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What gave the baby name Cherylene a boost in 1946?

Cherylene Robison and her mother, Rona
Rona and Cherylene Robison

The baby name Cherylene saw peak usage in the U.S. in 1946:

  • 1948: 11 baby girls named Cherylene
  • 1947: 20 baby girls named Cherylene
  • 1946: 56 baby girls named Cherylene
  • 1945: unlisted
  • 1944: 7 baby girls named Cherylene

The name Cheryl was very trendy in the mid-1940s, and 1946 happened to be the first year of the post-war baby boom. But I think there’s a more specific reason for Cherylene’s impressive usage.

The reason?

A two-month-old Australian baby named Cherylene Robison, whose picture was published in a number of U.S. newspapers that January.

Doctors in Australia had determined that Cherylene needed life-saving cranial surgery. (Her fontanelle had not closed.)

So Cherylene and her mother, Rona, took a multi-leg “mercy flight” from Perth to Oakland (via Brisbane and Honolulu) courtesy of the U.S. military.

While they traveled east by plane, Cherylene’s father, American ex-serviceman Robert J. Robison, traveled west by train (from Kansas) to meet them.

Soon after the baby arrived, she was examined by doctors at the University of California Hospital in San Francisco. They concluded that she did not need an operation after all.

At the time of the 1950 U.S. Census, the Robison family was living together in San Mateo, California, and 4-year-old Cherylene had two younger siblings, Teresa and Reginald.

What are your thoughts on the name Cherylene?

P.S. Some of the 1960s usage of the name may have been influenced by child actress Cherylene Lee (b. 1953). She had a role in the 1963 John Wayne movie Donovan’s Reef, for instance.

Sources:

Image: Clipping from the Press Democrat (24 Jan. 1946)

Popular baby names in the Netherlands, 2024

Flag of the Netherlands
Flag of the Netherlands

Last year, from January to November, the Netherlands welcomed 165,594 babies — 80,604 girls and 84,990 boys.

What were the most popular names among these babies? Emma and Noah.

Here are the Netherlands’ top 50 girl names and top 50 boy names of 2024:

Girl names

  1. Emma, 657 baby girls
  2. Olivia, 634
  3. Nora, 614
  4. Julia, 607
  5. Sophie, 581
  6. Mila, 579
  7. Noor, 547
  8. Yara, 539
  9. Sara, 492
  10. Zoë, 487
  11. Tess, 459
  12. Elin, 457
  13. Luna, 450
  14. Maeve, 447 (tie)
  15. Milou, 447 (tie)
  16. Nina, 443
  17. Saar, 425 – short form of Sarah
  18. Evi, 418
  19. Eva, 407
  20. Mia, 403
  21. Lotte, 400
  22. Liv, 382
  23. Maud, 378
  24. Sofia, 373
  25. Anna, 369
  26. Emily, 368
  27. Ella, 354
  28. Lauren, 348
  29. Lina, 347
  30. Lynn, 341
  31. Sophia, 333
  32. Sofie, 332
  33. Noa, 319
  34. Julie, 316
  35. Lily, 313
  36. Fleur, 311
  37. Loïs, 310
  38. Hailey, 308
  39. Lieke, 306 – diminutive form of several names (such as Angelique)
  40. Livia, 302
  41. Hannah, 298
  42. Fenna, 288 – feminine form of Fen, a Frisian short form of Ferdinand
  43. Nova, 287
  44. Noé, 284 (tie)
  45. Sarah, 284 (tie)
  46. Fien, 260 – short form of Josefien, the Dutch form of Josephine
  47. Jasmijn, 252
  48. Isa, 250 (3-way tie)
  49. Isabella, 250 (3-way tie)
  50. Romée, 250 (3-way tie) – French feminine form of Romeo

Boy names

  1. Noah, 922 baby boys
  2. Luca, 755
  3. Lucas, 730
  4. Liam, 660
  5. Sem, 618 – Dutch form of Shem
  6. Mees, 606 – short form of Bartholomeus, the Dutch form of Bartholomew
  7. Noud, 582 – short form of Arnoud, the Dutch form of Arnold
  8. Levi, 579
  9. James, 557
  10. Adam, 538
  11. Finn, 529
  12. Daan, 519
  13. Sam, 514
  14. Milan, 506
  15. Luuk, 473
  16. Guus, 468
  17. Zayn, 461
  18. Mats, 436
  19. Mason, 424
  20. Bram, 397
  21. Siem, 377 – short form of Simon
  22. Boaz, 373
  23. Oliver, 364
  24. Olivier, 355
  25. Benjamin, 353
  26. Gijs, 347 – short form of Gijsbert
  27. Floris, 334
  28. Jesse, 330
  29. Joep, 315
  30. Teun, 312 – short form of Antonius
  31. Otis, 311
  32. Jake, 310 (3-way tie)
  33. Lio, 310 (3-way tie)
  34. Morris, 310 (3-way tie)
  35. Moos, 303 – short form of Mozes, the Dutch form of Moses
  36. Jens, 300
  37. Ties, 293 – diminutive form of several names (such as Matthijs and Diederik)
  38. Elias, 286
  39. Abel, 284
  40. Owen, 280
  41. Thomas, 275
  42. Ted, 272
  43. Max, 268
  44. David, 263 (tie)
  45. Julian, 263 (tie)
  46. Jan, 262
  47. Mohammed, 255
  48. Jurre, 252 (tie) – short form of Jurryt, the Frisian form of Gerard
  49. Tobias, 252 (tie)
  50. Kai, 246

