According to the U.S. baby name data, the name Renata saw an impressive spike in usage in 1980:
- 1982: 146 baby girls named Renata
- 1981: 224 baby girls named Renata [rank: 737th]
- 1980: 720 baby girls named Renata [rank: 336th]
- 1979: 229 baby girls named Renata [rank: 727th]
- 1978: 47 baby girls named Renata
Here’s a visual:
The same year, the spelling Renatta also reached peak usage, and the spelling Rennata appeared for the first time in the data.
What was influencing these names around that time?
Television character Renata Sutton (played by French actress Sonia Petrovna), who was part of the long-running soap opera Search for Tomorrow — but only for a short time.
The character was introduced to viewers as Renata Corelli in August of 1979. (Despite being from Italy, Renata had a heavy French accent.) She married fellow character David Sutton during the spring of 1980. Just a few month later, though, pregnant Renata went into labor in the middle of a house fire. She didn’t survive.
Nationally syndicated soap opera columnist Jon-Michael Reed believed the show had made a big mistake by killing off Renata, who he described as “one of the most beautiful and unusual soap heroines in recent memory.”
What are your thoughts on the name Renata?
P.S. Renata’s baby girl, Mia, managed to survive the fire — and may have given the baby name Mia a slight boost in 1981, though it’s hard to tell.
Sources:
- Sonia Petrovna – Wikipedia
- Reed, Jon-Michael. “Soap Report.” Courier-Express 25 Aug. 1979: 11.
- Reed, Jon-Michael. “Tune in Tomorrow.” Daily Review 25 Aug. 1980: 4.
- SSA
Image: Screenshot of Search for Tomorrow