According to the U.S. baby name data, the name Venus nearly tripled in usage in 1959:
- 1961: 203 baby girls named Venus [rank: 733rd]
- 1960: 180 baby girls named Venus [rank: 760th]
- 1959: 295 baby girls named Venus [rank: 570th]
- 1958: 106 baby girls named Venus
- 1957: 103 baby girls named Venus
What pushed the name to peak popularity that year?
“Venus” by teen idol Frankie Avalon. The song was released in January of 1959 and held the top spot on Billboard‘s Hot 100 chart for five weeks straight (from early March to early April).
The narrator of the song pleads with the goddess Venus to “send a little girl for me to thrill.”
Here’s what the song sounds like:
Frankie Avalon (born Francis Thomas Avallone) put out more than two dozen of singles in the late ’50s and early ’60s, but five of his seven top-ten hits — including “Venus” and his only other #1 song, “Why” — were released in 1959 specifically. So it’s not surprising that we see an uptick in the usage of Frankie (as a male name) the same year:
- 1961: 806 baby boys named Frankie [rank: 276th]
- 1960: 815 baby boys named Frankie [rank: 280th]
- 1959: 872 baby boys named Frankie [rank: 268th]
- 1958: 751 baby boys named Frankie [rank: 281st]
- 1957: 746 baby boys named Frankie [rank: 277th]
Avalon went on to star in a series of successful “Beach Party” movies with Annette Funicello in the 1960s.
What are your thoughts on the name Venus?
Sources: Frankie Avalon – Wikipedia, SSA
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