How popular is the baby name Zarak 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 Zarak.

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Popularity of the baby name Zarak


Posts that mention the name Zarak

Where did the baby name Zarak come from in 1957?

movie, zarak, 1956, baby name

In 1957, the eye-catching name Zarak first appeared in the U.S. baby name data:

  • 1959: unlisted
  • 1958: unlisted
  • 1957: 8 baby boys named Zarak [debut]
  • 1956: unlisted
  • 1955: unlisted

The inspiration? A Technicolor action film called Zarak, which was released in late 1956.

It starred actor Victor Mature as main character Zarak Khan, the leader of a gang of outlaws on the India-Afghanistan border. His main adversary is an English military man named Ingram, who the British colonial government has sent out to hunt him down.

The movie was based on a 1949 book called The Story of Zarak Khan by Anthony J. Bevan.

Source: Zarak – TCM

Where did the baby name Yana come from in 1955?

British singer Yana (1932-1989)
Yana

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)