The name Yana debuted in the U.S. baby name data in 1955, and saw an impressive jump in usage the next year:
- 1957: 14 baby girls named Yana
- 1956: 37 baby girls named Yana
- 1955: 7 baby girls named Yana [debut]
- 1954: unlisted
- 1953: unlisted
Why?
Because of mononymous British pop singer Yana, who was famous (mainly in Britain) during the second half of the 1950s.
Her name was mentioned occasionally in U.S. newspapers during 1955, but it wasn’t until the last weeks of the year — around the time Bob Hope “discovered” her — that Americans really began to taking notice of Yana.
In early 1956, she started making U.S. TV appearances — on The Bob Hope Show, The Ed Sullivan Show, The Dinah Shore Show, etc.
Over the next few years she released some singles, sang in several British movies (including Zarak), and even had her own short-lived BBC television show, The Yana Show. (Critics dubbed it The Yawna Show.)
Yana’s birth name was Pamela Guard; I’m not sure how she chose her stage name (which happens to be a Russian feminine name in the “John” family).
Do you like the name Yana?
Sources: Yana – AllMusic, Yana – Wikipedia, SSA
Image: Clipping from the cover of Picturegoer magazine (11 Aug. 1956)
