How popular is the baby name Tawney 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 Tawney.
The graph will take a few moments to load. (Don't worry, it shouldn't take 9 months!) If it's taking too long, try reloading the page.
A while back we talked about the name Maverick, which was put on the onomastic map thanks to the TV western Maverick (1957-1962).
Since then, I’ve discovered that a handful of minor female characters from Maverick also influenced baby names in the late ’50s and early ’60s. I’ll go in chronological order…
First there’s Samantha, which saw higher usage around the time recurring character Samantha Crawford (played by Diane Brewster) was on the show. She appeared a total of four times: once in 1957, three more times in 1958. (This was still a few years before Bewitched came along.)
1959: 111 baby girls named Samantha
1958: 109 baby girls named Samantha [rank: 999th]
1957: 38 baby girls named Samantha
1956: 29 baby girls named Samantha
1955: 27 baby girls named Samantha
Second there’s Modesty, which debuted around the time recurring character Modesty Blaine was on the show. She appeared a total of three times. In her first two appearances, in 1959 and 1960, she was played by Mona Freeman.
1962: unlisted
1961: unlisted
1960: 5 baby girls named Modesty [debut]
1959: unlisted
1958: unlisted
Third there’s Kiz, which debuted the year after character Kiz Bouchet (played by Kathleen Crowley) appeared in the episode “Kiz” (December, 1960).
1963: 5 baby girls named Kiz
1962: 7 baby girls named Kiz
1961: 21 baby girls named Kiz [debut]
1960: unlisted
1959: unlisted
Fourth there’s Caprice, which doubled in usage the year the character Caprice Rambeau (played by Dawn Wells) appeared in the episode “The Deadly Image” (March, 1961).
1963: 31 baby girls named Caprice
1962: 43 baby girls named Caprice
1961: 48 baby girls named Caprice
1960: 24 baby girls named Caprice
1959: 15 baby girls named Caprice
And finally there’s Tawney, which saw higher usage the year the Native American character Tawney (played by Sharon Hugueny) appeared in the 2-part episode, “The Devil’s Necklace” (April, 1961).
1963: 6 baby girls named Tawney
1962: 9 baby girls named Tawney
1961: 27 baby girls named Tawney
1960: 5 baby girls named Tawney
1959: unlisted
Which one of these names — Samantha, Modesty, Kiz, Caprice, or Tawney — do you like best?
Last week, Becca commented with some interesting Jeopardy! contestant names (e.g., Hobie, Dorcas) and mentioned J! Archive, which lists tens of thousands of Jeopardy! contestants going back to 1984, when the show premiered.
I skimmed through all the contestants from 1984 to 2015 (as we don’t have baby name data for 2016 yet) and spotted hundreds of unusual names. And it looks like at least two of them got a boost thanks to the show.
Alancia
The name Alancia was a one-hit wonder that popped up in the U.S. baby name data in 2000:
2002: unlisted
2001: unlisted
2000: 9 baby girls named Alancia [debut]
1999: unlisted
1998: unlisted
One-time player Alancia Wynn, a family practice physician from Virginia, was on Jeopardy! in October of 1999.
Brannon
The name Brannon saw an increase in usage in 1998:
2000: 116 baby boys named Brannon
1999: 118 baby boys named Brannon
1998: 158 baby boys named Brannon [peak]
1997: 113 baby boys named Brannon
1996: 114 baby boys named Brannon
One-time player Brannon Denning, a graduate student from Connecticut, was on Jeopardy! in September of 1998. (Looks like Brannon Denning is now a law professor at Samford University.)
Alaric & Ezgi …?
These two names may have gotten a slight boost as well, though it’s hard to tell.
Alaric, in 2005. One-time player Alaric Smith was on the show in October of 2005.
Ezgi, in 2015. One-time player Ezgi Ustundag was on the show in October of 2015.
Ezgi is a female name that means “melody” in Turkish.
Anjali (false positive)
“Kids Week” contestant Anjali Tripathi was on the show in September of 1999. The same year, the baby name Anjali more than doubled in usage:
2001: 222 baby girls named Anjali
2000: 230 baby girls named Anjali
1999: 202 baby girls named Anjali
1998: 93 baby girls named Anjali
1997: 80 baby girls named Anjali
But this was a suspiciously steep rise. And it was accompanied by the debut of an alternate spelling (Anjalie). And usage didn’t drop back to normal levels the next year, as one would expect. These facts pointed me to something more high-profile than a Jeopardy! contestant.
Turns out the very successful Hindi coming-of-age romantic comedy Kuch Kuch Hota Hai had been released in 1998. The movie featured not one but two main characters named Anjali.
More names!
Here are the rest of the names that caught my eye, sorted by year:
The baby name Maverick is more popular than ever in the U.S. these days. Where did this name come from, and how has pop culture helped make it so trendy?
Maverick the surname
Maverick began as an English surname. Its etymology is unknown, but there are several theories. Some think the origin is Welsh. Others think it’s related to the name Maurice.
The surname traveled with settlers to the New World as early as the 1620s.
Maverick the noun/adjective
One of the descendants of those 17th-century settlers was Texas cattle owner Samuel Augustus Maverick (1803-1870).
