How popular is the baby name Plato 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 Plato.

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Popularity of the baby name Plato


Posts that mention the name Plato

Shahna, Philana, Kelinda: More “Star Trek” baby names

We’ve already looked at Uhura, and Jeanluc…so are you ready for the next three Star Trek baby names?

Today we’ve got Shahna, Kelinda, and Philana — each of which came from single episodes of the original TV series, which ran from 1966 to 1969.

shahna, star trek, television, 1960s
Shahna (not Lady Gaga)

The baby name Shahna debuted in 1968:

  • 1972: unlisted
  • 1971: unlisted
  • 1970: unlisted
  • 1969: 9 baby girls named Shahna
  • 1968: 15 baby girls named Shahna [debut]
  • 1967: unlisted

The character Shahna (played by Angelique Pettyjohn) was in the season 2 episode “The Gamesters of Triskelion,” which first aired on January 5, 1968. The setting of the episode was the planet Triskelion, where the rulers — disembodied entities called the “Providers” — forced their captives to fight against one another, gladiator-style, for their own entertainment.

kelinda, star trek, television, 1960s
Kelinda

The baby name Kelinda debuted in 1968:

  • 1972: unlisted
  • 1971: unlisted
  • 1970: unlisted
  • 1969: unlisted
  • 1968: 7 baby girls named Kelinda [debut]
  • 1967: unlisted

The character Kelinda (played by Barbara Bouchet) was in the season 2 episode “By Any Other Name,” which first aired on February 23, 1968. The episode starts with the U.S.S. Enterprise responding to fake distress call from a small planet on which encounter a strand group of Kelvans, who plan to hijack their ship in order to find planets to colonize.

philana, star trek, television, 1960s
Philana

The baby name Philana debuted in 1969:

  • 1972: 12 baby girls named Philana
  • 1971: 20 baby girls named Philana
  • 1970: 19 baby girls named Philana
  • 1969: 10 baby girls named Philana [debut]
  • 1968: unlisted
  • 1967: unlisted

The character Philana (played by Barbara Babcock) was in the season 3 episode “Plato’s Stepchildren,” which first aired on November 22, 1968. The setting of the episode was the planet Platonius, where they encounter the sadistic leader of a psychokinetic society modeled after ancient Greece. (This also happens to be the infamous “interracial kiss” episode.)

No doubt Philana’s name was based on the ancient Greek word philos, meaning “friend” or “lover.”

So, which of these three single-episode Star Trek names do you like more: Shahna, Kelinda, or Philana?

Patience and Fortitude: The New York Public Library lions

New York Public Library on opening day (1911)
New York Public Library

Two marble lions have been guarding the entrance of the New York Public Library since it opened in May of 1911. These days, the lions are usually called Patience and Fortitude. But over the years they’ve had various nicknames, including a number of male/female nicknames (despite the fact that both lions are clearly male). Some examples:

  • Ainsley and Rollo
  • Leo Astor and Leo Lenox
    • The NYPL was created by combining the Astor and Lenox libraries.
  • Lord Lenox and Lady Astor
  • Leo and Leonora
  • Peter Cooper and Horace Greeley (famous for their whiskers, among other things)
  • Plato and Lily
  • Pyramus and Thisbe
  • Uptown and Downtown

The NYPL attributes the “Patience” and “Fortitude” to former NYC mayor Fiorello LaGuardia, who was in office from 1934 to 1945.

Mayor LaGuardia…nicknamed The New York Public Library’s lions Patience and Fortitude for the qualities he felt New Yorkers needed to survive the Great Depression.

While it’s a nice story, I can’t find any record of LaGuardia suggesting that the library lions be called by those particular nicknames. He did, however, use the phrase “Patience and Fortitude” repeatedly in his weekly WWII-era radio talks (1942-1945) on WNYC. So LaGuardia may be the ultimate source of the names, but it’s more likely that his radio audience began associating the two words with the two cats during the 1940s — after the Depression was over.

Speaking of Fiorello…the lions were carved by the Piccirilli Brothers, immigrants from Italy. The six brothers were named Ferrucio, Attilio, Furio, Masaniello, Orazio, and Getulio, plus they had a kid sister named Iola (according to the census).

Do you like the nicknames Patience and Fortitude for the lions? If not, what names would you prefer?

Sources:

Image: N.Y. Library on Opening Day (LOC)