How did The Boys influence U.S. baby names?

The Boys' album "Messages from the Boys" (1988)
The Boys album

The Abdulsamad brothers — Khiry (b. 1973), Tajh (b. 1976), Hakim (b. 1975), and Bilal (b. 1978) — started performing together in the mid-1980s, “dancing and lip-synching to New Edition records at Venice Beach for donations.”

They were so successful at busking that they “[set] their sights on a show-biz career.”

The brothers formed an R&B vocal quartet called The Boys and, a few years later, signed a record deal with Motown.

The Boys’ songs are well-produced and propelled by strong, danceable rhythms, offering simple, romantic messages that apparently set young girls swooning.

Three of their songs climbed to #1 on Billboard‘s Hot Black Singles chart, and two of the three also reached Billboard‘s Hot 100 chart:

  • “Dial My Heart,” which peaked at #13 in February of 1989, and
  • “Crazy,” which peaked at #29 in October of 1990.

So, how did The Boys influence U.S. baby names?

Khiry

The name Khiry debuted impressively in the data in 1989 and reached peak usage in 1990:

  • 1991: 132 baby boys named Khiry [rank: 916th]
  • 1990: 244 baby boys named Khiry [rank: 649th] (peak usage)
  • 1989: 159 baby boys named Khiry [rank: 788th] (debut)
  • 1988: unlisted
  • 1987: unlisted

Notably, Khiry would have been the top boy-name debut of the year if not for the glitch of 1989.

The similar name Kyree also saw higher usage 1989. Other names that debuted in the data that year and the next include Khiree, Kiry, Kiree, Khiri, Khayri, and Khirey.

The name Khiry — which the eldest Abdulsamad brother pronounced kie-ree — is likely based on the Arabic name Khayri, meaning “charitable.”

“Hakeem” (Hakim)

Hakim’s name is spelled “Hakim” in the California Birth Index, at various music websites (e.g. AllMusic, Genius), and in this 2017 Instagram post written by Tajh.

Back in the late ’80s and early ’90s, however, it was regularly spelled “Hakeem.”

I assumed this was a typo when I first encountered it in Jet and Ebony, because I’ve seen name-related typos in those magazines before. But then I spotted it in several major newspapers. And finally I noticed it on-screen in the “Dial My Heart” music video, and printed on the single for “Crazy” — suggesting that the spelling was, in fact, intentional.

Misspelling of Hakim in the music video for "Dial My Heart"
Hakim’s name spelled “Hakeem” in a music video

I can’t account for the Hakim/Hakeem spelling discrepancy, but I can show you the result: the baby name Hakeem shot to peak usage (and entered the boys’ top 1,000 for the first time) in 1989, while baby name Hakim saw no movement at all the same year.

Boys named HakimBoys named Hakeem
199136242 [rank: 654th]
199061271 [rank: 612th]
198941279 [rank: 586th]
19884365
19873155

Hakim is an Arabic name meaning “wise.”

Tajh

Just like Khiry, the name Tajh debuted impressively in the data in 1989, and reached peak usage in 1990:

Boys named TajhBoys named Tahj
19914022
199079†26
198965*37*
1988..
1987..
*Debut, †Peak usage

The spelling Tahj debuted in 1990, and Taj saw higher usage that year as well.

The name Tajh is probably based on the Arabic name Taj, meaning “crown.”

(Interesting fact: When he was six weeks old, Tajh Abdulsamad played the part of newborn Kunta Kinte in the first episode of the miniseries Roots.)

Bilal

The name Bilal nearly doubled in usage in 1989:

  • 1991: 119 baby boys named Bilal [rank: 981st]
  • 1990: 104 baby boys named Bilal
  • 1989: 100 baby boys named Bilal
  • 1988: 52 baby boys named Bilal
  • 1987: 57 baby boys named Bilal

The spelling Belal also got a boost that year, and both Billal and Bilaal debuted in the data.

Bilal — which the youngest Abdulsamad brother pronounced bih-LAL (like the name Bill with the end-sound of “canal” or “morale”) — is an Arabic name meaning “moistening.”

Which of The Boys’ names – Khiry, Tajh, Hakim, or Bilal – do you like best?

Sources:

Second image: Screenshot of the music video for “Dial My Heart”

Where did the baby name Merrial come from in 1920?

