Where did the baby name Kessel come from in 2017?

Hockey player Phil Kessel
Phil Kessel

The rare name Kessel was a one-hit wonder in the U.S. baby name data in 2017:

  • 2019: unlisted
  • 2018: unlisted
  • 2017: 5 baby boys named Kessel [debut]
  • 2016: unlisted
  • 2015: unlisted

Where did it come from?

Professional hockey player Philip “Phil” Kessel.

During the second half of the 2010s, Kessel played with the Pittsburgh Penguins (alongside teammate Sidney Crosby). The team won the Stanley Cup in back-to-back seasons: 2016 and 2017.

The name Kessel does not appear anywhere in the SSA’s state-by-state data, meaning that Pennsylvania was not the birthplace of all five of the baby boys named Kessel (curiously). We do know that at least one of the winger’s namesakes was born inside the Keystone State, though — to Pittsburgh parents Nicole and Adam Hillman. Their baby boy, Kessel Ryan Hillman, arrived in May of 2017 (during the Eastern Conference Finals).

The German surname Kessel is derived from a Middle High German word meaning “kettle, cauldron.” It originally referred to a person who made copper cooking vessels.

What are your thoughts on Kessel as a first name?

Sources:

Image: Adapted from Phil Kessel 2017-06-08 by Michael Miller under CC BY-SA 4.0.

What gave the baby name Sherry a boost in 1962?

The Four Seasons album "Sherry & 11 Others" (1962)
Four Seasons album

The baby name Sherry, already popular in the early 1960s, reached peak usage in 1962 specifically:

  • 1964: 8,495 baby girls named Sherry [rank: 50th]
  • 1963: 9,065 baby girls named Sherry [rank: 49th]
  • 1962: 9,226 baby girls named Sherry [rank: 48th]
  • 1961: 8,358 baby girls named Sherry [rank: 53rd]
  • 1960: 8,314 baby girls named Sherry [rank: 54th]

What accounts for that sudden jump into the girls’ top 50?

The song “Sherry” by The Four Seasons, a vocal quartet led by Frankie Valli (and his distinctive falsetto).

“Sherry,” the group’s second single, was released in July of 1962. In mid-September it reached #1 on Billboard‘s Hot 100 chart (dethroning “Sheila” by Tommy Roe). It remained in the top spot for five weeks straight.

Here’s what “Sherry” sounds like:

Originally entitled “Terry,” the song was written (in about fifteen minutes) by Four Seasons member Bob Gaudio. When Bob shared it with the rest of the group, the reaction was mixed: “[S]ome of the guys liked it and some didn’t.”

Unable to come to a consensus, they played it for their producer, Bob Crewe, over the phone. Crewe loved the song, but not the name. He considered replacing it with Jackie (after First Lady Jackie Kennedy) and Peri (the name of one of his record labels) before settling upon Sherry — a respelling of Cheri, the name of the daughter of one of his good friends, New York disc jockey Jack Spector.

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

P.S. The name’s steep rise in 1946 may be largely attributable to the baby boom, but I think a second influence was the 1946 western Abilene Town, which featured a character named Sherry (played by actress Rhonda Fleming).

Sources:

Where did the baby name Yukta come from in the year 2000?

Yukta Mookhey, Miss World 1999
Yukta Mookhey

The rare name Yukta first appeared in the U.S. baby name data in the year 2000:

  • 2002: unlisted
  • 2001: unlisted
  • 2000: 5 baby girls named Yukta [debut]
  • 1999: unlisted
  • 1998: unlisted

Why?

Because of Indian beauty queen Yukta (pronounced yook-tah) Mookhey, who was crowned Miss World in London, England, in December of 1999.

Yukta’s first name derives from a Sanskrit word that has various definitions, including “joined, united” and “fastened, yoked.”

What are your thoughts on the name Yukta?

P.S. Did you know that four delegates from India claimed the Miss World title within a seven-year time span? Aishwarya Rai won in 1994, Diana Hayden in 1997, Yukta in 1999, and Priyanka Chopra in 2000.

Sources: Miss World 1999 – Wikipedia, Yukta – Wisdom Library, List of Miss World titleholders – Wikipedia, SSA

Image: Screenshot of the TV broadcast of the 49th Miss World pageant

What gave the baby name Marianne a boost in 1957?

Terry Gilkyson and the Easy Riders' song "Marianne" (1957)
“Marianne” single

According to the U.S. baby name data, name Marianne nearly doubled in usage in 1957:

  • 1959: 1,915 baby girls named Marianne [rank: 186th]
  • 1958: 2,076 baby girls named Marianne [rank: 181st]
  • 1957: 3,021 baby girls named Marianne [rank: 139th]
  • 1956: 1,617 baby girls named Marianne [rank: 202nd]
  • 1955: 1,747 baby girls named Marianne [rank: 191st]

Why?

Because of the calypso song “Marianne,” which became popular during the first months of the year (during America’s short-lived “calypso craze,” which had been kicked off by Harry Belafonte’s mid-1956 album Calypso).

“Marianne” [vid] by folk music trio Terry Gilkyson and the Easy Riders was released during the final days of 1956. It was based on the calypso song “Mary Ann” (1946) by Trinidadian calypsonian Roaring Lion (birth name: Rafael de Leon), though its lyrics were substantially different.

During the months that followed, other artists (including Burl Ives) released their own recordings of “Marianne.” The most successful cover was that by The Hilltoppers, who performed the song live on The Steve Allen Show in late February.

In mid-March, the recordings of “Marianne” by the Easy Riders and the Hilltoppers peaked at #5 and #8 (respectively) on Billboard‘s Top 100 chart (a precursor to today’s Hot 100 chart).

What are your thoughts on the name Marianne?

Sources: