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What gave the baby name Cara a boost in 1965?

The character Cara Bridges/Wilton from the TV series "The Cara Williams Show" (1964-1965)
Cara from “The Cara Williams Show“

According to the U.S. baby name data, the name Cara saw a spike in usage in 1965:

  • 1967: 604 baby girls named Cara [rank: 366th]
  • 1966: 677 baby girls named Cara [rank: 347th]
  • 1965: 987 baby girls named Cara [rank: 274th]
  • 1964: 663 baby girls named Cara [rank: 366th]
  • 1963: 682 baby girls named Cara [rank: 368th]

What caused the brief increase?

The 1965 pop song “Cara Mia” could be a secondary influence here, but I think the main influence was a single-season sitcom called The Cara Williams Show, which aired from 1964 to 1965 (30 episodes) on CBS.

The star of the show was actress Cara Williams, who played a scatterbrained character also named Cara. Fictional Cara went by two different surnames: Bridges (her married name) at home, and Wilton (her maiden name) at work. Why? Because she and her husband Frank (played by actor Frank Aletter) were co-workers at a company that forbade the employment of married couples. They therefore went to great lengths to conceal their marriage from their boss.

Cara Williams — a “perky redhead” often compared to Lucille Ball — was born Bernice Kamiat in New York City in 1925.

What are your thoughts on the name Cara?

Sources:

Image: Screenshot of The Cara Williams Show

Baby name story: Emdiella

Record of Emdiella Whiskerd's christening in 1852
Emdiella Whiskerd

A baby girl born in 1852 to William and Sarah Whiskerd of Norfolk, England, was given the unusual name Emdiella.

Forty years later, a grandchild of the vicar who performed Emdiella’s baptism wrote a letter to the editor of the the London newspaper The Standard. Here’s what it said:

A child (a girl) was brought for baptism to my grandfather. When asked the name, the parent, to his surprise, replied, “Emdiella.” “There is no such name,” said my grandfather. “Oh, yes, sir, there is; we saw it in a book,” replied the woman. My grandfather at the time did not like to inquire further, but it turned out that she had found in an old grammar the four liquid letters, L.M.N.R., and had confused them into M.D.L.R. The child was, however, christened “Emdiella.”

Her name is spelled “Emdeeler” in both the marriage register (1873) and the death register (1915).

(Here are dozens of other names spelled with the names of letters, if you’re interested.)

Sources:

Image: Baptismal record of Emdiella Whiskerd

How did The Boys influence U.S. baby names?

The Boys' album "Messages from the Boys" (1988)
The Boys album

The Abdulsamad brothers — Khiry (b. 1973), Tajh (b. 1976), Hakim (b. 1975), and Bilal (b. 1978) — started performing together in the mid-1980s, “dancing and lip-synching to New Edition records at Venice Beach for donations.”

They were so successful at busking that they “[set] their sights on a show-biz career.”

The brothers formed an R&B vocal quartet called The Boys and, a few years later, signed a record deal with Motown.

The Boys’ songs are well-produced and propelled by strong, danceable rhythms, offering simple, romantic messages that apparently set young girls swooning.

Three of their songs climbed to #1 on Billboard‘s Hot Black Singles chart, and two of the three also reached Billboard‘s Hot 100 chart:

  • “Dial My Heart,” which peaked at #13 in February of 1989, and
  • “Crazy,” which peaked at #29 in October of 1990.

So, how did The Boys influence U.S. baby names?

Khiry

The name Khiry debuted impressively in the data in 1989 and reached peak usage in 1990:

  • 1991: 132 baby boys named Khiry [rank: 916th]
  • 1990: 244 baby boys named Khiry [rank: 649th] (peak usage)
  • 1989: 159 baby boys named Khiry [rank: 788th] (debut)
  • 1988: unlisted
  • 1987: unlisted

Notably, Khiry would have been the top boy-name debut of the year if not for the glitch of 1989.

The similar name Kyree also saw higher usage 1989. Other names that debuted in the data that year and the next include Khiree, Kiry, Kiree, Khiri, Khayri, and Khirey.

The name Khiry — which the eldest Abdulsamad brother pronounced kie-ree — is likely based on the Arabic name Khayri, meaning “charitable.”

“Hakeem” (Hakim)

Hakim’s name is spelled “Hakim” in the California Birth Index, at various music websites (e.g. AllMusic, Genius), and in this 2017 Instagram post written by Tajh.

Back in the late ’80s and early ’90s, however, it was regularly spelled “Hakeem.”

I assumed this was a typo when I first encountered it in Jet and Ebony, because I’ve seen name-related typos in those magazines before. But then I spotted it in several major newspapers. And finally I noticed it on-screen in the “Dial My Heart” music video, and printed on the single for “Crazy” — suggesting that the spelling was, in fact, intentional.

Misspelling of Hakim in the music video for "Dial My Heart"
Hakim’s name spelled “Hakeem” in a music video

I can’t account for the Hakim/Hakeem spelling discrepancy, but I can show you the result: the baby name Hakeem shot to peak usage (and entered the boys’ top 1,000 for the first time) in 1989, while baby name Hakim saw no movement at all the same year.

Boys named HakimBoys named Hakeem
199136242 [rank: 654th]
199061271 [rank: 612th]
198941279 [rank: 586th]
19884365
19873155

Hakim is an Arabic name meaning “wise.”

Tajh

Just like Khiry, the name Tajh debuted impressively in the data in 1989, and reached peak usage in 1990:

Boys named TajhBoys named Tahj
19914022
199079†26
198965*37*
1988..
1987..
*Debut, †Peak usage

The spelling Tahj debuted in 1990, and Taj saw higher usage that year as well.

The name Tajh is probably based on the Arabic name Taj, meaning “crown.”

(Interesting fact: When he was six weeks old, Tajh Abdulsamad played the part of newborn Kunta Kinte in the first episode of the miniseries Roots.)

Bilal

The name Bilal nearly doubled in usage in 1989:

  • 1991: 119 baby boys named Bilal [rank: 981st]
  • 1990: 104 baby boys named Bilal
  • 1989: 100 baby boys named Bilal
  • 1988: 52 baby boys named Bilal
  • 1987: 57 baby boys named Bilal

The spelling Belal also got a boost that year, and both Billal and Bilaal debuted in the data.

Bilal — which the youngest Abdulsamad brother pronounced bih-LAL (like the name Bill with the end-sound of “canal” or “morale”) — is an Arabic name meaning “moistening.”

Which of The Boys’ names – Khiry, Tajh, Hakim, or Bilal – do you like best?

Sources:

Second image: Screenshot of the music video for “Dial My Heart”

Popular baby names in Northern Ireland (UK), 2024

Flag of the United Kingdom
Flag of the United Kingdom

Last year, Northern Ireland — one of the constituent countries of the United Kingdom — welcomed more than 19,400 babies.

What were the most popular baby names among these babies? Grace and James.

Here are Northern Ireland’s top 50+ girl names and top 50 boy names of 2024:

Girl names

  1. Grace, 125 baby girls
  2. Olivia, 109
  3. Fiadh, 104
  4. Aoife, 97
  5. Emily, 96
  6. Charlotte, 95 (tie)
  7. Lily, 95 (tie)
  8. Isla, 91 (tie)
  9. Sophia, 91 (tie)
  10. Freya, 90
  11. Annie, 89
  12. Ella, 85
  13. Eabha, 80
  14. Amelia, 74 (tie)
  15. Sophie, 74 (tie)
  16. Evie, 73
  17. Meabh, 71
  18. Ellie, 69
  19. Anna, 65
  20. Clodagh, 61 (tie)
  21. Mia, 61 (tie)
  22. Aria, 59 (3-way tie)
  23. Maisie, 59 (3-way tie)
  24. Rosie, 59 (3-way tie)
  25. Erin, 58
  26. Croia, 55
  27. Elsie, 54
  28. Bonnie, 53 (tie)
  29. Molly, 53 (tie)
  30. Phoebe, 52 (tie)
  31. Sienna, 52 (tie)
  32. Ava, 51
  33. Cara, 50 (tie)
  34. Daisy, 50 (tie)
  35. Ivy, 49
  36. Clara, 47
  37. Saoirse, 46
  38. Lucy, 45 (tie)
  39. Ruby, 45 (tie)
  40. Cora, 44
  41. Rose, 43
  42. Eva, 42 (tie)
  43. Sadie, 42 (tie)
  44. Isabella, 39 (3-way tie)
  45. Nora, 39 (3-way tie)
  46. Willow, 39 (3-way tie)
  47. Ada, 37 (5-way tie)
  48. Katie, 37 (5-way tie)
  49. Maya, 37 (5-way tie)
  50. Niamh, 37 (5-way tie)
  51. Poppy, 37 (5-way tie)

Boy names

  1. James, 143 baby boys
  2. Cillian, 142
  3. Noah, 139
  4. Jack, 130
  5. Theo, 125
  6. Jude, 124
  7. Luca, 109
  8. Charlie, 106
  9. Oisin, 105
  10. Oliver, 104
  11. Thomas, 96
  12. Leo, 94
  13. Harry, 89 (tie)
  14. Jacob, 89 (tie)
  15. Finn, 84
  16. Arthur, 83
  17. Alfie, 82 (3-way tie)
  18. Daithi, 82 (3-way tie)
  19. Freddie, 82 (3-way tie)
  20. Archie, 77 (tie)
  21. Tommy, 77 (tie)
  22. Rian, 67
  23. Ollie, 65
  24. Conan, 62
  25. Ronan, 61
  26. Caleb, 60 (4-way tie)
  27. Fionn, 60 (4-way tie)
  28. Isaac, 60 (4-way tie)
  29. Patrick, 60 (4-way tie)
  30. Lucas, 57 (tie)
  31. Max, 57 (tie)
  32. Theodore, 55
  33. Rory, 54
  34. Joseph, 53 (3-way tie)
  35. Oscar, 53 (3-way tie)
  36. Reuben, 53 (3-way tie)
  37. Daniel, 52
  38. Adam, 51 (tie)
  39. Alexander, 51 (tie)
  40. George, 50 (tie)
  41. Odhran, 50 (tie)
  42. Ezra, 49 (3-way tie)
  43. Liam, 49 (3-way tie)
  44. Matthew, 49 (3-way tie)
  45. Arlo, 48 (3-way tie)
  46. Cian, 48 (3-way tie)
  47. Henry, 48 (3-way tie)
  48. Daire, 47 (3-way tie)
  49. Jonah, 47 (3-way tie)
  50. Sean, 47 (3-way tie)

Grace and James were also the #1 names in 2022, but both dipped to third place in 2023.

The highest climbers within the girls’ top 100 in 2024 were Maya, Maria, Eliza, and Ayla.

And the highest climbers within the boys’ top 100 were Austin, Rossa, Callum, and Joseph.

Finally, here’s a small selection of the names that were given to just three babies each last year:

  • Rare girl names: Aodhla, Cuisle, Doireann, Etain, Neala, Orlagh, Tierna
  • Rare boy names: Ainle, Con, Dualtagh, Eamon, Feilim, Lir, Oilibhear

Cuisle, the Irish word for “pulse,” is thematically similar to the trendy girl name Croia, which is based on croí, the Irish word for “heart.” Croia currently ranks 26th and 16th in Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland, respectively.

Sources:

Image: Adapted from Flag of the United Kingdom (public domain)