The girls’ top 100 included Bo (53rd), Puck (58th), Feline (tied for 82nd), and Benthe (98th).

The boys’ top 100 included Melle (59th), Loek (63rd), Stijn (70th), and Wout (tied for 85th).

And what about gender-neutral names? According to the Dutch SVB, the top three were Charlie (given to 156 girls & 156 boys last year), Robin (68 girls & 64 boys), and Sammy (11 girls & 10 boys).

Finally, here are the Netherlands’ 2023 rankings, if you’d like to compare last year to the year before.

Sources: Kindernamen home | Kindernamen | SVB, Emma en Noah de populairste kindernamen van 2024, Behind the Name

Image: Adapted from Flag of the Netherlands (public domain)

What gave the baby name Marisol a boost in 1970?

Marisol Malaret, Miss Universe 1970
Marisol Malaret

According to the U.S. baby name data, the name Marisol saw a spike in usage in 1970:

  • 1972: 639 baby girls named Marisol [rank: 346th]
  • 1971: 806 baby girls named Marisol [rank: 327th]
  • 1970: 897 baby girls named Marisol [rank: 311th]
  • 1969: 398 baby girls named Marisol [rank: 487th]
  • 1968: 286 baby girls named Marisol [rank: 566th]

Why?

Because of Puerto Rican beauty queen Marisol Malaret, who was crowned Miss Universe in Miami Beach, Florida, in July of 1970.

Notably, she was the first delegate from Puerto Rico to win the title. (There have since been four more Puerto Rican winners.)

Close to 60% of the usage of the name occurred in New York and New Jersey — the two states in which “nearly three-quarters of all Puerto Ricans living in the U.S. resided” in 1970.

Girls named Marisol (NY)Girls named Marisol (NJ)
1971305112
1970395 (44.0%)130 (14.5%)
196917952

The Miss Universe pageant doesn’t include a talent competition, but it does feature a national costume competition. Marisol’s costume was inspired by the phrase La perla del Caribe (translation: “the pearl of the Caribbean”) — a poetic name for the island of Puerto Rico.

Speaking of the island, Marisol flew home about a week after the pageant. Here’s how the New York Times described the scene:

Thousands of proud, cheering Puerto Ricans jammed the Isla Verde airport today and lined the six-mile route to the capital building to welcome home Marisol Malaret Contreras, Miss Universe of 1970.

I suspect that the baby name Marisol saw higher usage in Puerto Rico as well in 1970, but I don’t know for sure, because the SSA’s data for Puerto Rico only goes back to 1998. (The name Zuleyka got a boost in Puerto Rico in 2006, the year Zuleyka Rivera became the country’s fifth Miss Universe winner.)

What are your thoughts on the name Marisol? (Do you like it more or less than Zuleyka?)

P.S. The first runner-up at Miss Universe 1970, Deborah Shelton (Miss USA), went on to become an actress. She’s best known for playing Amanda “Mandy” Winger on the TV series Dallas.

Sources:

Image: Screenshot of the TV broadcast of the 19th Miss Universe pageant

Baby name story: Patrick

Australian cyclist Patricia "Pat" Hawkins (1921-1991)
Patricia “Pat” Hawkins

In March of 1940, an 18-year-old woman from Perth named Patricia “Pat” Hawkins broke several Australian cycling records, including the “seven days” record (by cycling 1546.6 miles in a week) and the women’s “1,000 mile” record (with a time of 104 hours and 9 minutes).

On the night of March 14, a baby was born at Perth’s Harrisdale Hospital, which is located on the Canning Highway.

Pat Hawkins frequently passed the hospital on her record-breaking ride, [and] won the admiration of the mother who decided to name her baby Patricia. As the baby was a boy she changed the name to Patrick.

P.S. Did you know what the Canning Highway is the road being referenced in the title of the 1979 AC/DC song “Highway to Hell“?

Sources:

Image: Clipping from the Sporting Globe (20 Mar. 1940)