Where did the baby name Taio come from in 2011?

Taio Cruz's album "Rokstarr" (2009)
Taio Cruz album

The vowely name Taio started popping up in the U.S. baby name data in the early 2010s:

  • 2013: 8 baby boys named Taio
  • 2012: 6 baby boys named Taio
  • 2011: 8 baby boys named Taio [debut]
  • 2010: unlisted
  • 2009: unlisted

Where did it come from?

British singer/songwriter Taio Cruz.

Taio’s full name is Jacob Taio Cruz, though that’s not his original name. His name at birth was Adetayo Ayowale Onile-Ere. (His father is Nigerian and his mother is Brazilian.)

His second album, Rokstarr (2009), was particularly successful in the U.S. The single “Break Your Heart” (feat. Ludacris) reached #1 on Billboard‘s Hot 100 chart in March of 2010, and the single “Dynamite” reached #2 the following August.

Rapper Ludacris name-checked Taio in his verse for “Break Your Heart,” which Taio appreciated:

Luda’s verse helped Cruz clarify just how to pronounce his first name correctly. “He put my name in there, which is great — so people know to pronounce it now properly, hopefully,” Taio (pronounced “Tie-O”) said.

Apparently that wasn’t enough, though, because Taio felt the need to call his third album TY.O (2011) — a phonetic rendering of “Taio.”

But even this didn’t solve the problem. Here’s what he said during an interview in Australia in 2012:

“Everyone gets my name wrong which is quite funny cause it’s really two syllables long, it’s quite short,” he laughed, before demonstrating some of the more creative interpretations of his name.

“I think it’s because there’s so many vowels in my name.”

Do you like the name Taio? If you were going to use it for your own child, how would you spell it?

Sources:

Where did the baby name Wanderlei come from in 2009?

UFC fighter Wanderlei Silva
Wanderlei Silva

The unusual name Wanderlei popped up in the U.S. baby name data in 2009:

  • 2011: unlisted
  • 2010: unlisted
  • 2009: 5 baby boys named Wanderlei [debut]
  • 2008: unlisted
  • 2007: unlisted

So far, that’s the only time it’s made an appearance (though the very similar name Vanderlei has shown up twice, also starting in 2009).

What was the influence?

Brazilian mixed martial artist Wanderlei Silva, who made a name for himself in the U.S. thanks to the UFC (Ultimate Fighting Championship).

After being part of the UFC in the late ’90s, he re-joined in mid-2007 — at a time when the company was growing in popularity and getting mainstream media coverage. His first bout in the Octagon was against Chuck Liddell at the end of 2007. He lost that match, but won his next one against Keith Jardine in mid-2008.

I’ve never heard Silva pronounce his own first name, but the sports announcers call him VAN-der-lay. (Interesting side note: The letter “w” doesn’t naturally occur in Portuguese, so you’ll only see it in personal names and foreign words.)

You might be surprised to learn that the first name Wanderlei — along with the spelling variants Wanderley, Vanderley, and Vanderlei — are not exactly uncommon in Brazil. Other people with the name include, for instance, former soccer players Wanderley Paiva and Vanderlei Luxemburgo.

These first names come directly from the corresponding Brazilian surnames, all of which derive from a single Dutch surname: Van der Ley.

And the Dutch surname can be traced back to a single man: Gaspar van der Ley, “a well-known 17th century officer from the Dutch West India Company” who settled in Brazil during the period (1630-1654) when the Dutch controlled a large part of northeastern Brazil. (His first name is also spelled Caspar and Kaspar, depending upon the source.)

What does the surname Van der Ley mean? It’s a variant of yet another surname, Van der Lee, the original bearers of which would have lived near a canal called “De Lee” or “De Lede.” The second component of the name is derived from the Middle Dutch word lede or leide, which referred to dug or excavated watercourse (as opposed to a natural one).

What are your thoughts on the baby name Wanderlei?

Sources:

Where did the baby name Jehnna come from in 1985?

The characters Conan and Jehnna from the movie "Conan the Destroyer" (1984)
Conan & Jehnna from “Conan the Destroyer“

In 1985, the Jenna-like name Jehnna debuted in the U.S. baby name data:

  • 1987: unlisted
  • 1986: unlisted
  • 1985: 10 baby girls named Jehnna [debut]
  • 1984: unlisted
  • 1983: unlisted

The similar name Jehna also appeared for the first time in the data that year.

What was the influence?

A character in the 1984 movie Conan the Destroyer — the campy sequel to Conan the Barbarian (1982). Both films starred Arnold Schwarzenegger as Conan, but only the second film included the virgin princess Jehnna (played by actress Olivia d’Abo).

Speaking of Conan…it’s very interesting to see how swiftly usage of the name dropped during the early 1980s — specifically, in 1982 and 1984:

Graph of the usage of the baby name Conan in the U.S. since 1880
Usage of the baby name Conan

What are your thoughts on the name Conan? How about Jehnna?

Sources: Conan the Destroyer – Wikipedia, SSA

Where did the baby name Dwala come from in 1942?

Illustration of piano player Dwala Graves
Dwala Graves

The curious name Dwala first appeared in the U.S. baby name data in 1942:

  • 1944: unlisted
  • 1943: 11 baby girls named Dwala
  • 1942: 15 baby girls named Dwala [debut]
  • 1941: unlisted
  • 1940: unlisted

Despite the fact that it one of the highest-debuting baby names of the year, Dwala only remained in the data for one more year before dropping out again.

Where did it come from?

A pint-sized piano player named Dwala Jeaniene Graves from Norfolk, Nebraska.

In January of 1942, as a nine-year-old, her unique skills were highlighted in the nationally syndicated Ripley’s Believe It or Not newspaper panel. The panel said that Dwala “plays the piano and tap dances at the same time while blindfolded and wearing mittens.”

Illustration of piano player Dwala Graves
Dwala Graves

In September of 1942, she was a guest on the popular Hobby Lobby radio show hosted by Dave Elman. She did the blindfolded/mitten-wearing/tap-dancing thing again, plus this time she also performed “while sitting on the floor with her head under the keyboard.”

Though the name Dwala didn’t stay in the data long, Dwala Graves herself continued to perform, both on radio and in concert, throughout the ’40s and at least halfway into the ’50s.

After that, she married and had three daughters named Cala, Jeaniene, and Darla.

What are your thoughts on the baby name Dwala?

P.S. Dwala had younger twin siblings named Doy Royce (boy) and Devon Renee (girl).

Sources:

Image: Clipping from the Detroit Evening Times (22 Jan. 1942)