How popular is the baby name Yvette in the United States right now? How popular was it historically? Find out using the graph below! Plus, check out all the blog posts that mention the name Yvette.

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Popularity of the Baby Name Yvette


Posts that Mention the Name Yvette

Where did the baby name Ryder come from?

ryder, baby name, movie, 1960s
Ryder Smith

The baby name Ryder became trendy in the early 21st century, thanks in large part to actress Kate Hudson naming her son Ryder in early 2004.

But Ryder wasn’t new to the data at that point. It first showed up in the early 1960s:

  • 1964: unlisted
  • 1963: 7 baby boys named Ryder
  • 1962: unlisted
  • 1961: unlisted
  • 1960: 6 baby boys named Ryder [debut]
  • 1959: unlisted

The source? Looks to be Where the Boys Are, which was actually three things: a bestselling novel published in early 1960, a successful movie released in late 1960, and the movie’s title track, which peaked at #4 on Billboard‘s Hot 100 chart in early 1961.

The book focused on a group of four co-eds — Merritt, Tuggle, Melanie, and Angie — from a Midwestern college. For spring break, they decided to escape winter and head to the sunny beaches of Ft. Lauderdale. Because that’s where the boys were, of course. And the “boy” that main character Merritt eventually fell for was an Ivy Leaguer named Ryder Smith.

The book was a comedy, but also included realistic depictions of the behaviors and attitudes of teenagers in the early ’60s. The Saturday Review called it “[b]oth good comedy and first-rate social anthropology.”

The author, Glendon Swarthout, was an English professor at Michigan State University. In the late 1950s, when he was in his early 40s, he learned about the tradition of going to Fort Lauderdale for spring break (which had begun with collegiate swimmers in the 1930s). He tagged along with his students one year, and soon after wrote a book inspired by the experience.

The movie Where the Boys Are, which was a watered-down version of the book, was out by late December. It featured a cast of relatively unknown actors. The most famous face in the film was that of singer Connie Francis, who played Angie (and also sang the title track).

Merritt was played by Dolores Hart, and the character clearly had an influence on the usage of Merritt as a girl name:

  • 1963: 12 baby girls named Merritt
  • 1962: 13 baby girls named Merritt
  • 1961: 17 baby girls named Merritt
  • 1960: unlisted
  • 1959: unlisted

Merritt’s love interest, Ryder, was played by “a young, preternaturally tan George Hamilton.” Her friend Melanie was played by Yvette Mimieux, who’d appeared on the big screen as Weena earlier the same year.

Thanks to the book and (especially) the movie, spring break grew from a minor phenomenon into the “cultural rite of passage” that it is today. The number of American college students flooding into Fort Lauderdale every spring swelled from about 15,000 before the book came out to about 370,000 by the mid-1980s.

The trendiness of Fort Lauderdale as a spring break destination peaked in the ’80s, but the trendiness of Ryder (as a boy name) didn’t peak until the mid-2010s:

  • 2018: 3,000 baby boys named Ryder [rank: 131st]
  • 2017: 3256 baby boys named Ryder [rank: 122nd]
  • 2016: 3,883 baby boys named Ryder [rank: 102nd]
  • 2015: 4,154 baby boys named Ryder [rank: 98th]
  • 2014: 4,103 baby boys named Ryder [rank: 95th]
  • 2013: 3,785 baby boys named Ryder [rank: 103rd]
  • 2012: 3,814 baby boys named Ryder [rank: 100th]
  • 2011: 3,706 baby boys named Ryder [rank: 108th]

What are your thoughts on the name Ryder? Would you use it?

Sources: How an MSU Professor Helped Popularize Spring Break into a National Rite of Passage, Where the Boys Are (1960) – Emanuel Levy, Spring Break – Time

Rare Girl Names from Early Cinema: E

Looking for an uncommon girl name with a retro feel?

Here’s a list of rare female E-names associated with the earliest decades of cinema (1910s to 1940s).

For the names that have seen enough usage to appear in the SSA data, I’ve included links to popularity graphs.

*

Eadie
Eadie was a character name in multiple films, including The Girl from Missouri (1934) and The Hit Parade (1937).

