According to the U.S. baby name data, the name Torrance — which has been given to baby boys regularly since the 1950s — was suddenly given to dozens of baby girls in 2001:
| Girls named Torrance | Boys named Torrance | |
| 2003 | 62 | 53 |
| 2002 | 73† | 41 |
| 2001 | 40 | 51 |
| 2000 | . | 39 |
| 1999 | . | 43 |
Why?
Because of fictional cheerleader Torrance Shipman from the teen comedy Bring It On, released in August of 2000.
In the movie, San Diego high school senior Torrance (played by Kirsten Dunst) is the new captain of the Rancho Carne Toros cheerleading squad (whose members were predominantly white). The Toros are the long-reigning national champions, and Torrance is ready to lead the team to victory yet again.
Then she discovers that the previous cheer captain stole the Toros’ best routines from the East Compton Clovers (whose members were predominantly Black). Torrance will need to come up with a brand new cheer routine for the Toros in time to compete — against the Clovers themselves — at Nationals.
Jessica Bendinger, who wrote the movie’s screenplay, described Bring It On as “socioeconomic inequality and cultural appropriation in cheerleading skirts.”
So where did Torrance Shipman’s unusual first name come from? Likely from the city of Torrance in Los Angeles County. (Whittier, another city in LA County, was used as the name of the protagonist in Bring It On Again, the movie’s first direct-to-TV sequel.) The city of Torrance was founded in the early 20th century by real estate developer Jared Sidney Torrance.
What are your thoughts on the name Torrance? Do you like it better as a girl name, or as a boy name?
P.S. Earlier the same year, Kirsten Dunst starred as Lux in The Virgin Suicides…
Sources:
- Bring It On (film) – Wikipedia
- Cohen, Anne. “6 Things You Never Knew About Bring It On, 20 Years Later.” Refinery29 21 Aug. 2020.
- Bring It On (film) – TV Tropes
- Torrance, California – Wikipedia
- SSA
Image: Screenshot of Bring It On
