What gave the baby name Arlo a boost in 2016?

The character Arlo from the movie "The Good Dinosaur" (2015)
Arlo from “The Good Dinosaur”

The baby name Arlo, which has been on the rise since the early 2000s, saw higher-than-expected usage in 2016 specifically:

  • 2018: 1,267 baby boys named Arlo [rank: 277th]
  • 2017: 1,092 baby boys named Arlo [rank: 316th]
  • 2016: 977 baby boys named Arlo [rank: 349th]
  • 2015: 579 baby boys named Arlo [rank: 501st]
  • 2014: 518 baby boys named Arlo [rank: 537th]

Why?

Because of Arlo, the animated dinosaur at the center of the movie The Good Dinosaur, which was released in November of 2015.

Arlo was a timid young apatosaurus who lived on a farm with his parents and siblings. One day, during a rainstorm, he was swept hundreds of miles downriver. As he made the long and perilous journey back home (with his unlikely companion, a feral caveboy named Spot), Arlo began confronting his fears and gaining confidence in himself.

Despite being one of Pixar’s least-successful films, The Good Dinosaur clearly had an influence on expectant parents. (It also had an influence on Oklahoma toddler Jentree Joles!)

What are your thoughts on the name Arlo?

Sources: The Good Dinosaur – Wikipedia, The Good Dinosaur – Pixar Animation Studios, SSA

Image: Screenshot of The Good Dinosaur

What popularized the baby name Corbin in 1987?

The character Arnie Becker (played by Corbin Bernsen) from the TV series "L.A. Law" (1986-1994)
Corbin Bernsen as Arnie Becker

According to the U.S. baby name data, the name Corbin nearly tripled in usage in 1987:

  • 1989: 525 baby boys named Corbin [rank: 406th]
  • 1988: 374 baby boys named Corbin [rank: 473rd]
  • 1987: 234 baby boys named Corbin [rank: 592nd]
  • 1986: 79 baby boys named Corbin
  • 1985: 54 baby boys named Corbin

Why?

Because of actor Corbin Bernsen, who played Arnold “Arnie” Becker on the popular NBC legal drama L.A. Law, which began airing (on Thursday nights) in September of 1986.

Arnie Becker was an “oily but effective” divorce attorney who drove a Porsche 911 (license plate: LITIG8R) and led a promiscuous lifestyle. He was described as “television’s first unapologetically yuppie antihero” by a Rolling Stone writer (who noted that Alex P. Keaton was a mere “cuddly yuppie puppy” compared to Becker).

For his portrayal of Becker, Corbin Bernsen received nominations for both an Emmy Award and a Golden Globe Award.

The first name Corbin often comes from the surname Corbin, which has several possible derivations — including the Old French/Middle English word corbin, a diminutive of corb, meaning “crow, raven.”

P.S. The name saw another jump in usage in the late 1990s, thanks to the sci-fi movie The Fifth Element…

Sources:

  • L.A. Law – Television Academy Interviews
  • Kilday, Gregg. “Networking Class Hero.” Rolling Stone 4 Jun. 1987.
  • Asimow, Michael, Kathryn Brown and David Ray Papke. (Eds.) Law and Popular Culture: International Perspectives. Newcastle upon Tyne: Cambridge Scholars Publishing, 2014.
  • Hanks, Patrick, Simon Lenarcic and Peter McClure. (Eds.) Dictionary of American Family Names. 2nd ed. New York: Oxford University Press, 2022.
  • SSA

Image: Screenshot of L.A. Law

What gave the baby name Maren a boost in 2017?

Maren Morris' album "Hero" (2016)
Maren Morris album

According to the U.S. baby name data, the name Maren saw a distinct increase in usage during the second half of the 2010s:

  • 2019: 610 baby girls named Maren [rank: 515th]
  • 2018: 498 baby girls named Maren [rank: 606th]
  • 2017: 465 baby girls named Maren [rank: 635th]
  • 2016: 291 baby girls named Maren [rank: 942nd]
  • 2015: 230 baby girls named Maren

What was influencing the name?

