How popular is the baby name Rebbie 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 Rebbie.

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Popularity of the baby name Rebbie


Posts that mention the name Rebbie

What popularized the baby name Latoya?

La Toya Jackson's album "Heart Don't Lie" (1984)
La Toya Jackson album

The name Latoya first appeared in the U.S. baby name data in the 1960s. After rising quickly during the ’70s — and seeing upticks in usage in both 1977 and 1981 — the name achieved peak popularity in 1984:

  • 1985: 3,402 baby girls named Latoya [rank: 81st]
  • 1984: 5,051 baby girls named Latoya [rank: 60th] (peak usage)
  • 1983: 3,151 baby girls named Latoya [rank: 90th]
  • 1982: 3,200 baby girls named Latoya [rank: 91st]
  • 1981: 4,267 baby girls named Latoya [rank: 69th]
  • 1980: 2,505 baby girls named Latoya [rank: 123rd]
  • 1979: 1,880 baby girls named Latoya [rank: 148th]
  • 1978: 2,040 baby girls named Latoya [rank: 135th]
  • 1977: 2,321 baby girls named Latoya [rank: 125th]
  • 1976: 2,052 baby girls named Latoya [rank: 135th]

Here’s a visual:

Graph of the usage of the baby name Latoya in the U.S. since 1880
Usage of the baby name Latoya

What fueled the rise of Latoya?

The career of singer La Toya Jackson.

(The SSA removes spaces and ignores internal capitalization, which explains why the name is rendered “Latoya” in the dataset.)

Though she wasn’t a member of The Jackson 5 — the pop-soul vocal group featuring her five brothers Jackie, Tito, Jermaine, Marlon, and Michael — La Toya was often mentioned in write-ups about the Jackson family during the early 1970s.

By 1974, La Toya and the remaining Jackson siblings (Rebbie, Randy, and Janet) were participating in the group’s live performances.

Television audiences were introduced to La Toya in the musical variety series The Jacksons (1976-77), which featured all of the siblings except for Jermaine.

In 1980, she launched her solo career. She didn’t become as commercially successful as either Michael or Janet, but her single “Heart Don’t Lie” [vid] — a reggae duet with Howard Hewett of Shalamar — did reach #56 on Billboard‘s Hot 100 chart in June of 1984.

The singer was born La Toya Yvonne Jackson on May 29, 1956 — the sixth birthday of her eldest sibling, Rebbie, coincidentally. In her autobiography, La Toya said that her mother, who had a “fondness for unusual names,” claimed to have coined “La Toya.”

What are your thoughts on the name La Toya?

Sources:

What gave the baby name Rebbie a boost in 1985?

Rebbie Jackson's debut album "Centipede" (1984)
Rebbie Jackson album

The rare baby name Rebbie both re-emerged in the U.S. data and saw peak usage in 1985:

  • 1987: 7 baby girls named Rebbie
  • 1986: 9 baby girls named Rebbie
  • 1985: 24 baby girls named Rebbie [peak]
  • 1984: unlisted
  • 1983: unlisted

Why?

Because of singer Rebbie (pronounced ree-bee) Jackson. Her biggest single, “Centipede,” was released in September of 1984 and peaked at #24 on Billboard‘s Hot 100 chart in December.

Rebbie — born Maureen Reillette Jackson in Gary, Indiana, in 1950 — was the eldest of the ten Jackson siblings. Her famous younger brother, Michael Jackson, “wrote, produced, arranged and sang in the background” on “Centipede.”

Sisters Janet, Rebbie, and LaToya Jackson (in 1988)
Janet, Rebbie, and La Toya Jackson

Rebbie was the first Jackson sister to see success as a solo artist. By the time her follow-up album came out in late 1986, however, baby sister Janet had established herself as the biggest star of the three. (Janet Jackson’s breakthrough album Control had been released in February of that year.)

What are your thoughts on the name Rebbie?

Sources:

Image: “Family Support” (photo). Jet 1 Feb. 1988: 41.

The Jackson 5…and their five other siblings

Seven of the Jackson siblings: Jackie, Michael, Tito, Marlon, Randy, La Toya, Rebbie, and Janet (in 1976)
Seven of the Jackson siblings

We’ve all heard of the Jackson 5, but did you know that there were actually ten siblings in the Jackson family?

Katherine and Joe Jackson of Gary, Indiana, welcomed ten children — seven boys and three girls — over the course of 16 years. Here are the names of all ten, in order:

  1. Maureen Reillette, “Rebbie” (b. 1950)
  2. Sigmund Esco, “Jackie” (b. 1951)
  3. Tariano Adaryll, “Tito” (b. 1953)
  4. Jermaine LaJuane (b. 1954)
  5. La Toya Yvonne (b. 1956)
  6. Brandon (twin, b. 1957) — he died soon after birth
  7. Marlon David (twin, b. 1957)
  8. Michael Joe (b. 1958)
  9. Steven Randall, “Randy” (b. 1961)
  10. Janet Damita Jo (b. 1966)

Here are Jermaine’s thoughts on some of the Jackson family names, from his memoir:

I have often wondered how many names my parents went through before agreeing on the final nine. Not that it mattered in the end, because the choice of “Sigmund Esco” for their first son morphed into “Jackie” when Papa Samuel thought it easy to refer to him as “Jackson boy,” then laziness shortened it some more. And “Tariano Adaryl” [sic] became “Tito” because it was easier for us all. I was forever curious as a child about how two people’s taste could go from the exotic-sounding “Jermaine LaJuane” to “Michael Joe.” From somewhere, and especially after Michael’s death, a rumor began that his middle name was Joseph. Maybe this myth prefers the echo with our father’s name because the crossover reads better about a father and son who struggled to see eye to eye. “Joe” was his middle name, as recorded on his birth certificate. His first name was almost “Ronald,” at the suggestion of Mama Martha, but Mother quickly quashed that one.

(Papa Samuel was Jermaine’s paternal grandfather; Mama Martha was his maternal grandmother.)

Which Jackson sibling name do you like best?

Sources: