How popular is the baby name Valleri 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 Valleri.

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Popularity of the baby name Valleri


Posts that mention the name Valleri

What gave the baby name Davy a boost in 1967?

Davy Jones from the TV series "The Monkees" (1966-1968)
Davy Jones

The baby name Davy went into decline after reaching peak usage in 1955 (thanks to Davy Crockett).

During the second half the ’60s, though, the name did see a two-year uptick. It even re-entered the boys’ top 1,000 one last time.

  • 1969: 48 baby boys named Davy
  • 1968: 57 baby boys named Davy [rank: 974th]
  • 1967: 43 baby boys named Davy
  • 1966: 22 baby boys named Davy
  • 1965: 26 baby boys named Davy

What accounts for this brief rise?

British actor and singer Davy Jones.

Jones was one of the stars of the musical sitcom The Monkees, which aired on NBC for two seasons (from September of 1966 to March of 1968).

The series followed a struggling rock ‘n’ roll quartet called The Monkees (which was patterned after The Beatles). The four Monkees — Davy, Micky, Michael, and Peter — “romp[ed] through miscellaneous comic misadventures,” taking breaks to sing original songs penned by professional songwriters (including Carole King and Neil Diamond).

The Monkees was a hit — winning the Emmy Award for Outstanding Comedy Series in mid-1967, and turning diminutive Davy Jones into a teen idol.

The show’s fictional rock band also achieved impressive real-life success. Six of the Monkees’ singles reached the top five on Billboard‘s Hot 100 chart. Jones sang lead vocals on three of these singles:

  • “A Little Bit Me, a Little Bit You,” which peaked at #2 in April of 1967,
  • “Daydream Believer” [vid], the #1 song in the nation for four weeks straight in December of 1967, and
  • “Valleri,” which peaked at #3 in March of 1968.

David “Davy” Jones was born in Manchester in 1945. Prior to becoming a Monkee, he’d acted in West End and Broadway productions of Oliver! and released a solo single [vid]. He was well-known enough that another British David “Davy” Jones — an aspiring singer-songwriter — decided to differentiate himself by adopting the stage name David Bowie in early 1966.

Sources:

Image: Screenshot of The Monkees

What brought the baby name Valleri back in 1968?

The Monkees performing the song "Valleri" on their TV series (1966-1968)
The Monkees performing “Valleri”

The name Valleri both re-emerged in the U.S. baby name data and reached peaked usage in 1968:

  • 1970: 5 baby girls named Valleri
  • 1969: 6 baby girls named Valleri
  • 1968: 17 baby girls named Valleri
  • 1967: unlisted
  • 1966: unlisted

Why?

Because of the song “Valleri” by The Monkees.

It was introduced to TV audiences in February of 1967, during an episode of the band’s self-titled NBC sitcom. In the closing credits, the song’s title was spelled “Valerie”:

Song title spelled "Valerie" (Feb. 1967)

Two months later, the song was featured in another episode. This time around, the title was spelled “Valleri”:

Song title spelled "Valleri" (Apr. 1967)

I don’t know why the name’s spelling was changed, but I do know that it referred to a real person: a girl who the song’s co-writer, Bobby Hart, had been enamored with as a teenager.

The Monkees’ record label hadn’t planned to include “Valleri” on an album (due in part to contractual issues), but several disc jockeys began playing bootleg recordings on the radio, and the song became popular with listeners. This prompted the label to re-record “Valleri” for the 1968 album The Birds, the Bees & the Monkees.

In February of 1968 — a year after debuting on television — “Valleri” [vid] finally came out as a single. It peaked at #3 on Billboard‘s Hot 100 chart the following month.

What are your thoughts on the name Valleri? (Which spelling do you prefer?)

P.S. The other song introduced in that February 1967 episode of The Monkees was “Your Auntie Grizelda.”

Sources:

Images: Screenshots of The Monkees (episodes from Feb. and Apr. 1967)