What turned Eldra into a boy name (briefly) in the 1980s?

DeBarge's album "In a Special Way" (1983)
DeBarge album

The uncommon name Eldra, after popping up a few times in the U.S. baby name data as a girl name during the first half of the 20th century, returned as a boy name for a four-year run in the middle of the 1980s:

  • 1988: unlisted
  • 1987: 7 baby boys named Eldra
  • 1986: 6 baby boys named Eldra
  • 1985: 17 baby boys named Eldra
  • 1984: 17 baby boys named Eldra [debut]
  • 1983: unlisted
  • 1982: unlisted

Not only that, but Eldra was the highest boy-name debut of 1984.

What was the influence here?

Eldra Patrick DeBarge — often known as “El DeBarge” — lead singer of the ’80s group DeBarge (which consisted of siblings from the DeBarge family of Michigan).

The group’s songs started appearing on Billboard‘s Hot 100 chart in mid-1983. Their most successful single was the upbeat “Rhythm of the Night” (vid), which peaked at #3 on the Hot 100 in April of 1985.

Eldra "El" DeBarge in the music video for the song "Rhythm of the Night" (1985).
El DeBarge

El DeBarge left the group in 1986 to pursue a solo career. His own most successful single, “Who’s Johnny” (featured in the movie Short Circuit), also peaked at #3 on the Hot 100 (in July of 1986).

What are your thoughts on the baby name Eldra? Do you like it better as a male name or as a female name?

Sources: El DeBarge – Wikipedia, DeBarge – Billboard, SSA

Bottom image: Screenshot of the music video for “Rhythm of the Night”

Where did the baby name Inaara come from in 1998?

Inaara Aga Khan and Karim Aga Khan (in 2002)
Inaara Aga Khan & Karim Aga Khan

The names Inaara and Inara both popped up for the first time in the U.S. baby name data in 1998:

Girls named InaaraGirls named Inara
2000148
19991311
199828*†8*
1997..
1996..
*Debut, †Peak usage

Why?

Because of a royal wedding!

In May of 1998, Prince Karim Aga Khan IV — who had divorced Salimah in 1995 — remarried. His new bride was German attorney and divorcée Gabriele zu Leiningen. (She’d grown up as Gabriele Thyssen*.)

With her second marriage, she became known as Inaara Aga Khan:

On her conversion to Islam, she and the Aga Khan chose for her the Muslim name Inaara, derived from the Arabic word “nur,” meaning “light.”

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

*Her childhood surname came from her stepfather, industrialist Bodo Thyssen, whose interesting first name can be traced back to the Germanic element bod, meaning either “commander” or “messenger.”

Sources:

Image: Adapted from Musachohanagakhan (public domain)

Where did the baby name Salimah come from in 1969?

Salimah Aga Khan and Karim Aga Khan (in 1969)
Salimah Aga Khan & Karim Aga Khan

The names Salima and Salimah popped up for the first time in the U.S. baby name data in 1969:

Girls named SalimaGirls named Salimah
19717.
19705.
19696*5*
1968..
1967..
*Debut

The masculine form of the name, Salim (also spelled Saleem), had emerged in the data earlier in the ’60s. But this doesn’t account for the sudden appearance of both Salima and Salimah.

What does?

A royal wedding!

In October of 1969, Prince Karim Aga Khan IV — the Imam of the Nizari branch of Ismaili Muslims — married British divorcée and former fashion model Lady Sarah Crichton-Stuart. (She’d been born in British India in 1940 as Sarah “Sally” Croker Poole.)

With her second marriage — and conversion to Islam — came another name change: Salimah Aga Khan. (She continued to go by the nickname Sally, though.)

Some news outlets misspelled the new name “Salima,” which is likely why this version also debuted in 1969.

The Muslim names Salim and Salimah derive from the Arabic root s-l-m, meaning “to be safe, secure.”

Do you like the name Salimah?

Sources:

P.S. Several decades earlier, the Aga Khan’s younger half-sister, Princess Yasmin Aga Khan, also had a slight influence on U.S. baby names…

What gave the baby name Jaheim a boost in 2001?

Jaheim's album "Ghetto Love" (2001)
Jaheim album

In 2000 — a few years after the emergence of Shyheim — the similar name Jaheim appeared for the first time in the U.S. baby name data:

  • 2003: 552 baby boys named Jaheim [rank: 456th]
  • 2002: 752 baby boys named Jaheim [rank: 356th] – peak usage
  • 2001: 554 baby boys named Jaheim [rank: 437th]
  • 2000: 10 baby boys named Jaheim
  • 1999: unlisted
  • 1998: unlisted

The next year, it saw a massive increase in usage — so big that Jaheim became the fastest-rising boy name of 2001. (The fastest-rising girl name of 2001, incidentally, was the notorious Nevaeh.)

Here’s a visual:

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

The sudden trendiness of Jaheim also gave a boost to several variant spellings, such as…

19992000200120022003
Jaheem59131182115
Jahiem..155*235196
Jyheim..9*77
Jahem..6*96
Jyheem..6*6.
Jahim..5*7.
Jaheam...5*5
Jyhiem...5*.
Jaiheem...5*.
Jaheen...5*.
*Debut

The variant spelling Jahiem debuted so impressively in 2001 that it now ranks as the 9th-highest boy name debut of all time.

So what influenced all these names?

New Jersey-born R&B singer Jaheim (pronounced jah-HEEM) Hoagland — known mononymously as Jaheim — who began releasing music in late 2000.

His first hit songs were “Could It Be,” which peaked at #26 on Billboard‘s Hot 100 chart in March of 2001, and “Anything,” which peaked at #28 in April of 2002.

Interestingly, Jaheim referred to himself as “Jah” in the titles of two of the interludes on his debut album, Ghetto Love (2001). This wasn’t enough to have any impact on the name Jah, though.

What are your thoughts on the name Jaheim? (How would you spell it?)

P.S. Jaheim’s grandfather was soul singer Victor Hoagland, who performed under the name “Hoagy Lands.” (Not to be confused with Hoagy Carmichael…)

Sources: Jaheim – Wikipedia, Jaheim – Billboard, Jaheim biography – AllMusic