How popular is the baby name Scotty 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 Scotty.

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Popularity of the baby name Scotty


Posts that mention the name Scotty

California family with 22 children

Marion and Charlotte “Lottie” Story of Bakersfield, California, had at least 22 children — including five sets of twins — from 1922 to 1946. Seventeen of their kids are listed on the 1940 U.S. Census (see below).

I don’t know the names of all the Story children, but here are 20 of them: Jean, Jane, Jack, Jacqueline, June, Eileen, Clyde, Robert, James, Jeannette, Steve, Jerry, Terry (sometimes “Terrytown”), Charlotte, Scotty, Sherrie, Garry, Joanne, Frances (called Lidwina), and Monica (called Sandy).

Story family of California in 1940 U.S. census
The Story family on the 1940 U.S. Census

Charlotte Story herself was one of a dozen children, born from 1899 to 1919. Her 11 siblings were named Pearl, George, Rhea, Hazel, Fern, Ira, Myrtle, Dorothy, Helen, Russell, and Viola.

And Charlotte’s mother Elsie was one of 13 children, born from 1865 to 1892. Her 12 siblings were named Edward, Levi, William, Frank, Rosa, Joseph, Mary, Elizabeth, Margaret, Archibald, Gertrude, and Emma.

So here’s the question: If you had to choose all of your own children’s names from just one of the sibsets above, which set would you pick? Why?

Sources: Charlotte M Story – Find A Grave, Elsie E LaCount – Find A Grave

Baby born to baseball coach, named (by team) after “Sandlot” characters

The character Hamilton "Ham" Porter from the movie "The Sandlot" (1993)
“You’re killing me, Smalls!”

The first six seasons played by the varsity baseball team at Heritage High School in Palm Bay, Florida, were all losing seasons.

So early this season, the team’s seventh overall, coach Rob Querry decided to motivate his players by making a promise: If they can win 14 games — the number needed to have a winning season — he’ll let them name his baby.

Rob and his wife Julia are expecting their second child, a baby boy, in September. (They also have 4-year-old son named Brady.)

Rob’s challenge clearly worked, because the team won its 14th game on April 5.

And what name did a group of baseball-loving high school boys choose for their coach’s second son?

Benjamin Smalls, inspired by the characters Benjamin “Benny” Rodriguez and Scott “Scotty” Smalls from one of the team’s favorite baseball movies, The Sandlot (1993).

Yes, that’s Smalls as in, “You’re killing me, Smalls!” A slightly daring middle, but far superior to Squints.

Update, 8/2016: Benjamin Smalls Ellis Querry was born on July 27.

Sources:

Image: Screenshot of The Sandlot

Where did the baby name Corky come from in 1928?

The characters Lora, Corky and Walt from the comic strip "Gasoline Alley" (1918-today).
Corky from “Gasoline Alley“

The curious name Corky first appeared in the U.S. baby name data in the late 1920s:

  • 1930: unlisted
  • 1929: 8 baby boys (and 5 baby girls) named Corky
  • 1928: 7 baby boys named Corky [debut]
  • 1927: unlisted
  • 1926: unlisted

Where did it come from?

The comic strip Gasoline Alley (1918-), which introduced a newborn named Corky on May 2, 1928.

Corky’s parents were Walt and Phyllis Wallet, and his older brother was 7-year-old Skeezix. (Lora, in the image, was Walt’s teenage cousin.)

Gasoline Alley was one of the first strips in which the characters aged over time, and so, a couple of decades later, Corky became the uncle of Skeezix’s kids Clovia and Chipper.

The name Corky has never been very popular, but it saw more usage in the 1950s than in any other decade — possibly because of the 1951 films Gasoline Alley and Corky of Gasoline Alley. In both movies, Corky was played by actor Scotty Beckett (who, several years earlier, had appeared in A Date with Judy with Jane Powell).

What are your thoughts on Corky as a baby name?

Image: Advertisement for the Post Gazette. Pittsburgh Post-Gazette 31 Jul. 1930: 5.