No, I’m not talking about the evil doll. I’m talking about the baby names Chucky and Chuckie, which both emerged in the U.S. baby name data in the late 1940s:
| Year | Chuckie usage | Chucky usage |
| 1952 | 16 baby boys | 20 baby boys |
| 1951 | 23 baby boys | 17 baby boys |
| 1950 | 7 baby boys | 11 baby boys |
| 1949 | 6 baby boys [debut] | 10 baby boys |
| 1948 | (unlisted) | 5 baby boys |
| 1947 | (unlisted) | (unlisted) |
Why?
Because, around this time, a baby/young boy named Chuckie was being featured on the popular radio soap opera The Guiding Light.
In 1948, the soap began to focus on the Bauer family, particularly Meta (pronounced MAY-tah) Bauer. That year, Meta conceived a child out of wedlock with Ted White.
After she gave birth to a baby boy (either in late 1948 or early 1949) she gave him up for adoption. The adoptive parents chose to name him Charles after the pastor who’d helped arrange the adoption.
During 1949, but both Meta and Ted decided they wanted the baby back, so young Chuckie became the object of two separate custody lawsuits (one filed by Meta, the other by Ted). Chuckie was given back to Meta, so Ted decided then to marry her (early 1950) solely in order to have access to his son. But the marriage didn’t work, Meta left, and she initiated yet another custody battle for Chuckie.
By mid-1950 Chuckie was somehow old enough to be taking boxing lessons (Ted’s idea) and ended up with a severe head injury. He slipped into a coma for a few weeks, then died in September. (Days later, Meta shot and killed Ted.)
Chuckie’s tragic death likely accounts for the higher usage of Chuckie in 1951.
But both names see their highest usage in 1961 specifically:
| Year | Chuckie usage | Chucky usage |
| 1962 | 23 baby boys | 31 baby boys |
| 1961 | 45 baby boys | 36 baby boys |
| 1960 | 26 baby boys | 31 baby boys |
This looks to be due to a different Chuckie entirely — a mischievous blonde boy named Chuckie who was the focus of a Leave It to Beaver episode called “Chuckie’s New Shoes” that aired in December of 1960.
Do you like the name Chuckie? Would you use it as a legal name, or do you prefer it as a nickname for Charles?
Source: About GL: Who’s Who in Springfield | Meta Bauer | Guiding Light
