Baby name story: Gaynell

LSU football player Gaynell "Gus" Kinchen
Gaynell Kinchen

While doing research on Gaynell Tinsley, I came across the following name story:

Jacob Calvin Kinchen had a lot to consider when it came time, on June 7, 1938, to name his first child, starting with the fact that he had never really liked his own first name. […] Perhaps that would have been enough to push any less of a football man toward the choice of a safe name that would always be comfortable for his child. But Jake could not help himself. He had been captain of his high school football team, the Albany Panthers, 1934 district champions in Livingston Parish, Louisiana, and he had become a coach at nearby Live Oak High School. […] Only a man with such passion for sport could possibly look beyond his own discomfort with the seemingly benign name of Jacob and name his son…Gaynell.

Gaynell Kinchen “despised the childhood razzing that came with such an unusual name,” though, so in high school he started going by “Gus” — just like his namesake, Gaynell Tinsley.

Also like Tinsley, Kinchen played football at LSU. And so did two of his own sons, Todd and Brian — both of whom went on to play in the NFL. In fact, Brian Kinchen snapped the game-winning field goal for the New England Patriots during Super Bowl XXXVIII in 2004.

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Bebeto named his baby after Lothar Matthäus

German soccer player Lothar Matthäus (in 1990)
Lothar Matthäus

In July of 1994, in the middle of the FIFA World Cup tournament, the wife of Brazilian soccer player Bebeto (full name: José Roberto Gama de Oliveira) gave birth to a baby boy.

The couple decided to name the baby Mattheus in honor of famed German footballer Lothar Matthäus (pronounced LOH-tar mah-TEH-oos), whose surname is the German form of Matthew.

Two days later, Brazil played the Netherlands in the World Cup quarterfinals. Bebeto scored one of Brazil’s goals and — to celebrate both the goal and his newborn son — began to swing his arms side-to-side, as if rocking a baby.

At the sideline, two other Brazilian players (Mazinho and Romário) joined in on the rock-a-baby revelry:

Brazilian soccer players Mazinho (#17), Bebeto (#7), and Romário (#11) during the Brazil vs. Netherlands game of the 1994 World Cup.
Mazinho (#17), Bebeto (#7), and Romário (#11)

This memorable goal celebration is likely behind the debut of Mattheus in the U.S. baby name data the following year:

  • 1997: unlisted
  • 1996: 7 baby boys named Mattheus
  • 1995: 6 baby boys named Mattheus [debut]
  • 1994: unlisted
  • 1993: unlisted

The Brazilian Portuguese spelling of the name, Matheus, also saw an uptick in usage in the mid-1990s.

Almost two decades later, in 2012, Mattheus Oliveira — following in his father’s footsteps — made his debut as a professional footballer.

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Second image: Screenshot of “100 Great Brazilian Goals: #31 Bebeto (USA 1994)” © 2014 FIFA

Name quotes #118: Dana, Lisa, Crusoe

double quotation mark

April is here, so it’s time for another batch of name quotes!

From an Instagram post by Irish television presenter Lisa Cannon:

I always feel oddly yet loosely connected to [the late Lisa Marie Presley] as I was an only child too and was named after her… Lisa Sara Marie Cannon – Lisa Marie because my father like the rest of the world was an Elvis fan and my middle name Sara after Bob Dylan’s Wife. My father at the time was a budding Rock Journalist for Hot Press Magazine & the NME in London so music of all genres was always playing in our home. When people ask you the origin of your name or who your named after it was always “Elvis’ daughter & Bob Dylan’s Wife” which always got a smile.

From a recent article about YouTube influencers The Newbys:

Tiny traveller Crusoe Newby is less than two years old — but has already tottered his way around 24 different countries.

[…]

Named after fictional castaway Robinson Crusoe, the hero of the 18th century novel by Daniel Defoe, he had travelled to 11 countries while still in the womb. But his official tally of 24 have all been racked up since his birth. His adventure started when Tara and John decided to sell their Bristol home and convert a £3,000 van to travel the globe in May 2020.

[…]

“Robinson Crusoe is John’s favourite book of all time because it inspired him as a young boy to think of a life of adventure.”

From the 2020 obituary of Dana Marie Ek in Fauquier Now:

Dana was born on October 19, 1995, in Astoria, Oregon. She was named after the Dana Glacier — located deep in the wilds of the Glacier Peak Wilderness Area, because her father thought it was the most beautiful place on heaven or earth.

From a 2007 article called “You Are What Your Name Says You Are” in the New York Times:

Sociologists like Mr. Besnard observed that first names [in France] were often quick markers of social and educational status. As another Libération reader, an elementary school teacher, pointed out: “I can often guess the ‘profile’ of a child thanks to the first name. A ‘Maxime,’ a ‘Louise,’ a ‘Kevin,’ a ‘Lolita.’ It’s sad, but that’s how it often works.” That is, Maxime and Louise probably have wealthy parents, while Kevin and Lolita are more likely to have a working- or lower-middle-class background.

Indeed, bourgeois French parents are unlikely to give their children “Anglo-Saxon” names; Jennifer was the most popular name for girls from 1984 to 1986, but it’s a safe bet few Jennifers came from well-educated families. (The craze is commonly explained by the success of the TV series “Hart to Hart” in France at that time — Jennifer Hart was one of the title characters — while “Beverly Hills, 90210,” featuring a popular character named Dylan McKay, is sometimes blamed for the explosion of Dylans a few years later.)

Wayne Gretzky named his baby after Ty Cobb

Hockey player Wayne Gretzky (with the NY Rangers in the late '90s)
Wayne Gretzky

A couple of years ago, retired Canadian hockey player Wayne Douglas Gretzky — “the Great one” — talked about baby names with Ernie Johnson and Charles Barkley, hosts of The Steam Room (vid) podcast.

Gretzky’s first child, a girl, was born in 1989.

(This was the year after he married his wife, American actress Janet Jones. It was also the year after he won his fourth Stanley Cup with the Edmonton Oilers.)

Gretzky said, “I wanted to name my first daughter Gordie. My wife nixed that.”

So, instead of naming their firstborn after Gordie Howe, they named her Paulina.

A year later, in 1990, they welcomed a baby boy.

And I said, okay, I get to name my second one. So I named him Ty, after Ty Cobb, because I love baseball.

Wait…baseball?

So when I grew up, I don’t know, I was one of those kids that, in April, I threw my hockey equipment in the basement…I couldn’t wait to play baseball. […] I loved it. I just loved the game. I loved the thinking part of it, the fundamentals of the sport, I just truly — I couldn’t get enough of baseball.

In fact, when he was a teenager in Ontario, Gretzky came close to signing a professional baseball contract. (He played shortstop and pitcher.)

So that explains why a hockey legend named his eldest son after baseball legend.

Wayne and Janet’s next two sons were named Trevor and Tristan (middle names Douglas and Wayne, respectively). Their fifth and final child, a girl, was named Emma.

P.S. Ty Cobb’s full first name? Tyrus.

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Image: Adapted from Wayne Gretzky New York Rangers by Håkan Dahlström under CC BY 2.0.