How did the movie “Aladdin” influence U.S. baby names?

The title character from the movie "Aladdin" (1992)
Aladdin from “Aladdin“

The animated Disney movie Aladdin, based on the Middle Eastern folk tale of the same name, was released in theaters in November of 1992.

Set in the fictional desert city of Agrabah, the film followed a street urchin named Aladdin (voiced by Scott Weinger) who, with the help of a genie summoned from a magic lamp, set out to win the heart of the sultan’s daughter, Princess Jasmine (voiced by Linda Larkin).

Aladdin became the highest-grossing movie of 1992. It went on to win multiple Oscar and Grammy Awards in early 1993.

It also had an influence on U.S. baby names. The rare name Aladdin, for instance, quadrupled in usage the year after Aladdin came out:

  • 1995: 6 baby boys named Aladdin
  • 1994: 13 baby boys named Aladdin
  • 1993: 24 baby boys named Aladdin (peak usage)
  • 1992: 6 baby boys named Aladdin
  • 1988: 5 baby boys named Aladdin

The titular character’s name is a form of Ala al-Din, which means “excellence of the faith” in Arabic.

The character Jasmine from the movie "Aladdin" (1992)
Jasmine from “Aladdin“

The name Jasmine saw a significant increase in usage the same year:

  • 1995: 10,279 baby girls named Jasmine [rank: 25th]
  • 1994: 11,713 baby girls named Jasmine [rank: 23rd]
  • 1993: 12,062 baby girls named Jasmine [rank: 23rd]
  • 1992: 10,478 baby girls named Jasmine [rank: 28th]
  • 1991: 11,525 baby girls named Jasmine [rank: 24th]

Jasmine was one of the fastest-rising girl names of 1993, in fact.

In the original tale, the princess’ name was Badr al-Budur, which means “full moon of full moons” in Arabic. Disney decided to rename the character, choosing Jasmine “because of the popularity of the actress Jasmine Guy at the time.” (Guy was also behind the trendiness of the name in the late ’80s, incidentally.)

Princess Jasmine’s pet tiger Rajah (pronounced rah-zhah) seems to have been influential as well. The name Rajah (which derives from the royal title Raja) reached peak usage for both baby boys and baby girls in 1994:

Girls named RajahBoys named Rajah
1996.6
1995177
199420†24†
199357
1992.7
†Peak usage

The name Jafar, which refers to the film’s primary antagonist (voiced by Jonathan Freeman), similarly peaked in popularity in 1994:

  • 1996: 17 baby boys named Jafar
  • 1995: 14 baby boys named Jafar
  • 1994: 33 baby boys named Jafar (peak usage)
  • 1993: 13 baby boys named Jafar
  • 1992: 7 baby boys named Jafar

The Return of Jafar, a direct-to-video Aladdin sequel that was released in May of 1994, was likely drawing extra attention to the villain’s name that year.

Sources:

Images: Screenshots of Aladdin

Where did the baby name Tharon come from in 1919?

"The Crimson Challenge" advertisement (May 1923)
“The Crimson Challenge” advertisement

The name Tharon first appeared (as a girl name) in the U.S. baby name data in 1919:

  • 1924: 17 baby girls named Tharon
  • 1923: 32 baby girls named Tharon [peak]
  • 1922: 10 baby girls named Tharon
  • 1921: 6 baby girls named Tharon
  • 1920: 13 baby girls named Tharon
  • 1919: 6 baby girls named Tharon [debut]
  • 1918: unlisted
  • 1917: unlisted

It went on the reach peak usage in 1923.

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

Initially, a story called Tharon of Lost Valley by Vingie E. Roe. It was published as a book during the second half of 1919, then serialized in various newspapers during the first half of 1920.

The main character, Tharon Last, was a rancher’s daughter who’d vowed to avenge the death of her father at the hands of a notorious cattle rustler.

Two hours each day she practised [sic] with the deadly revolvers of her murdered father, Jim Last, waiting the day when she should meet with [Buck] Courtrey, his murderer.

