What turned Juniper into a baby name in 1969?

Donovan's single "Jennifer Juniper" (1968)
The single “Jennifer Juniper”

The playful song “Jennifer Juniper” by Scottish musician Donovan was released as a single in early 1968. It peaked at #26 on the U.S. Hot 100 chart in April.

Jennifer Juniper lives upon the hill
Jennifer Juniper, sitting very still

The inspiration behind the song was Jenny Boyd — the younger sister of famous English model Pattie Boyd (who, at that time, was married to George Harrison of the Beatles).

What effect did the song have on the baby names Jennifer and Juniper?

With Jennifer it’s hard to tell, as the name was already extremely trendy. It was also being featured elsewhere in pop culture (e.g., The Hollies‘ song “Jennifer Eccles,” which peaked at #40 in May).

  • 1971: 56,775 baby girls named Jennifer [rank: 1st]
  • 1970: 46,153 baby girls named Jennifer [rank: 1st]
  • 1969: 33,702 baby girls named Jennifer [rank: 3rd]
  • 1968: 26,850 baby girls named Jennifer [rank: 4th]
  • 1967: 18,238 baby girls named Jennifer [rank: 10th]

Incidentally, Jenny Boyd’s legal name was not Jennifer Boyd, but Helen Mary Boyd. Here’s the story, according to Pattie:

She wasn’t actually christened Jenny: my mother named her Helen Mary, to please a couple of aunts, but I had a favorite teddy at the time called Jenny and I insisted my new sister be called by the same name.

It’s much easier to see the effect of “Jennifer Juniper” on the name Juniper, which debuted in the U.S. baby name data the year after the song came out:

  • 1971: 12 baby girls named Juniper
  • 1970: 7 baby girls named Juniper
  • 1969: 5 baby girls named Juniper [debut]
  • 1968: unlisted
  • 1967: unlisted

It’s interesting that Donovan’s song “Laléna” came out months after “Jennifer Juniper,” and yet the name Lalena debuted in the SSA data a year ahead of Juniper.

Despite sounding similar, the names Jennifer and Juniper have different etymologies. Juniper, which refers to a type of tree, comes from the Latin word iuniperus. Jennifer, on the other hand, can be traced back to the Welsh name Gwenhwyfar, which is based on a pair of Celtic words that may have meant “white” and “phantom.” (The Arthuruan name Guinevere has the same origin.)

Which name, Jennifer or Juniper, do you prefer? Why?

Sources:

What popularized the baby name Keyshawn in the 1990s?

Football player Keyshawn Johnson
Keyshawn Johnson

The baby name Keyshawn jumped into the boys’ top 1,000 for the first time in 1996:

  • 1998: 192 baby boys named Keyshawn [rank: 800th]
  • 1997: 194 baby boys named Keyshawn [rank: 771st]
  • 1996: 187 baby boys named Keyshawn [rank: 783rd]
  • 1995: 37 baby boys named Keyshawn
  • 1994: 8 baby boys named Keyshawn

The same year, several similar names (Keyshaun, Keyshon, and Keysean) made their debuts in the U.S. baby name data.

What was influencing all of these names?

Wide receiver (Joseph) Keyshawn Johnson.

A few months after being named the most valuable player of the 1996 Rose Bowl, he was selected first overall in the 1996 NFL Draft by the New York Jets.

During his 11-season professional football career, Johnson was invited to the Pro Bowl three times — twice while he was playing for the Jets, and once while he was with the Buccaneers. He was also part of the Buccaneers team that secured the franchise’s first-ever Super Bowl win in early 2003.

What are your thoughts on the name Keyshawn? (How about KEY names in general?)

P.S. One of Keyshawn Johnson’s namesakes, KeeSean Johnson, born in late 1996, is currently a wide receiver for the Buffalo Bills.

Sources: Keyshawn Johnson – Wikipedia, KeeSean Johnson – Wikipedia, SSA

Where did the baby name Lalena come from in the late 1960s?

Donovan's single "Lalena" (1968)
Donovan single

The name Lalena debuted in the U.S. baby name data in 1968. The following year, it saw a sizeable increase in usage.