  • Usage of the baby name Eadie.

Editha
Editha was a character name in multiple films, including The Children Pay (1916) and The Burglar (1917).

  • Usage of the baby name Editha.

Edwina
Edwina was a character name in multiple films, including The Flight of the Crow (short, 1913) and National Velvet (1944).

  • Usage of the baby name Edwina.

Edythe
Edythe Chapman was an actress who appeared in films from the 1910s to the 1930s. She was born in New York in 1863. Edythe Sterling was an actress who appeared in films from the 1910s to the 1920s. She was born in Missouri in 1886. Edythe was also a character name in multiple films, including Told in Colorado (1911) and The Repentant (1916).

  • Usage of the baby name Edythe.

Effie
Effie Shannon was an actress who appeared in films from the 1910s to the 1930s. She was born in Massachusetts in 1867. Effie was also a character name in multiple films, including The Big Diamond Robbery (1929) and The Maltese Falcon (1931).

  • Usage of the baby name Effie.

Efra
Efra Cavendar was a character played by actress Dorothy Sebastian in the film The Unholy Night (1929).

Eily
Eily Malyon was an actress who appeared in films from the 1930s to the 1940s. She was born in England in 1879. Eily was also a character played by actress Gene Gauntier in the film The Colleen Bawn (1911).

  • Usage of the baby name Eily.

Elba
Elba Allen was a character played by actress Beverly Bayne in the short film Every Inch a King (1914).

  • Usage of the baby name Elba.

Eleanour
Eleanour was a character played by actress Alice Joyce in the film The Ace of Cads (1926).

Electra
Electra was a character played by actress Norma Phillips in the short film The Glow Worm (1913).

Elektra
Elektra was a character played by actress Mary Fuller in the short film Elektra (1910).

Elfie
Elfie was a character name in multiple films, including Regeneration (short, 1911) and The Easiest Way (1931).

  • Usage of the baby name Elfie.

Elga
Elga was a character played by actress Camilla Horn in the film The Return of Raffles (1933).

  • Usage of the baby name Elga.

Ellabella
Ellabella Jackson was a character played by actress Almira Sessions in the film Dixie Jamboree (1944).

Ellaline
Ellaline Terriss was an actress who appeared in films from the 1900s to the 1930s. She was born in the Falkland Islands in 1872. Her birth name was Mary Ellaline Terriss.

Ellean
Ellean Tanqueray was a character played by actress Marie Hemingway in the film The Second Mrs. Tanqueray (1916).

  • Usage of the baby name Ellean.

Ellinor
Ellinor was a character played by actress Valda Valkyrien in the film The Unwelcome Mother (1916).

Elmerada
Elmerada de Leon was a character played by actress Zasu Pitts in the film Professional Sweetheart (1933).

Elna
Elna Johnson was a character played by actress Wendy Barrie in the film The Saint in Palm Springs (1941).

  • Usage of the baby name Elna.

Elnora
Elnora Comstock was a character played by various actresses (such as Gloria Grey and Dorinda Clifton) in various movies called A Girl of the Limberlost, all based on the novel of the same name by Gene Stratton-Porter.

  • Usage of the baby name Elnora.

Elois
Elois Murree was a character played by actress Julia Swayne Gordon in the film The Painted World (1914).

  • Usage of the baby name Elois.

Elspeth
Elspeth Dudgeon was an actress who appeared in films from the 1930s to the 1950s. She was born in England in 1871. Elspeth was also a character name in multiple films, including Sentimental Tommy (1921) and The Storm Breaker (1925).

Elvia
Elvia Allman was an actress who appeared in films from the 1930s to the 1960s. She was born in North Carolina in 1904.

  • Usage of the baby name Elvia.

Elvina
Elvina Grey was a character played by actress Marguerite Snow in the film The Veiled Woman (1922).

  • Usage of the baby name Elvina.

Elvira
Elvira was a character name in multiple films, including The Cuban Love Song (1931) and Moonlight in Vermont (1943).

  • Usage of the baby name Elvira.

Elvire
Elvire was a character played by actress Olga Demidoff in the short film The Death of Don Juan (1911).

