How popular is the baby name Perry 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 Perry.

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Popularity of the baby name Perry


Posts that mention the name Perry

Where did the baby name Lastarza come from in 1953?

American boxer Roland LaStarza (1927-2009)
Roland LaStarza

The baby name Lastarza debuted in the U.S. baby name data in 1953:

  • 1955: unlisted
  • 1954: unlisted
  • 1953: 6 baby boys named Lastarza
  • 1952: unlisted
  • 1951: unlisted

Where did it come from?

Roland LaStarza, the Bronx-born, Italian-American boxer whose pro career lasted from the late 1940s to the early 1960s. He won 57 out of his 66 professional fights. Two of the fights he did not win were against the legendary Rocky Marciano.

Marciano barely won the 1950 bout, and in the much-hyped 1953 rematch — with the World Heavyweight title up for grabs — LaStarza won four of the first six rounds. Marciano had started off “overeager and awkward,” at one point swinging “so wildly that he missed and slipped clumsily to the canvas.” But “[i]n the seventh, Marciano changed his tactics, started aiming at LaStarza’s body as well as his head in an attempt to wear the challenger down. He succeeded.” Marciano won by technical knockout in the 11th round. The match was declared Fight of the Year by boxing magazine The Ring.

(Usage of the baby name Marciano also saw an uptick in 1953.)

After retirement, Roland LaStarza made guest appearances on several TV shows including 77 Sunset Strip, Perry Mason, and Batman. His surname never reappeared in the baby name data, though, making it a true one-hit wonder.

Source: “A Champ Too Tough For Anyone Around.” Life 5 Oct. 1953: 32-33.
Image: Screenshot of Roland LaStarza from the LaStarza vs. Cockell match (1954)

Baby names from Pullman cars: Edith, Otis, Kenia, Jathniel

Pullman car

Years ago I posted about Livonia, a baby both born on and named after a Pullman car. Recently I wondered: What other Pullman car names would have made good baby names?

So I downloaded a big spreadsheet of over 12,000 Pullman car names from The Pullman Project and was slightly surprised to see that thousands of them could have been baby names, if we allow for the splitting of compound car names (like Fort Miley, Glen Norman, Meredith College, and West Willow).

Here are a handful of examples. On the left are relatively common/familiar names, and on the right are some unexpected choices.

Alana, Archer, ArnoldAdriatha, Arundel, Arvonia
Baxter, Becket, BradleyBantry, Bellonia, Besco
Calvin, Catalina, ClydeCadesia, Clarnie, Clymer
Dana, Deborah, DwightDarlow, Dathema, Dodona
Edith, Eileen, ElmoEdminster, Emalinda, Etherley
Finley, Flavia, FloydFithian, Flaxton, Florilla
Gary, Georgette, GraysonGavarnie, Gilia, Gloxinia
Harper, Harriet, HectorHarista, Humela, Hythe
Iona, Isabella, IvanIrvona, Isleta, Ixion
Jessica, Jordan, JuliaJacelia, Jathniel, Justitia
Kara, Keith, KennethKeinath, Kenia, Kittson
Laurel, Lewis, LindenLauveta, Leolyn, Lysander
Madison, Marco, MaudeMardonia, Mayence, Morganza
Nicola, Noel, NoraNarinda, Nasby, Norlina
Olivia, Omar, OtisOaklyn, Olanda, Oxus
Parker, Perry, PhilippaPenlyn, Pipila, Pixley
QuincyQuarren
Rebecca, Riley, RonaldRexis, Risley, Ruxton
Sarah, Scott, SusanneSalphrona, Sarver, Sibley
Thora, Tracy, TylerTascott, Tilden, Tisonia
Vanessa, Vernon, VictoriaVarick, Vinora, Vivita
Wesley, Wilson, WrenWelby, Wescott, Wexford

Which of the names above do you like best?

Image: Adapted from Pullman car exterior (public domain)

Where did the baby name Kitza come from in 1959?

Greek singer Kitza Kazacos
Kitza Kazacos

Like Gogi, the name Kitza appeared once in the U.S. baby name data in the late 1950s, but never returned.

  • 1961: unlisted
  • 1960: unlisted
  • 1959: 5 baby girls named Kitza [debut]
  • 1958: unlisted
  • 1957: unlisted

Where did it come from?

Greek singer Kitza Kazacos. During the ’50s she became famous in England, and at the end of the decade she decided to try her luck with American audiences.

As the mononymous “Kitza” she appeared (along with Paul Anka) on the Perry Como Show in February of 1959. The press coverage leading up to the appearance was a bit weird, focusing on how she maintained her figure with the help of a hypnotist (“who hypnotizes her into disliking foods that make her gain weight”).

Ultimately, Kitza didn’t have much luck getting attention in the U.S. Here’s what she said later the same year:

“Since the Perry Como show, I have made just one other appearance and that was on daytime show ‘The Jimmy Dean Show.’ They say they want fresh new talent here, but when fresh, new talent comes to them, they say, “The public doesn’t know you.””

I’m not sure what became of Kitza Kazacos, but I can tell you that her first name is a variant of Kitsa, which is a nickname for Kyriaki. Kyriaki is both the Greek word for Sunday and the feminine form of the name Kyriakos, which means “of the lord.” (The Latin equivalent of Kyriakos is Dominicus, the root names like of Dominic and Dominique.)

What do you think of the name Kitza?

Sources:

  • Torre, Marie. “New Face Gets Second Look.” Lawrence Journal-World 15 Jun. 1959: 4.
  • “Hypnosis Does It.” Circleville Herald 4 Mar. 1959: 6.
  • SSA

Baby name story: Union Banner

Union Banner Hunt (1864-1915)
Union B. Hunt

Union B. Hunt served as Indiana’s 29th secretary of state from 1899 to 1903.

He was born in Nettle Creek, Indiana, to parents Rachel and Joshua Hunt on September 2, 1864. His full name at birth was Union Banner Basil Morton Hunt.

For this name, Mr. Hunt says, he is not responsible. Neither is he ashamed of it. At the time of his birth his brother was confined in the Confederate Prison in Andersonville, Ga., having been captured at the Battle of Chickamauga. Hence, the name “Union Banner.” Basil (pronounced Bazil) is an old family name, and “Morton” is for the great war governor of Indiana.

The “great war governor,” Oliver P. Morton, served as Indiana’s 14th governor from 1861 to 1867. (Incidentally, his birth name, Oliver Hazard Perry Throck Morton, honored naval commander Oliver Hazard Perry.)

Sources:

Image: Clipping from the National Magazine (Vol. XXXIX)