Illustration of Merrial Houlton from the Rocky Mountain News (May 1920)
Merrial Houlton (with a suitor)

The rare name Merrial was a one-hit wonder in the U.S. baby name data in 1920:

  • 1922: unlisted
  • 1921: unlisted
  • 1920: 6 baby girls named Merrial [debut]
  • 1919: unlisted
  • 1918: unlisted

Where did it come from?

My guess is the story “Mice and Men,” which was serialized in various U.S. and Canadian newspapers that year.

The main character was a young American woman, Merrial Houlton — “an amazing wisp of a girl, who was equally at home on the back of a bucking broncho or presiding over the ‘tea things’ in a Boston drawing room” — who had traveled to England to visit her late mother’s family.

The story was written by Katharine Newlin Burt, a prolific author whose novels (mostly Westerns) were published from the 1910s to the 1970s. Originally from New York, Burt spent much of her adult life in Wyoming on her husband’s Bar BC Dude Ranch (which was later incorporated into Grand Teton National Park).

What are your thoughts on the baby name Merrial?

Sources:

Image: Clipping from the Rocky Mountain News (16 May 1920)

How did Jet magazine’s “Beauties of the Week” influence baby names?

Taren Sims as the "Beauty of the Week" in Jet magazine (Oct. 1981)
Taren Sims in Jet magazine

Jet was a pocket-sized weekly magazine focused on African-American news and entertainment. While it was being published in print (1951-2014), Jet was “a ubiquitous presence in black communities” — particularly in places like barbershops and beauty parlors.

Most issues of Jet included a full-length portrait of an attractive young woman wearing a swimsuit. The accompanying text revealed the woman’s name and location, plus a few other details (e.g., body measurements, occupation, college major, and/or hobbies). In late 1975, Jet began referring to each of these women as the “Beauty of the Week” in the table of contents.

We’ve already discussed several baby name-popularizing “Beauties of the Week” (Annazette, Debraca, Meyosha, Tchanavian, and Tijwana), but how many others had a similar effect?

To find out, I flipped through every single 20th-century issue of Jet, gathered all the “Beauty of the Week” names, and checked these names in the U.S. baby name data. The result? More than two dozen likely cases of influence…

Ouida
Ouida Williams, a dancer from St. Louis, was featured in Jet in July of 1953. The baby name Ouida saw an uptick in usage the same year.

Meiling
Mei Ling Leung, a college student in Los Angeles, was featured in Jet in April of 1960. The baby name Meiling debuted in the data the same year.

Dollicia Holloway as the featured beauty in Jet magazine (Oct. 1961)
Dollicia Holloway in Jet magazine

Dollicia
Dollicia Holloway, a legal secretary from Long Island, was featured in Jet in October of 1961. The baby name Dollicia debuted in the data the next year.

Kaaron
Kaaron Sidney, a keypunch operator from Chicago, was featured in Jet in May of 1962. The baby name Kaaron was a one-hit wonder in the data the same year.

Darien
Darien Daniels, an actress from Los Angeles, was featured in Jet in June of 1968. The baby name Darien saw an uptick in usage (as a girl name) the same year.

Sharmeen
Sharmeen Caldwell, a model from Memphis, was featured in Jet in November of 1972. The baby name Sharmeen debuted in the data the same year.

Cherisse
Cherisse Wilson, a model from Detroit, was featured in Jet in September of 1973. The baby name Cherisse saw increased usage the same year.

Cherron
Cher’ron Burrell, a beauty pageant winner from Dallas, was featured in Jet in April of 1974. The baby name Cherron peaked in usage the same year.

Kimara
Kimara Parker, a model from Chicago, was featured in Jet in October of 1974. The baby name Kimara saw increased usage the same year.

Shayla Simpson as the featured beauty in Jet magazine (Apr. 1977)
Shayla Simpson in Jet magazine

Shayla
Shayla Simpson, a model from Washington, D.C., was featured in Jet in April of 1977. The baby name Shayla saw increased usage the same year. (From 1977 to 1991, Shayla Simpson was also the commentator of the Ebony Fashion Fair. Both Jet and Ebony ran photos of her regularly during this period. On her website, Shayla notes that “she has met over 350 babies who were named “Shayla” in her honor.”)

Treina
Treina Booker, a model from Los Angeles, was featured in Jet in March of 1979. The baby name Treina peaked in usage the same year.

Nivia
Nivia Souffront, a model of Puerto Rican descent, was featured in Jet in December of 1979. The baby name Nivia peaked in usage the next year.