Elviry
Elviry was a character played by June Weaver in various films of the late 1930s and early 1940s.

Elyane
Elyane Parizot was a character played by actress Maria Corda in the film Madame Wants No Children (1926).

  • Usage of the baby name Elyane.

Elyata
Elyata was a character played by actress Juanita Hansen in the film The Lost City (1920).

Elzbieta
Elzbieta was a character played by actress Julia Hurley in the film The Jungle (1914).

Emanuella
Emanuella was a character played by actress Mary Philbin in the film Drums of Love (1928).

Emica
Emica was a character played by actress Yvette Dugay in the film Heavenly Days (1944).

Emillia
Emillia was a character played by actress Carmel Myers in the film No Living Witness (1932).

Ena
Ena Gregory was an actress who appeared in films from the 1920s to the 1930s. She was born in Australia in 1906. Ena was also a character played by actress Gloria Payton in the film The Faith of the Strong (1919).

  • Usage of the baby name Ena.

Encarnacion
Encarnacion was a character played by actress Lynn Bari in the film Blood and Sand (1941).

Enia
Enia was a character played by actress Edith Storey in the short film Warfare in the Skies (1914).

  • Usage of the baby name Enia.

Enid
Enid Stamp-Taylor was an actress who appeared in films from the 1920s to the 1940s. She was born in England in 1904. Enid was also a character name in multiple films, including The Chalice of Courage (1915) and Whatever She Wants (1921).

  • Usage of the baby name Enid.

Enna
Enna was a character played by actress Florence La Badie in the film Their Golden Wedding (1914).

  • Usage of the baby name Enna.

Enola
Enola Lane was a character played by actress Clara Williams in the short film The Surgeon (1912).

  • Usage of the baby name Enola.

Enrichetta
Enrichetta was a character played by actress Alida Valli in the film Two Orphans (1942).

Eponine
Eponine was a character played by actress Frances Drake in the film Les Miserabes (1935).

Erek
Princess Erek was a character played by actress Vera Lewis in the film The Only Thing (1925).

Erie
Erie McCadden was a character played by actress Sally O’Neil in the film The Girl on the Barge (1929).

  • Usage of the baby name Erie.

Erina
Erina Rodina was a character played by actress Rose Dione in the film The World and Its Women (1919).

  • Usage of the baby name Erina.

Erma
Erma Desmond was a character played by actress Ruth Roland in the film The Matrimonial Martyr (1916).

  • Usage of the baby name Erma.

Ermengarde
Ermengarde was a character played by actress Gertrude Short in the film The Little Princess (1917).

Ermina
Ermina was a character played by actress Gene Gauntier in the short film Captain Rivera’s Reward (1912).

  • Usage of the baby name Ermina.

Ermine
Ermine was a character played by actress Monaei Lindley in the film Her Secret (1933).

  • Usage of the baby name Ermine.

Ermintrud
Ermintrude was a character name in multiple films, including Maytime (1923) and Orchids and Ermine (1927).

Erna
Erna was a character played by actress Bunty Payne in the film A Voice in the Night (1941).

  • Usage of the baby name Erna.

Ernestine
Ernestine Gaines was an actress who appeared in films in the 1920s. Ernestine was also a character name in multiple films, including The Side Show of Life (1924) and Anne of Windy Poplars (1940).

Erni
Erni Gottlinger was a character played by actress Marlene Dietrich in the film Cafe Electric (1927).

Erolinda
Erolinda Vargas was a character played by actress Carmel Myers in the film The Kiss (1921).

Essene
Essene was a character played by actress Nan Christy in the short film A Modern Sphinx (1916).

Essie
Essie was a character name in multiple films, including Welcome Stranger (1924) and Ah, Wilderness! (1935).

  • Usage of the baby name Essie.

Estelita
Estelita Rodriguez was an actress who appeared in films from the 1940s to the 1960s. She was born in Cuba in 1928.

Esthey
Esthey Roberts was a character played by actress Zasu Pitts in the film Two Alone (1934).

Estrell
Estrell Wynn was a character played by actress Marguerite De La Motte in the film The Nut (1921).

