a Brother’s Eyes. New York: Simon & Schuster, 2012.
• DeSantis, Rachel. “Taj Jackson Shares Emotional Post After Death of Dad Tito Jackson: ‘The Truth Is I Am Not Okay’.” People.com 18 Sept. 2024.
• SSA

Images: Clipping from the cover of Jet magazine (6 Aug. 1970) screenshot of The Jackson 5ive