What popularized the baby name Kennedy in the 1990s?

The character Kennedy Russo from the TV series "Blossom" (1991-1995)
Kennedy from “Blossom“

The baby name Kennedy — which had been popularized as a boy name by U.S. President John F. Kennedy in the 1960s — started seeing much higher usage as a girl name in the 1990s.

Here’s the data:

Girls named KennedyBoys named Kennedy
19971,624 [rank: 186th]185 [rank: 796th]
19961,418 [rank: 208th]169 [rank: 840th]
19951,235 [rank: 229th]159 [rank: 860th]
1994472 [rank: 524th]142 [rank: 923rd]
199313482
19924788
19913360

In 1993, the name was given to more girls than boys for the first time. The year after that, it entered the girls’ top 1,000 for the first time. (It also re-entered the boys’ top 1,000, curiously.)

What caused the switch, and the rise?

I believe it’s a blend of a couple of things.

Kennedy hosting the MTV series "Alternative Nation" (1992-1997) in early 1993
Kennedy the MTV VJ

The switch could have been due to the influence of mononymous MTV video jockey Kennedy (whose birth name was Lisa Kennedy Montgomery).

Big-haired, bespectacled Kennedy hosted MTV’s popular weeknight show Alternative Nation (1992-1997), which featured hit songs by alt-rock bands like Nirvana, Pearl Jam, Oasis, Alice In Chains, Nine Inch Nails, Smashing Pumpkins, and Bush.

The name’s steep rise in usage around 1995, however, was more likely fueled by a little girl from a sitcom.

The fifth and final season of the series Blossom (1991-1995) included two new main characters: Blossom’s English step-mother Carol (played by Finola Hughes) and Blossom’s 6-year-old step-sister Kennedy (played by Courtney Chase). TV critics were not impressed by Kennedy’s feigned English accent, but viewers were clearly impressed by her name.

The Irish/Scottish surname Kennedy can be traced back to the Gaelic personal name Ceannéidigh, which is made up of the words ceann, meaning “head,” and éidigh, meaning “unseemly, ugly.”

What are your thoughts on the baby name Kennedy? Do you prefer it as a girl name, or as a boy name?

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P.S. Name quotes #86 includes a quote from MTV’s Kennedy.

Where did the baby name Junellen come from in 1947?

Junellen Hawthorne on the cover of "Calling All Girls" (November, 1944)
Junellen Hawthorne

The baby name Junellen has appeared in the U.S. baby name data just once so far, in 1947:

  • 1949: unlisted
  • 1948: unlisted
  • 1947: 12 baby girls named Junellen [debut]
  • 1946: unlisted
  • 1945: unlisted

Where did it come from?

A fashion model named Junellen Hawthorne.

Junellen was profiled in an article called “Model from Vermont” that was published in Parade, the nationwide Sunday newspaper magazine, in March of 1947. The issue’s cover also featured a photo of Junellen (though not her name).

Junellen Hawthorne in Parade Magazine (March, 1947)
“Model from Vermont”

According to the article, 20-year-old Junellen Hawthorne lived part-time on her family’s farm in Vermont, and the other part of the time in New York City, where she worked as a fashion model for the John Robert Powers modeling agency (believed to be the world’s first modeling agency).

Junellen’s Parade photos were shot by photographer André de Dienes, who, about a year and a half earlier, had hired a 19-year-old named Norma Jeane Baker (the future Marilyn Monroe!) for her first modeling job.

So how did Junellen come to have her unusual first name? Her parents created it by combining their own names, Junior and Ellen. (Junellen was an only child.)

What are your thoughts on the name Junellen?

Sources:

Where did the baby name Mayim come from in 1993?

The character Blossom (played by Mayim Bialik) from the TV series "Blossom" (1991-1995).
Mayim Bialik (as Blossom)

The rare name Mayim first appeared in the U.S. baby name data in 1993:

  • 1995: unlisted
  • 1994: unlisted
  • 1993: 8 baby girls named Mayim [debut]
  • 1992: unlisted
  • 1991: unlisted

Where did it come from?

Young actress Mayim Bialik (pronounced MY-im bee-AH-lik).

She played the part of smart, spunky teenager Blossom Russo on the TV series Blossom (1991-1995).

Blossom was the only girl in the house: She lived with her father, a divorced session musician, and her two older brothers, Tony and Joey. She also spent a lot of time with her fast-talking best friend, Six LeMeure.

The plot lines mostly revolve around [Blossom’s] battles with school authorities, her trials of romance, the temptations of marijuana, alcohol and sex, wrecking her father’s car or having to sneak back into the house after staying out all night.

The sitcom wasn’t successful right away. By the third season (1992-1993), though, Blossom had blossomed into a hit. So it’s not surprising that the name Mayim didn’t debut in the data until midway through the show’s run.

Mayim Bialik’s first name is a Hebrew vocabulary word defined by some sources as “waters” (plural), though the actress herself prefers to define it as “water” (singular):

I was named for water. Mayim means water in Hebrew and it has followed me my entire life as a personal metaphor. Water is the element closest to my heart.

The word mayim is not typically used as a given name among Hebrew speakers. So how did Bialik come to have it?

Turns out it was bestowed in honor of her grandmother, Maryam, who was known as “Bubbe Mayim” within the family. (Bubbe means “grandmother” in Yiddish.)

What are your thoughts on the name Mayim?

P.S. The name Blossom also saw a modest increase in usage in the early 1990s, particularly 1991.

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What gave the baby name Soleil a boost in 1985?

The character Punky Brewster (played by Soleil Moon Frye) from the TV series "Punky Brewster" (1984-1988)
Soleil Moon Frye as Punky Brewster

In 1985, the usage of the baby name Soleil — which is pronounced soh-lay, roughly — nearly quintupled:

  • 1987: 18 baby girls named Soleil
  • 1986: 19 baby girls named Soleil
  • 1985: 29 baby girls named Soleil
  • 1984: 6 baby girls named Soleil
  • 1983: unlisted

Why?

Because of young actress Soleil Moon Frye.

She was the star of the memorable children’s TV series Punky Brewster, which began airing on NBC in September of 1984.

The show was about a feisty, colorfully-dressed young girl named Penelope “Punky” Brewster. After being abandoned by her parents, Punky was begrudgingly taken in by a cranky widower named Henry Warnimont (played by George Gaynes). Henry eventually warmed to Punky and, in the penultimate* episode of the second season, he legally adopted her.

In mid-1985, the Washington Post called Soleil Moon Frye’s name “peculiar” and offered this explanation:

Soleil’s mother said her daughter was scheduled for a July birthday. When she showed up in August, Frye said she picked “Soleil” (French for “sun”) because “August was the month of the sun” and “Moon” because she liked the lyrics from a song in “Annie Get Your Gun”: “I’ve got the sun in the morning and the moon at night.”

Recently, Frye was quoted as saying: “I love having a unique name.”

Indeed, she’s continued the tradition with her own four children: daughters Poet and Jagger, and sons Lyric and Story.

What are your thoughts on the name Soleil?

*The final episode of Punky Brewster‘s second season dealt with the explosion of the space shuttle Challenger, which had occurred less than six weeks earlier. The episode featured astronaut Edwin “Buzz” Aldrin (as himself).

P.S. Punky Brewster’s dog Brandon was named after Brandon Tartikoff, who was the president of NBC’s entertainment division during the 1980s.

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