Estrellita
Estrellita Estrada was a character played by actress Elena Verdugo in the film The Big Sombrero (1949).

Ethel

  • Ethel Wales was an actress who appeared in films from the 1920s to the 1950s. She was born in New Jersey in 1878.
  • Ethel Griffies was an actress who appeared in films from the 1910s to the 1960s. She was born in England in 1878.
  • Ethel Barrymore was an actress who appeared in films from the 1910s to the 1950s. She was born in Pennsylvania in 1879.
  • Ethel Clayton was an actress who appeared in films from the 1900s to the 1940s. She was born in Illinois in 1882.
  • Ethel Grandin was an actress who appeared in films from the 1910s to the 1920s. She was born in New York in 1894.
  • Ethel Shannon was an actress who appeared in films from the 1910s to the 1930s. She was born in Colorado in 1898.
  • Ethel Merman was an actress who appeared in films from the 1930s to the 1980s. She was born in New York in 1908.

Ethel was also a character played by actress Evelyn Brent in the film Raffles, the Amateur Cracksman (1917).

  • Usage of the baby name Ethel.

Etheline
Etheline was a character played by actress Diane Bori in the film Big Town (1932).

Ethelreda
Ethelreda was a character played by actress Elisabeth Risdon in the film Slightly Tempted (1940).

Ethelyn
Ethelyn was a character played by actress Josephine Dunn in the film The Sin Sister (1929).

Ethlyne
Ethlyne Clair was an actress who appeared in films from the 1920s to the 1930s. She was born in Alabama in 1904.

Ethne
Ethne was a character name in multiple films, including The Four Feathers (1929) and The Four Feathers (1939).

  • Usage of the baby name Ethne.

Ethona
Ethona was a character played by actress Florence Turner in the film Indian Romeo and Juliet (1912).

Ethyl
Ethyl Norcrosse was a character played by actress Leila Hyams in the film Spite Marriage (1929).

  • Usage of the baby name Ethyl.

Etiennette
Etiennette was a character played by actress Dany Robin in the film Gates of the Night (1946).

Ettie
Ettie was a character name in multiple films, including Werewolf of London (1935) and Heavenly Days (1944).

  • Usage of the baby name Ettie.

Eudora
Eudora Mawdle was a character played by actress Ethel Wales in the film Our Leading Citizen (1922).

  • Usage of the baby name Eudora.

Eugenia
Eugenia Blondeau was a character played by actress Beverly Bayne in the film Pennington’s Choice (1915).

Eugenie
Eugenie Besserer was an actress who appeared in films from the 1910s to the 1930s. She was born in New York in 1868. Eugenie Forde was an actress who appeared in films from the 1910s to the 1920s. She was born in New York in 1879. Eugenie was also a character name in multiple films, including The Black Pearl (1928) and Piccadilly Jim (1936).

Eula
Eula Guy was an actress who appeared in films from 1930s to 1950s. She was born in Pennsylvania in 1894.

  • Usage of the baby name Eula.

Eulalia
Eulalia was a character played by actress Carmelita Geraghty in the film The Small Bachelor (1927).

Eulalie
Eulalie Jensen was an actress who appeared in films from the 1910s to the 1930s. She was born in Missouri in 1884. Eulalie was also character played by actress Eileen Percy in the film The Pleasant Devil (1919).

Eulilah
Eulilah was a character played by actress Kathleen Burke in the film The Lion Man (1936).

Euphemia
Euphemia Jones was a character played by actress Flora Finch in the short film Mr. Bunny in Disguise (1914).

Europena
Europena was a character name in multiple films, including Lovey Mary (1926) and Mrs. Wiggs of the Cabbage Patch (1934).

Eurydice
Eurydice was a character played by actress Mildred Harris in the film A Love Sublime (1917).

Evadne
Evadne was a character played by actress Katherine Lee in the film The Side Show of Life (1924).

  • Usage of the baby name Evadne.

Eveline
Eveline Danvers was a character played by actress Ella Hall in the short film The Mistress of Deadwood Basin (1914).

Evelynda
Evelynda was a character played by actress Margaret Livingston in the film The Last Warning (1929).