In April of 1922, The Crimson Challenge — a movie adaptation of Tharon of Lost Valley — was released. Described as a “romantic Western melodrama with a hard-riding, two-gunned heroine,” the silent film starred actress Dorothy Dalton as Tharon Last.

What are your thoughts on the name Tharon?

Sources:

Image: Clipping from the Alaska Daily Empire (24 May 1923)

What brought the baby name Peola back in 1935?

The character Peola Johnson from the movie "Imitation of Life" (1934)
Peola Johnson from “Imitation of Life“

After popping up in the U.S. baby name data once in the 1910s, the rare name Peola (pronounced pee-OH-lah) returned to the data during the second half of the 1930s, starting in 1935:

  • 1937: 10 baby girls named Peola
  • 1936: 8 baby girls named Peola
  • 1935: 9 baby girls named Peola
  • 1934: unlisted
  • 1933: unlisted

Why?

Because of a character in the melodrama Imitation of Life, which was released in theaters in November of 1934.

The film’s main characters were Beatrice “Bea” Pullman (played by Claudette Colbert), who was white, and Delilah Johnson (played by Louise Beavers), who was Black.

At the start of the story, Bea and Delilah were single mothers struggling to make ends meet. They formed a business partnership and, over the next fifteen years, became wealthy together — all thanks to Delilah’s secret family pancake recipe.

The characters Delilah and Peola from the movie "Imitation of Life" (1934)
Delilah and Peola from “Imitation of Life“

The movie’s “most central, compelling conflict,” however, involved Delilah’s light-skinned daughter Peola (played by Fredi Washington).

Peola, who had wished to “pass” as white since she was a child, chose to repudiate both her mother and her Blackness as a young adult. (As she told Delilah, “I want to go away. And you musn’t see me, own me, or claim me, or anything. I mean, even if you pass me on the street, you’ll have to pass me by.”) This decision, which left Delilah heartbroken, ended up having tragic consequences.

Imitation of Life was popular with movie-going audiences — particularly Black audiences. It was also nominated for three Academy Awards in early 1935.

The film was based on the 1933 novel of the same name by Fannie Hurst. The book may have been influenced by Hurst’s friendship with fellow writer Zora Neale Hurston.

What are your thoughts on the name Peola?

Sources:

Images: Screenshots of Imitation of Life

Where did the baby name Sturgill come from in 2017?

Country music singer Sturgill Simpson
Sturgill Simpson

The rare name Sturgill first appeared in the U.S. baby name data in 2017:

  • 2019: unlisted
  • 2018: unlisted
  • 2017: 6 baby boys named Sturgill [debut]
  • 2016: unlisted
  • 2015: unlisted

Where did it come from?

Kentucky-born singer-songwriter Sturgill (pronounced STUR-jil) Simpson, who is “typically classified as a country artist in the outlaw tradition.”

His singles — which include a cover of Nirvana’s “In Bloom” [vid] — have never topped the country charts. But his third album, A Sailor’s Guide To Earth (2016), did win a Grammy Award for Best Country Album in early 2017.

Interestingly, Sturgill Simpson (whose full name is John Sturgill Simpson) has since distanced himself from “Sturgill.” He now goes by the stage name Johnny Blue Skies. In mid-2024 he explained,

I got to this point where, I don’t know, like, I kind of wanted my name back for myself. I felt like my identity had just become a brand. (…) And then I realized I was always a big fan of the Derek and The Dominos record. And I thought that was a really neat concept that he hid behind a character to make a very vulnerable rock and roll record of love songs. And I don’t know if he would have done it with his name on it.

(Eric Clapton’s short-lived blues-rock band Derek and the Dominos put out a single album, Layla and Other Assorted Love Songs, in late 1970.)

What are your thoughts on Sturgill as a first name?

Sources:

Image: Adapted from Sturgill Simpson photo 2016 by Atlantic Records under CC BY-SA 4.0.