What gave the baby name Gilda a boost in the 1920s?

Actress Gilda Gray as the character Aloma in the silent film "Aloma of the South Seas" (1926)
Gilda Gray in “Aloma of the South Seas“

According to the U.S. baby name data, the name Gilda achieved peak popularity (in terms of ranking) in 1927:

  • 1929: 257 baby girls named Gilda [rank: 414th]
  • 1928: 291 baby girls named Gilda [rank: 393rd]
  • 1927: 321 baby girls named Gilda [rank: 381st]
  • 1926: 293 baby girls named Gilda [rank: 401st]
  • 1925: 200 baby girls named Gilda [rank: 497th]

What was drawing attention to the name around that time?

Actress Gilda Gray, who began her career as a vaudeville dancer in the late 1910s. She was famous for doing the shimmy — a shoulder-shaking dance move that was somewhat controversial at the time.

She went on to appear in several movies, the most successful of which was the 1926 silent film Aloma of the South Seas, in which she played the title character. Here’s how one newspaper advertisement described the picture:

A fiery romance of the tropics in which Gilda, as a native dancing girl, vies with a lovely woman of fashion for the love of a derelict young white man. Drama! Beauty! Thrills!

(The baby name Aloma saw higher usage in 1927 as well.)

Gilda Gray was born Marianna Michalska in Poland around the turn of the century. Her family immigrated to the U.S. when she was a child.

Her stage name was initially Mary Gray, but singer Sophie Tucker suggested that she change “Mary” to “Gilda” on account of her golden hair.

What are your thoughts on the name Gilda?

P.S. The word “shimmy” is of unknown origin, but one theory posits that it derives from the French word chemise.

Sources:

Image: Clipping from the book Aloma of the South Seas (1926)

Where did the baby name Jkwon come from in 2004?

J-Kwon's single "Tipsy" (2004)
J-Kwon single

Did you know that Shaboozey’s “A Bar Song (Tipsy)” — one of the most successful country songs of 2024 — borrows heavily from a 20-year-old rap song?

That song, “Tipsy” by J-Kwon, has been described by Rolling Stone as “a raucous rap ode to underage drinking.” It was released in January of 2004 (when J-Kwon was just 17) and peaked at #2 on Billboard‘s Hot 100 chart in April.

The same year, the baby name Jkwon made its first appearance in the U.S. baby name data:

  • 2006: 27 baby boys named Jkwon
  • 2005: 30 baby boys named Jkwon
  • 2004: 100 baby boys named Jkwon [debut]
  • 2003: unlisted
  • 2002: unlisted

(These babies were likely named “J-Kwon,” but the SSA’s data excludes hyphens and ignores internal capitalization.)

Jkwon was the highest-debuting boy name of the year. In fact, it currently ranks 11th on the list of top boy-name debuts of all time. Other spellings (such as Jquan, Jakwon, Jaquan, Jaykwon, and Jayquan) also saw higher usage in 2004.

The name dropped back out of the data (i.e., below the five-baby threshold) before the end of the decade, though, because the rapper’s subsequent singles weren’t as successful as “Tipsy” [vid].

J-Kwon was born Jerrell Jones in St. Louis, Missouri, in 1986.

His stage name was initially J-Rell, but he changed it to J-Kwon in the year 2000.

The new name was inspired by the movie Jerry Maguire (1996), in which professional football player Rod Tidwell (played by Cuba Gooding, Jr.) used the invented word kwan — a French pronunciation of the English word “coin” — to refer to something more than money. (“You know, some dudes might have the coin, but they’ll never have the kwan.”) Rod explained the concept to his agent Jerry (played by Tom Cruise) by saying, “It means love, respect, community, and the dollars too — the entire package. The kwan.”

What are your thoughts on the name Jkwon?

P.S. Shaboozey was born Collins Obinna Chibueze to Nigerian immigrants living in Virginia in 1995. When he was a freshman in high school, his football coach misspelled his surname “Shaboozey.” The misspelling turned into a nickname, and the nickname became his stage name.

Sources:

What gave the baby name Zuleyka a boost in 2006?

Zuleyka Rivera, Miss Universe 2006
Zuleyka Rivera

According to the U.S. baby name data, the name Zuleyka nearly quintupled in usage in 2006:

Girls named Zuleyka (USA)Girls named Zuleyka (PR)
2008526
20071167
200610812
200522.
200416.

It also re-appeared in Puerto Rico’s baby name data after an absence of several years.

Why?

Because of the influence of Puerto Rican beauty queen Zuleyka (pronounced zoo-LAY-kah) Rivera, who was crowned Miss Universe in Los Angeles, California, in July of 2006.

The Miss Universe pageant doesn’t include a talent competition, but it does feature a national costume competition. Zuleyka’s costume was inspired by Atabey, the mother goddess of the Taíno people.

What are your thoughts on the name Zuleyka?

P.S. About a decade after winning the pageant, Zuleyka Rivera starred in the extremely popular music video for the song “Despacito” [vid] by Luis Fonsi and Daddy Yankee.

Sources: Zuleyka Rivera – Wikipedia, Despacito – Wikipedia, SSA

Image: Screenshot of the TV broadcast of the 55th Miss Universe pageant

What brought the baby name Brennley back in 2017?

Singer Brennley Brown

After popping up in the U.S. baby name data several times in the early 2010s, the name Brennley both re-emerged and reached peak usage in 2017:

  • 2019: 14 baby girls named Brennley
  • 2018: 14 baby girls named Brennley
  • 2017: 56 baby girls named Brennley
  • 2016: unlisted
  • 2015: unlisted

The spelling Brenley also peaked that year, and Brenlei was a one-hit wonder in the data.

What was influencing these names?

A 14-year-old country singer named Brennley Brown.

During the first half of 2017, Brennley appeared on the 12th season of reality competition TV series The Voice. She advanced to the top 8, but was eliminated during the semifinals.

In May, three of the songs that Brennley had performed on the show made consecutive single-week appearances on Billboard‘s Hot Country Songs chart. (The songs were “Long, Long Time” by Linda Ronstadt, “River” by Joni Mitchell, and “Anyway” by Martina McBride.)

What are your thoughts on the name Brennley?

Sources: Brennley Brown – Wikipedia, Brennley Brown – Billboard, The Voice (season 12) – Wikipedia, SSA

Image: Screenshot of The Voice