Everild
Everild was a character played by actress Ruth Stonehouse in the short film Above the Abyss (1915).

Evvie
Evvie was a character played by actress Blanche Friderici in the film Stolen Love (1928).

  • Usage of the baby name Evvie.

Exquisitia
Exquisitia was a character played by actress Ethel Teare in the short film Adam’s Ancestors (1915).

*

Which of the above E-names do you like best?

Source: IMDb

Numerology & Baby Names: Number 7

baby names that add up to 7, numerologically

Here are hundreds of baby names that have a numerological value of “7.”

I’ve sub-categorized them by overall totals, because I think that some of the intermediate numbers could have special significance to people as well.

Within each group, I’ve listed up to ten of the most popular “7” names per gender (according to the current U.S. rankings).

Beneath all the names are some ways you could interpret the numerological value of “7,” including descriptions from two different numerological systems.

7

The girl name Aada adds up to 7.

7 via 16

The following baby names add up to 16, which reduces to seven (1+6=7).

  • “16” girl names: Ana, Jada, Alba, Heba, Fia, Jae, Adaia, Adja, Cece, Daja
  • “16” boy names: Chad, Cal, Jae, Cage, Efe, Dak, Che, Adib, Abdi, Ehab

7 via 25

The following baby names add up to 25, which reduces to seven (2+5=7).

  • “25” girl names: Cali, Amaia, Jaida, Baila, Naia, Ahana, Danae, Ania, Laci, Adara
  • “25” boy names: Jack, Gael, Aaden, Aedan, Abbas, Jan, Asad, Saad, Ahaan, Ike

7 via 34

The following baby names add up to 34, which reduces to seven (3+4=7).

  • “34” girl names: Grace, Amara, Lila, Thea, Amanda, Elle, Danna, Anne, Bailee, Della
  • “34” boy names: Micah, Jaden, Chance, Hank, Noe, Carl, Chaim, Canaan, Kacen, Neo

7 via 43

The following baby names add up to 43, which reduces to seven (4+3=7).

  • “43” girl names: Chloe, Ellie, Alexa, Andrea, Gracie, Ember, Annie, Talia, Alanna, Karla
  • “43” boy names: Finn, Mark, Derek, Rafael, Iker, Beckham, Jaiden, Keegan, Erik, Aarav

7 via 52

The following baby names add up to 52, which reduces to seven (5+2=7).

  • “52” girl names: Hazel, Nova, Naomi, Aubree, Reese, Arabella, Dakota, Charlee, Nyla, Jimena
  • “52” boy names: Cayden, Dakota, Seth, Raul, Cason, Jamari, Reese, Marcel, Keanu, Ishaan

7 via 61

The following baby names add up to 61, which reduces to seven (6+1=7).

  • “61” girl names: Isabella, Lucy, Adelyn, Catalina, Mckenna, Luciana, Miracle, Jolene, Aylin, Meadow
  • “61” boy names: Roman, Kevin, Luis, Maddox, Calvin, Richard, Andres, Corbin, Nasir, Remy

7 via 70

The following baby names add up to 70, which reduces to seven (7+0=7).

  • “70” girl names: Eleanor, Ashley, Lilly, Alexis, Lilliana, Kenzie, Alison, Sierra, Francesca, Lilith
  • “70” boy names: Henry, Carson, Ryder, Josue, Simon, Walker, Rylan, Finnegan, Otto, Philip

7 via 79

The following baby names add up to 79, which reduces to seven (7+9=16; 1+6=7).

  • “79” girl names: Rosalie, Maddison, Cheyenne, Ashlyn, Haisley, Evalyn, Adilynn, Harriet, Kyndall, Beatrix
  • “79” boy names: William, Lincoln, Connor, Colton, Xavier, Walter, Gunner, Warren, Harvey, Frederick

7 via 88

The following baby names add up to 88, which reduces to seven (8+8=16; 1+6=7).