Country singer Maren Morris.

Her breakout single, “My Church,” was released in January of 2016. It peaked at #5 on Billboard‘s Hot Country Songs chart in March, at #50 on Billboard‘s Hot 100 chart in April, and went on to win the Grammy Award for Best Country Solo Performance in early 2017.

Two of her follow-up singles, “80s Mercedes” and “I Could Use a Love Song,” also reached the Hot 100.

The name Maren was most popular during the first years of the 2020s, following Morris’ two biggest hits: the dance-pop collaboration “The Middle,” which peaked at #5 in the spring of 2018, and the pop/country crossover “The Bones,” which peaked at #12 in the spring of 2020.

So, how did Maren Morris (who was born in Texas in 1990) get her name?

Here’s what she told radio host Bobby Bones during a recent interview:

I think I was originally going to be called Bailey, and my mom was watching an old episode of Battlestar Galactica, and one of the actresses’ names (…) was Maren something — Maren Jensen, I think. And she’s like, “Oh, that goes good with Morris.” And so, yeah, it’s not a stage name — that is my name. I think it’s a variation of Mary. I’ve looked up that it means “of the sea,” so maybe like marine.

What are your thoughts on the name Maren?

Sources:

What gave the baby name Tiana a boost in 2010?

The character Tiana from the movie "The Princess and the Frog" (2009)
Tiana from “The Princess and the Frog“

According to the U.S. baby name data, the name Tiana came close to doubling in usage in 2010:

  • 2012: 712 baby girls named Tiana [rank: 440th]
  • 2011: 822 baby girls named Tiana [rank: 386th]
  • 2010: 970 baby girls named Tiana [rank: 331st]
  • 2009: 504 baby girls named Tiana [rank: 598th]
  • 2008: 480 baby girls named Tiana [rank: 642nd]

What accounts for that sudden spike?

The very first African-American Disney Princess.

Tiana (pronounced tee-ah-nah) was the protagonist of the animated movie The Princess and the Frog, which came out in December of 2009.

The movie, a modern adaptation of the German fairy tale “The Frog Prince,” was set in New Orleans in the 1920s.

Tiana was a hardworking waitress who dreamed of opening her own restaurant. After being persuaded to kiss a frog who was actually a prince, though, Tiana was unexpectedly turned into a frog as well. So the two frogs set off on a journey through the bayou in search of the voodoo priestess who might be able to restore them both to human form.

Tiana and her parents from the movie "The Princess and the Frog" (2009)
Tiana and her parents from “The Princess and the Frog“

The Princess and the Frog was a success at the box office — though it might have been an even bigger success had the record-breaking sci-fi film Avatar not been released one week later.

So, how did the character come to be called Tiana?

She was initially named Maddy (a diminutive of the French name Madeleine) in the film’s treatment, which was written by co-directors Ron Clements and John Musker in early 2006.

A year later, Disney revealed her name in a movie announcement:

A musical set in the legendary birthplace of jazz — New Orleans — “The Frog Princess” will introduce the newest Disney princess, Maddy, a young African-American girl living amid the charming elegance and grandeur of the fabled French Quarter.

The project drew criticism, though — particularly from the African-American community. Some people thought, for instance, that “Maddy” sounded too much like “Mammy.”

In response, Disney made some changes. And among those changes was a new name for the main character.

Clements claimed that Tiana meant “princess” in Greek, but this isn’t the case. (The princess association may have arisen from the name’s similarity to that of Princess Diana.) Rather, Tiana can be considered a short form of names that end with -tiana, like Tatiana and Christiana, or else an elaborated form of Tia.

What are your thoughts on the name Tiana?

P.S. Ron Clements also came up with the name Ariel for The Little Mermaid…

Sources:

Images: Screenshots of The Princess and the Frog