Where did the baby name Krisily come from in 2005?

American TV personality Krisily Kennedy
Krisily Kennedy

The rare name Krisily was a one-hit wonder in the U.S. baby name data in 2005:

  • 2007: unlisted
  • 2006: unlisted
  • 2005: 11 baby girls named Krisily [debut]
  • 2004: unlisted
  • 2003: unlisted

Where did it come from?

The Bachelor runner-up Krisily Kennedy.

Krisily (pronounced KRIS-ih-lee) was a contestant on the show’s seventh season, which aired during the spring of 2005 and featured bachelor Charlie O’Connell, younger brother of actor Jerry O’Connell.

During the show’s 3-hour finale — the first in which a bachelor made his final decision on live TV — Charlie chose the other remaining contestant, Sarah Brice, over Krisily.

Krisily (who was Miss Rhode Island USA in 2003, incidentally) went on to participate in the first season of Bachelor Pad in 2010.

What are your thoughts on the name Krisily?

P.S. One of Charlie’s twin nieces was named after him. (The other twin was named after Dolly Parton.)

Sources:

Where did the baby name Adderly come from in 1987?

The character V. H. Adderly from the TV series "Adderly" (1986-1988)
V. H. Adderly from “Adderly“

The rare name Adderly first appeared in the U.S. baby name data in 1987:

  • 1989: unlisted
  • 1988: unlisted
  • 1987: 6 baby boys named Adderly [debut]
  • 1986: unlisted
  • 1985: unlisted

Why?

My guess is the TV series Adderly (1986-1988), a spy spoof that was produced in Canada and broadcast in both Canada and the United States.

The main character was Virgil Homer “V. H.” Adderly, played by Canadian actor Winston Rekert.

Adderly was a former secret agent who, after being injured (his left hand was crushed by an enemy agent wielding a medieval mace), got reassigned to a desk job in his agency’s Miscellaneous Affairs department. Despite this, Adderly kept uncovering “overlooked threats amongst the pushed papers” and took action to investigate and prevent these plots.

I don’t know if any Canadian babies were named Adderly in the 1980s, unfortunately, as the Canadian data only goes back to 1991.

But I do know that the surname Adderly can be traced back to either of two locations in England called Adderley. One of the locational names is based on the Old English personal name Ealdred (male), while the other is based on the Old English personal name Ealdthryth (female). In both cases, the second element of Adderley derives from the Old English word leah, meaning “clearing” or “meadow.”

What are your thoughts on the name Adderly?

Sources:

  • Adderly – Wikipedia
  • Romanko, Karen A. Television’s Female Spies and Crimefighters: 600 Characters and Shows, 1950s to the Present. Jefferson, NC: McFarland & Company, 2016.
  • Hanks, Patrick. (Ed.) Dictionary of American Family Names. New York: Oxford University Press, 2003.
  • SSA

Image: Screenshot of Adderly

Where did the baby name Grantland come from in 1930?

Sportswriter Grantland Rice (1880-1954)
Grantland Rice

The surname name Grantland first appeared in the U.S. baby name data in 1930:

  • 1932: unlisted
  • 1931: unlisted
  • 1930: 6 baby boys named Grantland [debut]
  • 1929: unlisted
  • 1928: unlisted

Why?

I think the reason is famous sportswriter Grantland Rice, who was known for his “evocative, heroic writing style.”

He began covering sports during the first decade of the 1900s, initially working at various newspapers in the South (including the Nashville Tennessean and the Atlanta Journal).

In the 1910s, Rice moved to New York City and started a column called “The Sportlight” at the New York Tribune. His influential column would go on to become nationally syndicated in 1930 — which could be the reason the name Grantland debuted in the data that year specifically.

He was born Henry Grantland Rice in Tennessee in 1880. His middle name was his mother Beulah’s maiden name.

The surname Grantland comes from an English place name that may represent a combination of the Old English personal name Granta and the Old English word land, which (in this case) referred to owned or cultivated land.

What are your thoughts on Grantland as a first name?

P.S. Another sportswriter who influenced U.S. baby names was Perian Conerly…

Sources:

Image (Grantland Rice on tel/mic) from Library of Congress

Where did the baby name Airrion come from in 1973?

The Stylistics' self-titled debut album (1971)
Stylistics album

According to the U.S. baby name data, the curious name Airrion both debuted and hit peak usage in 1973:

  • 1975: 7 baby boys named Airrion
  • 1974: 11 baby boys named Airrion
  • 1973: 19 baby boys named Airrion (debut & peak usage)
  • 1972: unlisted
  • 1971: unlisted

Where did the name come from?

Singer Airrion (pronounced AIR-ee-un) Love, a member of the soul group The Stylistics.

The group was founded in Philadelphia in the late ’60s and saw its greatest success during the first half of the ’70s.

From 1971 to 1974, twelve consecutive Stylistics singles reached the top 10 on Billboard‘s R&B chart. Five of those songs — “You Are Everything,” “Betcha by Golly, Wow,” “I’m Stone in Love with You,” “Break Up to Make Up,” and “You Make Me Feel Brand New” — also reached the top 10 on Billboard‘s Hot 100 chart.

So, if the group achieved fame in 1971, why did Airrion’s name pop up in the data in 1973 — a year (or two) later than expected?

At first I thought he must have been profiled in print somewhere. (How else would so many parents have known to spell his name correctly?) But I couldn’t find anything in the newspapers or the popular magazines of the day.

So my next-best guess is album covers.

On the reverse of The Stylistics’ first record, only lead vocalist Russell Thompkins, Jr., is mentioned by name. On the back of the group’s second and third records, however, the names of all five members — Russell Thompkins, Airrion Love, James Smith, Herb Murrell, and James Dunn — are listed.

Detail from the reverse of the album cover for "Round 2" (1972) by The Stylistics
From the reverse of “Round 2” (1972)

If Airrion’s name had been included on the back of the first record, I think it’s likely that his name would have debuted earlier in the baby name data.

What are your thoughts on the name Airrion?

Sources: The Stylistics – Wikipedia, Discogs.com, SSA