What popularized the baby name Vonda in the mid-1960s?

Vonda Kay Van Dyke, Miss America 1965
Vonda Kay Van Dyke

According to the U.S. baby name data, Vonda saw a big spike in usage in mid-1960s:

  • 1967: 321 baby girls named Vonda [rank: 529th]
  • 1966: 664 baby girls named Vonda [rank: 349th]
  • 1965: 1,093 baby girls named Vonda [rank: 261st]
  • 1964: 602 baby girls named Vonda [rank: 399th]
  • 1963: 180 baby girls named Vonda [rank: 772nd]

Why?

Because of Vonda Kay Van Dyke, who was crowned Miss America 1965 at the conclusion of the televised pageant held in Atlantic City in September of 1964.

Van Dyke — who represented the state of Arizona — was the very first Miss America contestant to perform ventriloquism during the talent portion of the competition.

Van Dyke taught herself ventriloquism as a child and soon after found herself sharing billing with Wayne Newton. “Wayne and I did quite a few shows before he hit it big and moved on to Vegas,” she recalls.

Notably, Vonda Van Dyke is also the only Miss America to have been voted Miss Congeniality by the other delegates.

After her reign ended, Vonda enjoyed “an 18-year showbiz career, appearing with Jack Benny and Victor Borge.” She also married and had one child, a girl named Vandy.

Over the years, Vonda has met a several of her namesakes:

I ask them, “Where did you get your name?” One said, “Oh, it’s so embarrassing. I got it from a Miss America.” I stuck out my hand and said, “How do you do?”

What are your thoughts on the name Vonda?

Sources:

Image: Adapted from Miss America of 1965 Vonda Kay Van Dyke at a fabric store in Los Angeles, Calif. by Los Angeles Times under CC BY 4.0.

Where did the baby name Moesha come from in 1996?

The character Moesha Mitchell (played by Brandy Norwood) from the TV series "Moesha" (1996-2001)
Moesha from “Moesha”

The name Moesha first appeared in the U.S. baby name data in 1996 with a whopping 426 baby girls:

  • 1998: 122 baby girls named Moesha
  • 1997: 211 baby girls named Moesha [rank: 945th]
  • 1996: 426 baby girls named Moesha [rank: 548th] – debut & peak usage
  • 1995: unlisted
  • 1994: unlisted

It was easily the highest-debuting name of the year. In fact, it currently ranks third on the list of highest-debuting girl names of all time!

The spelling Moeisha also debuted in 1996, as did the variant forms Moeshia and Oesha.

What made the name Moesha so trendy in the mid-1990s?

The TV sitcom Moesha (pronounced moh-EE-shah), which began airing in January of 1996.

The show’s protagonist was “hip, smart and opinionated” African-American teenager Moesha Mitchell.

At the start of the series, Moesha lived in a middle-class Los Angeles neighborhood with her dad, her little brother Myles, and her new stepmom — who also happened to be a teacher at her high school. Her friends included Kim and Hakeem, and she was secretly dating a boy named Ohagi. (Ohagi, pronounced oh-HAH-jee, was a one-hit wonder in the data in 1996.)

The name of the sitcom’s main character was chosen by Sara Finney, one of Moesha‘s three co-creators. Finney, who was inspired in part by name of her niece Tiesha, explained:

We wanted a name that reflected the fact [that] a lot of African-American girls born in the 1970s and 1980s have this ‘esha’ sound at the end of their names.

The actress who portrayed Moesha was none other than Brandy Norwood — better known as mononymous R&B singer Brandy. She also sang the show’s theme song, of course.

By the time the sitcom premiered, Brandy had already scored three top-ten hits: “I Wanna Be Down,” “Baby,” and “Brokenhearted” (a duet with Wanyá Morris of Boyz II Men). Her early success on the charts accounts for the uptick in usage of the baby name Brandy in 1995.

What are your thoughts on the baby name Moesha?

Sources:

Image: Screenshot of Moesha

Where did the baby name Vendela come from in 1993?

Fashion model Vendela Kirsebom
Vendela

The rare baby name Vendela both debuted and saw peak usage in the U.S. in 1993:

  • 1995: 7 baby girls named Vendela
  • 1994: 7 baby girls named Vendela
  • 1993: 9 baby girls named Vendela [debut]
  • 1992: unlisted
  • 1991: unlisted

Why?

Because of supermodel Vendela (pronounced VEHN-deh-lah) — born Vendela Kirsebom in Sweden in 1967.

After modeling in Europe for several years, she relocated to New York City to become “the face” of American cosmetics company Elizabeth Arden in 1989.

Though she was often featured in advertisements and on magazine covers, her name didn’t pop up in the U.S. baby name data until she became a Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Issue covergirl in early 1993. Importantly, her name was also on the cover:

Vendela's name on the cover of Sports Illustrated (Feb. 1993)
Vendela’s name

Speaking with Glamour magazine in the late ’80s about her name, she said:

I’ve never met anybody else with my first name. It’s old-fashioned and people don’t use it much anymore. When I was younger I didn’t like it because everyone always had to ask again, “What was your name?” Now I like that it’s different.

The name Vendela is a Swedish feminine form of the Germanic name Wendel, which was derived from a Germanic word referring to the Vandals (an ancient Germanic tribe).

What are your thoughts on the name Vendela?

Sources:

Images: Clippings from the cover of Sports Illustrated magazine (22 Feb. 1993)

What gave the baby name Shawnte a boost in 1977?

Shawnte Northcutte on "The New Mickey Mouse Club" (1977-1979)
Shawnte on “The New Mickey Mouse Club“

According to the U.S. baby name data, the name Shawnte reached the girls’ top 1,000 for the first and only time in 1977:

  • 1979: 89 baby girls named Shawnte
  • 1978: 113 baby girls named Shawnte
  • 1977: 207 baby girls named Shawnte [rank: 745th]
  • 1976: 32 baby girls named Shawnte
  • 1975: 22 baby girls named Shawnte

A slew of other spellings also saw higher usage that year. Examples include Shante, Shawnta, Chante, Shaunte, Shaunta, Shonta, Shantae, Shawntay, Shauntay, Shawntee, Shonte, Shontay, and, most notably, Shawntae — the fastest-rising girl name of 1977.

What caused this sudden interest in the name Shawnte?

A Mouseketeer named Shawnte Northcutte.

She was part of The New Mickey Mouse Club — Disney’s attempt to revive the original Mickey Mouse Club of the 1950s.

The new version of the variety show featured disco-inspired music and a more ethnically diverse cast.

It premiered in January of 1977. (In fact, several days before it began, the new Mouseketeers were introduced to television audiences during the Disney-produced halftime show of Superbowl XI.)

The New Mickey Mouse Club “couldn’t recapture the magic of the original,” however, and was discontinued after just six months. Reruns finally stopped airing in January of 1979.

Interestingly, Shawnte Northcutte pronounced her first name two different ways. Sometimes she emphasized the first syllable (SHAWN-tay), as in the first episode [vid] of the show, and other times she emphasized the second syllable (shawn-TAY), as in the tenth episode [vid].

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

Sources:

Image: Screenshot of The New Mickey Mouse Club