  • 1971: 48 baby girls named Lalena
  • 1970: 49 baby girls named Lalena
  • 1969: 37 baby girls named Lalena
  • 1968: 5 baby girls named Lalena [debut]
  • 1967: unlisted
  • 1966: unlisted

Why?

Because of music!

In October of 1968, Scottish singer/songwriter Donovan released the song “Laléna.” It was about a prostitute whose name was Laléna, pronounced lah-LAY-nya — as if the “n” had a tilde (as in señor).

The song peaked at #33 on Billboard‘s Hot 100 chart in November of 1968.

Here’s what it sounds like:

Donovan said he was inspired to write the song after seeing the 1931 German film The Threepenny Opera, which featured actress/singer Lotte Lenya as a prostitute named Jenny. The character in his song — whose name was based on the actress’ surname — was “a composite character of women who are outcasts on the edge of society.”

The singer was born Donovan Philips Leitch in Glasgow in 1946. Thanks to his influence, usage of the name Donovan also increased in the late 1960s.

P.S. Two other songs with the names of prostitutes in the titles are “Roxanne” by The Police and “Fancy” by Bobbie Gentry (later covered by Reba McEntire).

Sources: Laleña – Donovan Unofficial, Donovan – Billboard, SSA

What gave the baby name Scotty a boost in 1971?

Bobby Goldsboro's single "Watching Scotty Grow" (1970)
The single “Watching Scotty Grow”

According to the U.S. baby name data, the name Scotty saw its highest-ever usage in the early 1970s:

  • 1973: 696 baby boys named Scotty [rank: 268th]
  • 1972: 757 baby boys named Scotty [rank: 260th]
  • 1971: 1,118 baby boys named Scotty [rank: 210th]
  • 1970: 574 baby boys named Scotty [rank: 330th]
  • 1969: 607 baby boys named Scotty [rank: 308th]
Graph of the usage of the baby name Scotty in the U.S. since 1880
Usage of the baby name Scotty

Why?

Because of the song “Watching Scotty Grow” [vid] by Bobby Goldsboro. It was released in October of 1970 and peaked at #11 on Billboard‘s Hot 100 chart in February of 1971.

Songwriter Mac Davis wrote “Watching Scotty Grow” about his young son, Scotty. He’d taken Scotty to the office with him one day, and that’s when inspiration struck:

He was a typical 5-year-old and was in my hair with questions, “Daddy” this and “Daddy” that.

Finally, I gave him a yellow legal pad and a felt tip pen. I said, “Draw Daddy a picture.” So he started drawing, and I’m trying to write a song. All of a sudden he shows me this picture that he’d drawn. It was a crude little rocket ship, and on the side of it, it had “P-R-L-F-Q.” I said, “Well, what does that spell?” And he said “Mom and Dad.” Yikes!

The song (as Mac Davis sings it) starts with the lyrics:

There he sits with a pen and a yellow pad
He’s a handsome lad
That’s my boy
PRLFQ spells mom and dad
Well that ain’t too bad
‘Cause that’s my boy

Singer Bobby Goldsboro asked if he could change the name in the song from “Scotty” to “Danny” — the name of his own son — but Davis wouldn’t give him permission:

I said, “Nope.”

[…]

I said, “I just can’t do it.” He said, “Well, OK, then.” … I just couldn’t do that to my son. I wanted it to be his name.

The song also managed to nudge the name Scott (which we talked about in the Lancer post earlier this week) into the boys’ top 10 for the first and only time:

  • 1973: 18,982 baby boys named Scott [rank: 18th]
  • 1972: 22,857 baby boys named Scott [rank: 11th]
  • 1971: 30,919 baby boys named Scott [rank: 10th] (peak usage)
  • 1970: 28,588 baby boys named Scott [rank: 12th]
  • 1969: 28,668 baby boys named Scott [rank: 12th]
Graph of the usage of the baby name Scott in the U.S. since 1880
Usage of the baby name Scott

What are your thoughts on the name Scotty? (How about Scott?)

Sources: