What brought the baby name Aloma back in the early 1940s?

Movie poster for "Aloma of the South Seas" (1941)
“Aloma of the South Seas” poster

In 1941, the name Aloma re-emerged in the U.S. baby name data after a brief absence. It went on to achieve peak usage the very next year:

  • 1944: 40 baby girls named Aloma
  • 1943: 103 baby girls named Aloma [rank: 762nd]
  • 1942: 147 baby girls named Aloma [rank: 616th]
  • 1941: 47 baby girls named Aloma
  • 1940: unlisted
  • 1939: unlisted

It also managed to reach the girls’ top 1,000 twice.

What was drawing attention to the name Aloma around that time?

The movie Aloma of the South Seas, which was released in August of 1941.

The main character was Tanoa (played by Jon Hall), a young man from a tropical island in the Pacific Ocean. After spending many years abroad, Tanoa returned home upon the death of his father, the chief. Soon after, Tanoa fell in love with a fellow islander named Aloma (Dorothy Lamour). But Tanoa also had a villainous cousin named Revo (Philip Reed), who coveted both the lady and the throne…

Plot-wise, the movie didn’t have much in common with the 1926 silent film of the same name, which featured dancer Gilda Gray as Aloma. The original film was based on the Broadway play Aloma of the South Seas (1925) by LeRoy Clemens and John B. Hymer.

The 1941 version did, however, end with a spectacular volcanic eruption. It also earned a pair of Academy Award nominations (for cinematography and special effects). Oh, and one of the screenwriters happened to be former actress Seena Owen.

What are your thoughts on the baby name Aloma?

Sources: Aloma of the South Seas (1941 film) – Wikipedia, Aloma of the South Seas (1941) – TCM, SSA

Image: Movie poster for Aloma of the South Seas

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