  • “88” girl names: Elizabeth, Penelope, Journee, Jazlyn, Madelynn, Sylvia, Katelyn, Karsyn, Poppy, Kassidy
  • “88” boy names: Antonio, Francisco, Kashton, Jaxxon, Karsyn, Terrence, Immanuel, Santos, Brenton, Zephaniah

7 via 97

The following baby names add up to 97, which reduces to seven (9+7=16; 1+6=7).

  • “97” girl names: Victoria, Stephanie, Evelynn, Jacqueline, Kathryn, Itzayana, Emmalynn, Yvette, Millicent, Josephina
  • “97” boy names: Anthony, Brantley, Bronson, Valentin, Jonathon, Tyrone, Johnpaul, Kentrell, Stephon, Marshawn

7 via 106

The following baby names add up to 106, which reduces to seven (1+0+6=7).

  • “106” girl names: Waverly, Honesty, Anniston, Krystal, Guinevere, Wilhelmina, Precious, Kaitlynn, Yulissa, Skarlett
  • “106” boy names: Russell, Trenton, Westyn, Miguelangel, Deanthony, Aurelius, Robinson, Tayvion, Hendrixx, Keyshawn

7 via 115

The following baby names add up to 115, which reduces to seven (1+1+5=7).

  • “115” girl names: Serenity, Trinity, Remington, Charleston, Brynnley, Winslow, Lilyrose, Everlynn, Yoselyn, Alexzandria
  • “115” boy names: Remington, Triston, Charleston, Trayvon, Winslow, Josemanuel, Reymundo, Whittaker, Tyrique, Trinity

7 via 124

The following baby names add up to 124, which reduces to seven (1+2+4=7).

  • “124” girl names: Rozlynn, Yatziry, Gwynevere, Brynlynn, Yaritzy, Vyolette, Graycelynn, Persayus, Gwendolyne, Maryruth
  • “124” boy names: Harrington, Thornton, Maxximus, Martavius, Treyveon, Winchester, Princetyn, Quinnton, Trayvion, Uchechukwu

7 via 133

The following baby names add up to 133, which reduces to seven (1+3+3=7).

  • “133” girl names: Gwendolynn, Tonantzin, Sigourney
  • “133” boy names: Theophilus, Princeston, Stevenson, Rutherford, Treyshawn, Rodriquez, Zulqarnain, Treyvonn

7 via 142

The following baby names add up to 142, which reduces to seven (1+4+2=7).

  • “142” girl names: Courtlynn, Scottlynn, Iyanuoluwa, Sutherlyn, Christlynn
  • “142” boy names: Huntington, Konstantine, Naetochukwu, Iyanuoluwa, Marquavius

7 via 151

The following baby names add up to 151, which reduces to seven (1+5+1=7).

  • “151” girl names: Montserrath, Victorious

7 via 160

The boy name Arinzechukwu adds up to 160, which reduces to seven (1+6+0=7).

7 via 169

The boy name Somtochukwu adds up to 169, which reduces to seven (1+6+9=16; 1+6=7).

What Does “7” Mean?

First, we’ll look at the significance assigned to “7” by two different numerological sources. Second, and more importantly, ask yourself if “7” or any of the intermediate numbers above have any special significance to you.

Numerological Attributes

“7” (the heptad) according to the Pythagoreans: …

  • “Since everything comes together and is distinguished by coincidence and in a critical manner at the place of the hebdomad [group of seven], they called it ‘critical time’ and ‘Chance,’ and custom has entrenched the habit of saying ‘critical time and Chance’ together.”
  • “Many things, both in the heavens of the universe and on the Earth – celestial bodies and creatures and plants – are in fact brought to completion by it. And that is why it is called ‘Chance,’ because it accompanies everything which happens, and ‘critical time,’ because it has gained the most critical position and nature.”
  • “It is also called ‘that which brings completion,’ for seven-month children are viable.”
  • “Everything is fond of sevens.”
  • “It is called ‘forager’ because its structure has been collected and gathered together in a manner resembling unity, since it is altogether indissoluble, except into something which has the same denominator as itself”

“7” according to Edgar Cayce:

  • “Seven is the spiritual number” (reading 261-15).
  • “As does seven signify the spiritual forces, as are seen in all the ritualistic orders of any nature” (reading 5751-1).
Personal/Cultural Significance

Does “7” — or do any of the other numbers above (e.g., 25, 43, 88, 151) — have any special significance to you?

