# Names that became popular or unpopular due to pop culture. **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [July 21, 2004, 6:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/names-that-became-popular-or-unpopular-due-to-pop-culture/256153 "2004-07-21T06:09:55Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Eve](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/9e8a1a/32.png) [@Eve](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Eve)\ **Post date:** [July 21, 2004, 3:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/names-that-became-popular-or-unpopular-due-to-pop-culture/256153/21 "2004-07-21T15:39:50Z")
I know a woman in her late 20s named Farrah—she will _never_ be able to lie about her age. And about 20 years ago, I met a woman named Theda! _Must_ have been born between 1915–20. Jane Pauley and Garry Trudeau have unfortunate twins named Ross and Rachel—born 16 years ago, before _Friends_ went on the air! ---
**Author:** ![Cazzle](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cazzle/32/75_2.png) [@Cazzle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cazzle)\ **Post date:** [July 21, 2004, 3:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/names-that-became-popular-or-unpopular-due-to-pop-culture/256153/22 "2004-07-21T15:40:45Z")
> [@Fat Bald Guy](#): > > Actually, the name Wendy was **invented** by J. M. Barrie when he wrote Peter Pan. I tried to work out if I was being wooshed here, but I can’t see the angle, so… if you follow [this link](http://www.straightdope.com/mailbag/mpeterpanwendy.html), you’ll find Czarcasm’s report on this legend which says in part: > [@](#): > > J. M. Barrie did not invent the name Wendy for his 1904 play Peter Pan, the Boy Who Wouldn’t Grow Up (the book form of the story, Peter and Wendy, was published in 1911). He did popularize it, though. Wendy has long been a nickname for Gwendolyn (and probably Gwyneth). ---
**Author:** ![Mr.Moto](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/9de0a6/32.png) [@Mr.Moto](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mr.Moto)\ **Post date:** [July 21, 2004, 3:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/names-that-became-popular-or-unpopular-due-to-pop-culture/256153/23 "2004-07-21T15:59:41Z")
My middle name is Elmer, which was once quite common. When it was given to my great-grandfather as a first name, it was in the top fifty for boy’s names. It took a huge nise dive in popularity because of a series of Warner Brothers cartoons. kill the wabbit ---
**Author:** ![Hampshire](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hampshire/32/4887_2.png) [@Hampshire](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hampshire)\ **Post date:** [July 21, 2004, 4:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/names-that-became-popular-or-unpopular-due-to-pop-culture/256153/24 "2004-07-21T16:02:27Z")
Isn’t “Emma” near the top of the list for girl’s names? And didn’t Ross and Rachel name their daughter “Emma” on Friends? I wondered if the show picked a currently popular name or if the show inspired the name to be popular??? ---
**Author:** ![Spectre\_of\_Pithecanthropus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spectre_of_pithecanthropus/32/12343_2.png) [@Spectre\_of\_Pithecanthropus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spectre_of_Pithecanthropus)\ **Post date:** [July 21, 2004, 4:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/names-that-became-popular-or-unpopular-due-to-pop-culture/256153/25 "2004-07-21T16:23:09Z")
> [@Antonius Block](#): > > How about one better – where the movie apparently _ **created** _ the name from scratch? > Previous SDMB threads are [here](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=110436) and [here](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=133866). It’s not beyond the realm of possibility that there are some “real” Madisons out there. There’s a tradition among very elite, east coast American families, of giving family names to girls; in Tom Wolfe’s _Bonfire Of The Vanities_ the main character’s little daughter was named Campbell. ---
**Author:** ![Spectre\_of\_Pithecanthropus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spectre_of_pithecanthropus/32/12343_2.png) [@Spectre\_of\_Pithecanthropus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spectre_of_Pithecanthropus)\ **Post date:** [July 21, 2004, 4:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/names-that-became-popular-or-unpopular-due-to-pop-culture/256153/26 "2004-07-21T16:24:42Z")
> [@Fat Bald Guy](#): > > Actually, the name Wendy was **invented** by J. M. Barrie when he wrote Peter Pan. Hard to believe that there was _never_ a Gwendolyn or Winnifrid, before Peter Pan, who got nicknamed Wendy. ---
**Author:** ![Cazzle](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cazzle/32/75_2.png) [@Cazzle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cazzle)\ **Post date:** [July 21, 2004, 4:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/names-that-became-popular-or-unpopular-due-to-pop-culture/256153/27 "2004-07-21T16:28:16Z")
Emma jumped from 13th place to 4th the same year that Rachel had Emma on Friends. [http://www.ssa.gov/cgi-bin/babynames.cgi](http://www.ssa.gov/cgi-bin/babynames.cgi) It may be coincidence. Emily has been in first place since 1996. I know of people who used Emma because someone they knew already had used their first choice - Emily. ---
**Author:** ![Ms\_Boods](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/5e9695/32.png) [@Ms\_Boods](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ms_Boods)\ **Post date:** [July 21, 2004, 4:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/names-that-became-popular-or-unpopular-due-to-pop-culture/256153/28 "2004-07-21T16:29:42Z")
My partner’s gran died a few years ago, aged close to 90 (if not), and her second name was Alice, called like so many little girls of her generation, after Alice Roosevelt. I have a Scottish auntie whose first name is Victoria; she’s nearly 70, and she was called that for the Queen. I know a 20 year old Kyle because his mum was attending a screening of the original _Terminator_ movie whilst heavily pregnant and still unsure of a name for the impending arrival (apparently when inspiration struck, she stood up during a rather dramatic scene, pointed at the screen and exclaimed, ‘That would be the _best_ name for the kid! Yes!’) Wasn’t it George Carlin who observed that it’s not so much there are trendy names floating around the kindergartens now, as to think about some decades from now, when the nursing villages are filled with Britneys, Morgans, Kyles. Am I the only one who reads the obits to see if I can get a ballpark guess of the age of the deceased based on the name, I wonder… ---