Lavasia
Lavasia Butcher, a model from Los Angeles, was featured in Jet in February of 1981. The same year, the baby name Lavasia both debuted in the data and reached peak usage.

Lakaii
Lakaii S. Tae, a singer and dancer from Los Angeles, was featured in Jet in October of 1981. The baby name Lakaii debuted in the data the same year.

Taren
Taren Sims, a flight attendant from Jersey City, was featured in Jet in October of 1981. The baby name Taren saw a spike in usage the next year.

Cassaundra
Cassaundra Anderson, an aspiring model from Richmond, Virginia, was featured in Jet in July of 1982. The baby name Cassaundra saw increased usage the same year.

Chartese
Chartese Berry, a student at Georgetown University, was featured in Jet in February of 1983. The baby name Chartese was a one-hit wonder in the data the same year.

Jakki Davis as the "Beauty of the Week" in Jet magazine (Sept. 1984)
Jakki Davis in Jet magazine

Jakki
Jakki Davis, a Cancerian from Seattle, was featured in Jet in September of 1984. The baby name Jakki saw an uptick in usage the same year.

Fotini
Fotini Williams, a secretary from Chicago, was featured in Jet in October of 1984. The baby name Fotini saw an uptick in usage the same year.

Yoshani
Yoshani Wije, “a native of the island nation Sri Lanka,” was featured in Jet in January of 1989. The baby name Yoshani was a one-hit wonder in the data the same year.

Tai
Tai Keart, a model and dancer from Los Angeles, was featured in Jet in April of 1991. The baby name Tai saw an uptick in usage the same year.

Tonisha
Tonisha Joyner, a nursery school teacher from Chesapeake, Virginia, was featured in Jet in September of 1992. The baby name Tonisha saw increased usage the same year.

Anetra
Anetra Reinhart, a model from Louisville, was featured in Jet in May of 1993. The baby name Anetra saw an uptick in usage the same year.

Najha Phillips as the "Beauty of the Week" in Jet magazine (Aug. 1993)
Najha Phillips in Jet magazine

Najha
Najha Phillips, a model from Washington, D.C., was featured in Jet in August of 1993. The baby name Najha debuted in the data the same year.

Talani
Talani Rabb, a model from Hawthorne, California, was featured in Jet in March of 1996. The baby name Talani debuted in the data the next year. (In 2009, Talani married Wu-Tang Clan member Robert Fitzgerald “RZA” Diggs — whose stage name became a baby name in 2023.)

Irian
Irian Thomas, a college student, was featured in Jet in March of 1999. The baby name Irian saw an uptick in usage the next year.

Which of the above names do you like the most?

P.S. Covergirl Jacy De Souza was also a two-time “Beauty of the Week” in 1961…

Sources:

Images: Clippings from Jet magazine (12 Oct. 1961; 7 Apr. 1977; 29 Oct. 1981; 3 Sept. 1984; 30 Aug. 1993)

Where did the baby name Micheaux come from in 1983?

College basketball player Larry Micheaux
Larry Micheaux

The curious name Micheaux surfaced in the U.S. baby name data for two years during the 1980s:

  • 1985: unlisted
  • 1984: 5 baby boys named Micheaux
  • 1983: 16 baby boys named Micheaux (debut)
  • 1982: unlisted
  • 1981: unlisted

Why?

Because of college basketball player Larry Micheaux (pronounced MEE-shaw).

Micheaux was a member of the University of Houston’s successful “Phi Slama Jama” teams of the early 1980s. His teammates included future NBA stars Akeem Olajuwon and Clyde Drexler.

During his last two years of college, Micheaux helped the Houston Cougars reach the NCAA Final Four (in 1982) and the NCAA National Championship Game (in 1983).

(In 1982, Houston lost to the North Carolina Tar Heels, featuring freshman phenom Michael Jordan, in the semifinals. The following year, after memorably defeating the Louisville Cardinals, a.k.a. the “Doctors of Dunk,” in the semifinals, Houston was upset by the North Carolina State Wolfpack in the championship game.)

Micheaux played in the NBA for a couple of seasons after college, but spent most of his professional career in Europe.

The French surname Micheaux can be traced back to the personal name Michel, which is the French form of Michael.

What are your thoughts on Micheaux as a first name?

Sources:

Image: Screenshot of Larry Micheaux during the 1983 NCAA Championship Game