How popular is the baby name Nerine 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 Nerine.

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Popularity of the baby name Nerine


Posts that mention the name Nerine

Mystery baby name: Adilene (Solved!)

Graph of the usage of the baby name Adilene in the U.S. since 1880
Usage of the baby name Adilene

In 1987, the most impressive debut name for girls was Jaleesa.

The next-most impressive debut? The name Adilene:

  • 1990: 166 baby girls named Adilene
  • 1989: 158 baby girls named Adilene
  • 1988: 133 baby girls named Adilene
  • 1987: 72 baby girls named Adilene [debut]
  • 1986: not listed

The name Adilene has managed to stay within the 100-to-200 babies-per-year range all the way to 2010, in fact.

Where did it come from?

…I don’t know. (Argh.)

The other mystery names I’ve written about so far — Wanza (1915), Nerine (1917), Laquita (1930), Djuna (1964) — have been older. I didn’t feel too bad asking for help on these.

But Adilene is relatively recent. I’m frustrated that I can’t come up with an explanation for this one.

What I do know is this: most of the 1987 Adilenes have Spanish surnames. So the inspiration could have been something Spanish-language. Perhaps an obscure 1986/1987 telenovela…?

Do you know the answer?

UPDATE: I think the mystery is solved! Looks like Adilene was inspired by “Adilene,” a song by Los Yonics. Big thank you to Laura and Adi for helping me out!

Mystery baby name: Wanza (Solved!)

Graph of the usage of the baby name Wanza in the U.S. since 1880
Usage of the baby name Wanza

Wanza was a top debut name of 1915. That year, at least 33 U.S. babies were named Wanza:

  • 1919: 8 baby girls named Wanza
  • 1918: 12 baby girls named Wanza
  • 1917: 7 baby girls named Wanza
  • 1916: 13 baby girls named Wanza
  • 1915: 33 baby girls named Wanza [debut]
  • 1914: unlisted

The name kept appearing in the U.S. baby name data until the 1960s, but it never hit as high as 33 again.

Where did it come from?

I have no idea.

The name Wanda was on the rise from the late 1800s through the 1930s, and Wanda’s increasing popularity gave other Wan-names (e.g., Waneta, Wanita) a boost. This probably helped Wanza a bit. But it doesn’t explain why dozens of babies were suddenly named Wanza in 1915.

I thought I’d found the answer in Mae Van Norman Long’s novel The Wonder Woman, which features a character named Wanza, but the book wasn’t published until 1917 — following the trend, not sparking it.

Any ideas on this one?

Update, Apr. 2025: Looks like Anonymous has solved the mystery, yet again!

Illustration of Wanza Lyttle from "The Wonder Woman" (1915)
Wanza Lyttle

As it turns out, The Wonder Woman had been serialized in the popular women’s magazine McCall’s during 1915. (Here are direct links to the seven installments: June, July, August, September, October, November, and December.)

The character in question, Wanza Lyttle, was a “gay, quick-tempered, happy-hearted” young woman who drove a peddler’s cart. “She was the apple of her father’s eye, the pride of the village, and the delight of the steamboat men on the river.”

A big thanks to Anonymous, who has also helped us figure out Nerine and Zeline recently.

Source: SSA

Second image: Clipping from McCall’s magazine (Jul. 1915)

Mystery baby names: Djuna and Djuana (Solved!)

Graph of the usage of the baby name Djuna in the U.S. since 1880
Usage of the baby name Djuna

So far I’ve only posted about two mystery names, Laquita and Nerine. But there are plenty of others.

One of those others is Djuna, which was the most impressive girl-name debut in the U.S. baby name data in 1964:

  • 1966: 24 baby girls named Djuna
  • 1965: 32 baby girls named Djuna
  • 1964: 198 baby girls named Djuna [rank: 738th]
  • 1963: unlisted
  • 1962: unlisted

In fact, 198 was the highest debut number ever up to that point, and it remained the record-holder until Kizzy (inspired by Roots) came along with a whopping 1,115 baby girls in 1977.

And that’s not all. A bunch of similar names became more popular in 1964 as well:

1963196419651966
Djuna–198*3224
Djuana–1907735
Dwana17823937
Duana7291811
Dejuana–241113
Dewanna13242230
Dwanna10241012
Duanna–1066
Dujuana–10*5–
Djana–9*––
Duuna–9*––
Duwana–9*––
Djuan (f)–7*––
Dejuna–6*––
Duuana–6*––
Duwanna–6*––
Dywana–6*––
Djuanna–5*––
Dajuana––9*–
*Debut

(Djana, Duuna, Dejuna and Duuana were one-hit wonders.)

Where did these names come from?

I haven’t a clue. The very first Djuna seems to be writer Djuna Barnes (1892-1982), but I don’t think she made any headlines in the 1960s.

The name was also used in a bunch Ellery Queen novels, but that Djuna was a boy. (And the books were published in the ’40s and ’50s, mostly.)

Olympian Wilma Rudolph named her baby girl Djuana in mid-1964. This may have contributed to the surge in usage. But many (most?) of the Djunas and Djuanas I’ve seen so far were born during the first half of the year, so it can’t be the main cause.

So…I’m stumped.

Do you guys have any ideas?

UPDATE: We worked together to figure out that the answer was TV character Djuna Phrayne, who was featured on a single episode of the TV series Channing. Thank you, everyone!

Mystery baby name: Nerine (Solved!)

Graph of the usage of the baby name Nerine in the U.S. since 1880
Usage of the baby name Nerine

While we’re mulling over the case of Laquita, I’ll throw out another mystery baby name: Nerine.

Nerine was in the U.S. baby name data for four years in a row:

  • 1921: unlisted
  • 1920: 6 baby girls named Nerine
  • 1919: 13 baby girls named Nerine
  • 1918: 17 baby girls named Nerine
  • 1917: 43 baby girls named Nerine (the #1 debut name for girls)
  • 1916: unlisted

A variant, Nerene, also popped up in the data in 1917 and 1918:

  • 1919: unlisted
  • 1918: 7 baby girls named Nerene
  • 1917: 11 baby girls named Nerene [debut]
  • 1916: unlisted

What else can I tell you about Nerine? Well, it’s a flower name based on the word Nereid, a form of Nereus. It’s also the name of a consort of Mars, Nerine/Nerio (different etymology).

But I have no idea what made it fashionable in 1917. I can’t find a pop culture explanation, and usage of Norene/Noreen/Norine didn’t spike that year, so there wasn’t any piggybacking involved.

Thoughts?

Update, Mar. 2025: I think Anonymous has figured it out!

"Nerine's Second Choice" by Adelaide Stirling
“Nerine’s Second Choice”

A story called Nerine’s Second Choice, by Adelaide Stirling, was serialized in Comfort magazine during 1917. (Here are direct links to the nine installments: January, February, March, April, May, June, July, August, and September.)

Comfort, though not well-known today, had a circulation of well over 1 million at the time.

And the story, curiously, wasn’t new — it was first published in the late 1890s. (Comfort reprinted several of Adelaide Stirling’s previously published stories during the 1910s, in fact.)

Thank you so much to Anonymous for piecing this together, and to everyone else who offered theories about the debut of Nerine in 1917!

Sources: Comfort (magazine) – Wikipedia, SSA

Second image: Clipping from Comfort magazine (Jan. 1917)