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

Baby names from Pullman cars?

train engine

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 O&W Engine #143 (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:

What gave the baby name Perri a boost in 1958?

Movie poster for "Perri" (1957)

Here’s a Disney name that was totally new to me…

In 1958, the number of baby girls in the U.S. named Perri more than doubled:

  • 1960: 90 baby girls named Perri
  • 1959: 91 baby girls named Perri
  • 1958: 119 baby girls named Perri [peak usage]
  • 1957: 50 baby girls named Perri
  • 1956: 32 baby girls named Perri

Why?

In late 1957, Disney released the movie Perri, which follows “the perilous forest life of girl squirrel Perri, who falls for her own prince charming, a male squirrel!”

It’s not an animated film, but a fictional story narrated on top of documentary-style footage shot in Utah and Wyoming.

Like Bambi, the story was based on Felix Salten book. This one was called Die Jugend des Eichhörnchens Perri (Perri: The Youth of a Squirrel) and it was published fifteen years after Bambi.

The boy name Perry also spiked around this time, but this has more to do with the TV show Perry Mason (1957-1966) than with the Disney squirrel.

What do you think of the name Perri?

Sources: Disney’s Perri Trailer, SSA