How popular is the baby name Pam 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 Pam.

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Popularity of the baby name Pam


Posts that mention the name Pam

Where did the baby name Orenthal come from in 1968?

Football player Orenthal James "O.J." Simspon
Orenthal “O.J.” Simspon

Last week’s post about baby names inspired by the O. J. Simpson trial reminded me that we haven’t yet talked about O. J. Simpson’s first name, Orenthal. So let’s do that today.

Here’s how Simpson explained his name to LIFE magazine in 1968, while he was still a student at the University of Southern California:

“I had an aunt,” he recalls, “who got to my mother and named me Orenthal and my cousin Ercale. Then she turned around and gave her own kids common names like Stanley, Stewart and Pam. The only thing she ever told me about Orenthal was that it was the name of some French or Italian actor. I don’t know, maybe she was loaded or something when she came up with it.”

That same year, Simpson won the Heisman Trophy.

And, right on cue, we see the name Orenthal pop on the national baby name charts:

  • 1976: 25 baby boys named Orenthal
  • 1975: 25 baby boys named Orenthal
  • 1974: 18 baby boys named Orenthal
  • 1973: 10 baby boys named Orenthal
  • 1972: unlisted
  • 1971: 10 baby boys named Orenthal
  • 1970: 18 baby boys named Orenthal
  • 1969: 23 baby boys named Orenthal
  • 1968: 10 baby boys named Orenthal [debut]
  • 1967: unlisted
  • 1966: unlisted

The next year he was the #1 NFL draft pick. He went on to have a successful professional football career that lasted over a decade, including a particularly impressive 1973, which looks like it gave the name a second boost.

After retiring from football, Simpson worked as a sports broadcaster and as an actor. He had a small part in Roots, for instance.

But his reputation was irreparably tarnished with the events of the mid-1990s. Usage of the name declined in the ’80s and it was off the national list entirely during the ’90s. (It’s been back on the list a couple of times since, though).

What do you think of the name Orenthal?

Sources:

Image: Adapted from O.J. Simpson talking to reporters, 1967 by Don Cormier (Los Angeles Times) under CC BY 4.0.

[Latest update: Jan. 2025]

Road trip roundup: Dora, Dixie, Mollie, Pam

The gold rush town of Deadwood, South Dakota, takes pride in its lawless past — drinking, gambling, even murder. So I wasn’t too surprised to learn that prostitution played a large part in the narrative.

The first prostitutes arrived in Deadwood in 1876. “Most prostitutes died in obscurity under assumed names, but a few became well known, if not respected.”

Here are some of the names (or pseudonyms) of Deadwood’s early prostitutes:

Only in 1980 (!) was prostitution wiped out in Deadwood once and for all.

In the Adams Museum, I found a pair of bedazzled denim wedge-heeled shoes left behind by one of Deadwood’s former (but more recent) working girls:

Prostitute Shoes

Here are the names of Deadwood’s last three madams:

Which set of names do you like better: the one from the late 19th century, or the one from the late 20th century?

Sources: Adams Museum, Deadwood.com, Madam Mollie Johnson, queen of the blondes

What turned Shaft into a baby name in 1971?

The character John Shaft from the movie "Shaft" (1971)
John Shaft from “Shaft“

The unusual name Shaft debuted in the U.S. baby name data in the early 1970s:

  • 1973: 16 baby boys named Shaft
  • 1972: 31 baby boys named Shaft
  • 1971: 22 baby boys named Shaft [debut]
  • 1970: unlisted
  • 1969: unlisted

Why?

Because of the highly profitable film Shaft, which was released in July of 1971.

Shaft introduced theatergoers to black, New York City-based private detective John Shaft (played by Richard Roundtree). Here’s how a New York Times reviewer summed up both the character and the plot:

[John Shaft] lives in a book-lined, stereo-equipped Village du plex, keeps his extra gun (the one with the pearl handle) in the fridge, has a succession of black women and white women in bed, and, between-times, settles a potentially nasty gang-and-race war between Harlem’s black syndicate king and some white (Mafia) hoods, with the help of a small group of black revolutionaries.

The movie was based on the 1970 novel of the same name by (white) journalist Ernest Tidyman.

Movie post for "Shaft" (1971)

The film’s memorable theme song, which could be heard during the opening credits, was written and performed by Isaac Hayes.

They say this cat Shaft is a bad mother–
(Shut your mouth!)
But I’m talkin’ ’bout Shaft
(Then we can dig it)

Released as a single in September, “Theme from Shaft” reached #1 on Billboard‘s Hot 100 chart in November and won the Academy Award for Best Original Song in April of the following year.

The first Shaft film was followed by a pair of sequels — Shaft’s Big Score! (1972) and Shaft in Africa (1973) — both of which also starred Roundtree.

What are your thoughts on the baby name Shaft?

P.S. I’ve found other baby names that were influenced by ’70s blaxploitation films, but none are as shocking as Shaft. They include Coffy, Foxy and Sheba — all of which saw higher usage thanks to the Pam Grier movies Coffy (1973), Foxy Brown (1974) and Sheba, Baby (1975).

P.P.S. One of the female backup singers on “Theme from Shaft” was Telma Hopkins of Tony Orlando and Dawn…

Sources:

Top image: Screenshot of Shaft

Baby name stories: Robin

Cheap Trick's album "Heaven Tonight" (1978"
Robin Zander (on the left)

One of the benefits of having a unisex name is that you can pass it down to either a boy or a girl. Or, you can pass it down to both a boy and a girl, which is exactly Cheap Trick singer Robin Zander did.

Zander has two children — one is a boy named Robin Jr., the other is a girl named Robin-Sailor.

About her children’s names, [Robin’s wife] Pam jokes, “Any more kids and we’d have to do the George Foreman thing.”

Robin and Robin-Sailor remind me of Emeril Lagasse’s latest two children, Meril (girl) and Emeril (boy).

Source: Daly, Sean. “Trick Daddy Zander surrenders to the bay area beauty.” St. Petersburg Times 10 Nov. 2006.