Think about your own preferences and personal experiences: lucky numbers, birth dates, music, sports, and so on. Maybe you like how “88” reminds you of piano keys, for example.

Also think about associations you may have picked up from your culture, your religion, or society in general.

If you have any interesting insights about the number 7, or any of the other numbers above, please leave a comment!

Source: Theologumena Arithmeticae, attributed to Iamblichus (c.250-c.330).

Where did the baby name Weena come from?

The character Weena from the movie "The Time Machine" (1960).
Weena from “The Time Machine“

The peculiar name Weena popped up in the data a few times in the 1960s and 1970s, starting in ’62:

  • 1964: unlisted
  • 1963: unlisted
  • 1962: 6 baby girls named Weena [debut]
  • 1961: unlisted
  • 1960: unlisted

Why?

My best guess is the movie The Time Machine, an adaptation of H. G. Wells’ classic sci-fi story The Time Machine (1895). The movie was released mid-1960, so this is a slightly late debut, but the baby name matches up perfectly with the name of the primary female character, Weena (played by Yvette Mimieux).

The protagonist is an English time traveler who jumps hundreds of thousands of years into the future and discovers that humans have split into two species: the childlike Eloi, who live above ground, and the barbaric Morlocks, who live below ground.

name weena, time machine

He befriends a female Eloi, and eventually learns that her name is “Weena.”

Here’s the quote from the book:

Then I tried talk, and found that her name was Weena, which, though I don’t know what it meant, somehow seemed appropriate enough.

And here’s the scene from the film:

TT: “Well, what’s your name?”
W: “Wee-nah.”
TT: “Weena?”
W: (nods)
TT: “How do you spell it?”
W: “…Spell?”
TT: “Spell. Write. Can’t you write?”
W: (blank stare)
TT: (writes WEENA in the dirt)

I don’t think Wells left a record of how he came up with the name Weena for his Eloi character, but he may have been inspired by the name Edwina, which was more common in Victorian England than it is in modern America. (It’s the feminine form of the Old English name Edwin, meaning “wealth” + “friend.”)

Speaking of Edwina…the baby name Edwina happened to see a usage spike in in 1962, and the short form Wina appeared in the data in 1961 and 1962 (only). But I don’t think Weena from Time Machine had much to do with it — I think these spellings point to the character Edwina Brown from the TV show National Velvet (1960-1962), which also boosted the name Velvet to peak usage in 1961.

What are your thoughts on the baby name Weena? How about Edwina?

Sources: The Time Machine – Wikipedia, The Time Machine (1960) – TCM.com

Mystery Monday: The Baby Name Chevette

So here’s an interesting case. The baby name Chevette debuted in the U.S. baby name data in 1965:

  • 1969: 5 baby girls named Chevette
  • 1967: 8 baby girls named Chevette
  • 1966: 6 baby girls named Chevette
  • 1965: 6 baby girls named Chevette [debut]
  • 1964: unlisted
  • 1963: unlisted

You’d think it’d be the car, right? The Chevrolet Chevette? Except, the car didn’t arrive until 1975. You can see the corresponding spike in usage in 1976:

  • 1977: 7 baby girls named Chevette
  • 1976: 17 baby girls named Chevette [peak]
  • 1975: 6 baby girls named Chevette

The only pop culture reference I can find for the mid-1960s is, weirdly, another car: a custom-build race car. Created by engineer Bob McKee, it was called the “Chevette” because it was made out of parts from the Chevelle and the Corvette. It was driven in various American road races in 1964 and 1965, but I can’t find any press coverage.

Another (more likely) possibility is that the name emerged naturally, given the stylishness of -vette names during the ’60s. The name Yvette saw peak usage (125th) in 1967, for instance, and the Chevette-like names Charvette and Jevette popped up in the data just before Chevette did.

What are your thoughts on this one?

Source: Pace, Harold and Mark Brinker. Vintage American Road Racing Cars 1950-1969. St. Paul, MN: Motorbooks International, 2004.