When he returned permanently to San Antonio with his family, Maverick left a small herd of cattle originally purchased in 1847 on Matagorda Peninsula with slave caretakers. It was this herd that was allowed to wander and gave rise to the term maverick, which denotes an unbranded calf.
The earliest recorded use of “maverick” in this sense comes from 1867.
The earliest recorded use of “maverick” to refer to a human — someone who does not follow rules, someone who is unconventional — comes from 1886.
Maverick on television
The TV Western Maverick debuted in 1957 and ran until 1962. The series featured card player Bret Maverick and sometimes other family members, like brother Bart Maverick.
This show is what put the baby name Maverick on the map:
1963: 14 baby boys named Maverick
1962: 21 baby boys named Maverick
1961: 26 baby boys named Maverick
1960: 46 baby boys named Maverick
1959: 61 baby boys named Maverick [rank: 989th]
1958: 88 baby boys named Maverick [rank: 800th]
1957: 33 baby boys named Maverick [debut]
1956: unlisted
1955: unlisted
The U.S. baby name data only includes names that were given to at least 5 U.S. babies (of one gender or the other) per year, so 1957 was the first year that more than five baby boys were named Maverick. In fact, so many boys were named Maverick that the name was one of the top debut names of the year. And it entered the top 1,000 for the very first time the following year.
(The show also gave a very big boost to the baby name Bret, and to variant spelling Brett. And it had an influence on a handful of female names, including Samantha and Tawney.)
Maverick in the movies
Usage of the name stayed flat until the popular movie Top Gun was released in 1986. The film starred Tom Cruise as a navy pilot Lt. Pete “Maverick” Mitchell.
1988: 48 baby boys named Maverick
1987: 44 baby boys named Maverick
1986: 19 baby boys named Maverick
1985: 16 baby boys named Maverick
1984: 6 baby boys named Maverick
(Also around this time we see the debut of the baby name Cruise.)
Another movie that may have added to the momentum was Maverick (1994), which starred Mel Gibson and was based on the original television series.
1996: 167 baby boys named Maverick [rank: 843rd]
1995: 148 baby boys named Maverick [rank: 910th]
1994: 128 baby boys named Maverick [rank: 978th]
1993: 101 baby boys named Maverick
1992: 76 baby boys named Maverick
Maverick in sports
The name has really picked up steam in the last few years, perhaps due in part to the success of the Dallas Mavericks basketball team, which made it to the finals during the 2005-06 season and won the finals in 2010-2011. (Texas was the state with the most baby Mavericks in both 2006 and in 2010, incidentally.)
Maverick in the future
Given the current trajectory, the name set to become increasingly popular in the next few years.
How high do you think it will go?
And, what do you think of the baby name Maverick?
Update, 5/30/2022: Look how high Maverick has climbed since this post went live in 2014!
Here are the latest numbers (and rankings):
2021: 6,548 baby boys named Maverick [rank: 47th]
2020: 6,114 baby boys named Maverick [rank: 50th]
2019: 5,754 baby boys named Maverick [rank: 58th]
2018: 5,032 baby boys named Maverick [rank: 73rd]
2017: 4,724 baby boys named Maverick [rank: 85th]
2016: 2,956 baby boys named Maverick [rank: 139th]
2015: 2,274 baby boys named Maverick [rank: 184th]
2014: 1,878 baby boys named Maverick [rank: 206th]
2013: 1,300 baby boys named Maverick [rank: 272nd]
Maverick reached the top 100 in 2017, then the top 50 just a few years later, in 2020. And with the newly released movie Top Gun: Maverick seeing early success at the theaters, who knows how high it could go.
This website or its third-party tools process personal data.In case of sale of your personal information, you may opt out by using the link Do not sell my personal information.
This website uses cookies to improve your experience while you navigate through the website. Out of these, the cookies that are categorized as necessary are stored on your browser as they are essential for the working of basic functionalities of the website. We also use third-party cookies that help us analyze and understand how you use this website. These cookies will be stored in your browser only with your consent. You also have the option to opt-out of these cookies. But opting out of some of these cookies may affect your browsing experience.
Necessary cookies are absolutely essential for the website to function properly. These cookies ensure basic functionalities and security features of the website, anonymously.
Cookie
Duration
Description
cookielawinfo-checkbox-analytics
11 months
This cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The cookie is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Analytics".
cookielawinfo-checkbox-functional
11 months
The cookie is set by GDPR cookie consent to record the user consent for the cookies in the category "Functional".
cookielawinfo-checkbox-necessary
11 months
This cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The cookies is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Necessary".
cookielawinfo-checkbox-others
11 months
This cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The cookie is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Other.
cookielawinfo-checkbox-performance
11 months
This cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The cookie is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Performance".
viewed_cookie_policy
11 months
The cookie is set by the GDPR Cookie Consent plugin and is used to store whether or not user has consented to the use of cookies. It does not store any personal data.
Functional cookies help to perform certain functionalities like sharing the content of the website on social media platforms, collect feedbacks, and other third-party features.
Performance cookies are used to understand and analyze the key performance indexes of the website which helps in delivering a better user experience for the visitors.
Analytical cookies are used to understand how visitors interact with the website. These cookies help provide information on metrics the number of visitors, bounce rate, traffic source, etc.
Advertisement cookies are used to provide visitors with relevant ads and marketing campaigns. These cookies track visitors across websites and collect information to provide customized ads.