I wasn’t sure what to make of the names Moonyeen and Moonyean when I first spotted them in the U.S. baby name data:
- 1937: unlisted
- 1936: 9 baby girls named Moonyeen
- 1935: unlisted
- 1934: 5 baby girls named Moonyean [debut]
- 1933: 14 baby girls named Moonyeen
- 1932: unlisted
- […]
- 1923: unlisted
- 1922: 7 baby girls named Moonyeen [debut]
- 1921: unlisted
Each appeared in the data exactly twice.
Where did the names come from, and why were they on the radar during the 1920s and ’30s?
Looks like they can be traced back to the Broadway play Smilin’ Through (1919), which featured a character named Moonyeen. The story was popularized by several film adaptations, including Smilin’ Through (1922), starring Norma Talmadge, and Smilin’ Through (1932), starring Norma Shearer. The 1932 version was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Picture.
In the story, Moonyeen was killed on her wedding day. Her fiancé John, now alone, harbored an all-consuming hatred of Moonyeen’s killer. But this came to a head many years later when Moonyeen’s niece (who John had adopted and raised as his own) happened to fall in love with the killer’s son.
I’m not entirely sure how the writers of the original Smilin’ Through came up with the name. My guess is that they based it on the Irish word muirnín, which means “darling” or “sweetheart.” It’s a term of endearment very similar to mo mhúirnín, “my darling,” which gave rise to the name Mavourneen.
Source: SSA
Image: Lobby card for Smilin’ Through (1922)