Baby Name: Ralph

In 1941, the name Saford debuted in the U.S. baby name data with 11 baby boys — enough to make it the top boy-name debut of the year.

It was never to be seen in the data again, though. This made Saford the top one-hit wonder name of 1941. And it’s tied for 9th on the list of most popular one-hit wonder boy names of all time.

So what’s the story behind this mysterious name? The state-by-state data offers a big clue:

• 1943: unlisted
• 1942: unlisted
• 1941: 11 baby boys named Saford
  • 9 born in Virginia specifically
• 1940: unlisted
• 1939: unlisted

I think it was influenced by Virginia-based bluegrass musician Saford Hall.

Saford (who played the fiddle) and his identical twin brother Clayton (who played the banjo) were born in rural Patrick County, Virginia, in 1919. They were the last of 10 children. (Their older siblings were named Lee, Roxie, Thamon, Mack, Romie, Samson, Simon, and Asa.)

In the late ’30s, the boys formed their first band: the Hall Twins.

In 1939, the twins joined a band called “Roy Hall and His Blue Ridge Entertainers.” (They weren’t related to Roy.) That band had a radio show that started out in Winston-Salem (WAIR), but saw much more success after moving to Roanoke (WDBJ) in April of 1940. The show consisted of musical numbers and comedy skits. In fact, Saford and Clayton had a comedy segment in which they played hillbilly characters named Monk and Gibb.

And, while Saford and Clayton were radio stars in Roanoke, Saford’s name emerged in the U.S. baby name data — thanks to strong usage in Virginia. Clayton‘s name was already being given to hundreds of U.S. babies per year by the early ’40s, but usage in both Virginia and North Carolina was higher than expected in 1942. I even found a Virginia baby named Saford Clayton! (He wasn’t born until 1944, though.)

Ralph Berrier, Jr. — a journalist who happens to be Clayton’s grandson — wrote about the twins in his 2010 book If Trouble Don’t Kill Me. Here’s how he describes them on his website (which also includes recordings of several performances from the early ’40s):

The Hall twins rose from mountain-bred poverty to pickin’ and yodelin’ all over the airwaves of the South in the 1930s and 1940s, opening shows for the Carter Family, Roy Rogers, the Sons of the Pioneers, and even playing the most coveted stage of all: the Grand Ole Opry.

(They played the Grand Ole Opry twice, in 1941 and in 1942, as part of the Blue Ridge Entertainers.)

But just as their musical careers were beginning to take off, the brothers were drafted. Saford was sent to North Africa and Europe, and Clayton was sent to the South Pacific.

The Hall twins survived WWII, and they continued playing music after returning to the States, but they were never able to achieve the same level of musical success. Saford passed away in 1999, Clayton in 2003.

Sources:

• Berrier, Ralph, Jr. If Trouble Don’t Kill Me: A Family’s Story of Brotherhood, War, and Bluegrass. New York: Crown Publishing, 2010.
• Clayton and Saford Hall – Donald’s Encyclopedia of Popular Music
• If Trouble Don’t Kill Me – Bluegrass Today
• If Trouble Don’t Kill Me – Ralph Berrier, Jr.

Image: Adapted from the cover of If Trouble Don’t Kill Me: A Family’s Story of Brotherhood, War, and Bluegrass