**Author:** ![Exapno\_Mapcase](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/exapno_mapcase/32/1051_2.png) [@Exapno\_Mapcase](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Exapno_Mapcase)\ **Post date:** [July 21, 2004, 4:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/names-that-became-popular-or-unpopular-due-to-pop-culture/256153/29 "2004-07-21T16:31:08Z")
There are a growing number of babies named ESPN or variations thereof: [http://www.detnews.com/2004/moresports/0407/13/d02-210806.htm](http://www.detnews.com/2004/moresports/0407/13/d02-210806.htm) > [@](#): > > Espen Allen Blondeel and the cable sports network he was named after are hooking up again. > > A crew from ESPN traveled to Newaygo, Mich., last week to film 4-year-old Espen and his parents, Chad and Alisha Blondeel. Espen and other ESPN namesakes will appear Sept. 6 on a two-hour special celebrating the network’s 25th anniversary. > > Network officials say they knows of at least 11 children named for ESPN, including one whose name is just that — ESPN. Variants include Espn, Espen and Espyn (a girl). > > Espen Blondeel, born Jan. 26, 2000, is believed to be the first baby named after the network. > > “I must have looked through about a dozen books of baby names, and then I finally found it,” said Chad, now 28. The name is Danish and means “god-bear.” ---
**Author:** ![gum](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/bbe5ce/32.png) [@gum](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gum)\ **Post date:** [July 21, 2004, 4:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/names-that-became-popular-or-unpopular-due-to-pop-culture/256153/30 "2004-07-21T16:32:42Z")
Originally posted by **Antonius Block** > [@](#): > > _It seems quite likely that the name Madison for a girl was started as a joke in the Tom Hanks / Darryl Hannah movie Splash (1984)._ Hey thanks. I didn’t know that. I always thought it rather odd to name your baby-girl after a city. I mean: Who want to be called: ‘The Hague’ or ‘Antwerpen’? [yeah, I know about ‘Paris’] ‘Tyler’ is pretty popular here ever since ‘Fight Club’. ---
**Author:** ![ioioio](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ioioio/32/316_2.png) [@ioioio](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ioioio)\ **Post date:** [July 21, 2004, 4:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/names-that-became-popular-or-unpopular-due-to-pop-culture/256153/31 "2004-07-21T16:42:36Z")
I remember that the popularity of the name “Tanya” took a nose dive after Patty Hearst took on that name during her time with the Symbionese Liberation Army. ---
**Author:** ![HeyHomie](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/heyhomie/32/207_2.png) [@HeyHomie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HeyHomie)\ **Post date:** [July 21, 2004, 4:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/names-that-became-popular-or-unpopular-due-to-pop-culture/256153/32 "2004-07-21T16:42:59Z")
Here’s hoping that [Harold](http://www.haroldandkumar.com) and [Kumar](http://www.haroldandkumar.com) both become _really_ popular in the next few months. 😉 ---
**Author:** ![h.sapiens](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/e0b2c6/32.png) [@h.sapiens](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/h.sapiens)\ **Post date:** [July 21, 2004, 4:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/names-that-became-popular-or-unpopular-due-to-pop-culture/256153/33 "2004-07-21T16:52:13Z")
I bet there are at least a few Trekkies who named their children Seven or Beverly Deanna or Wesley (or Spock). ---
**Author:** ![Q.E.D](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/51bf81/32.png) [@Q.E.D](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Q.E.D)\ **Post date:** [July 21, 2004, 5:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/names-that-became-popular-or-unpopular-due-to-pop-culture/256153/34 "2004-07-21T17:02:37Z")
> [@BMalion](#): > > Alot of people I know take a name out of the Bible for their children, but no one ever picks **Onan** , go figure. Or **Judas**. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![mhendo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mhendo/32/3159_2.png) [@mhendo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mhendo)\ **Post date:** [July 21, 2004, 5:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/names-that-became-popular-or-unpopular-due-to-pop-culture/256153/35 "2004-07-21T17:07:07Z")
Well, according to the lists at [this site](http://encyclopedia.thefreedictionary.com/Most%20Popular%20Names) (scroll to the bottom for the U.S.), Michael was the most popular boys name in the United States _every year_ from 1964 through 1998. I remember reading elsewhere that the popularity of this name was very high in both the black and the white communities in America. I don’t know what sent Michael to the top of the charts, but i’m willing to bet that its long stay at the top was helped by people like Michael Jackson (especially in the 1970s and 1980s) and Michael Jordan. Michael was replaced at the top in 1999 by Jacob, and Jacob has been #1 ever since. Again, i don’t know if there if there is a pop-culture reason for this. ---
**Author:** ![mhendo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mhendo/32/3159_2.png) [@mhendo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mhendo)\ **Post date:** [July 21, 2004, 5:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/names-that-became-popular-or-unpopular-due-to-pop-culture/256153/36 "2004-07-21T17:11:09Z")
I should add that i know about the popularity of the name Michael because it’s my name. But we were at the top so long, we took our domination for granted. Now that we’ve been pushed out of the top spot by Jacob, we have a new slogan: “Michaels: We’re number two, so we try harder.” 😃 ---
**Author:** ![arjee](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/2bfe46/32.png) [@arjee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/arjee)\ **Post date:** [July 21, 2004, 5:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/names-that-became-popular-or-unpopular-due-to-pop-culture/256153/37 "2004-07-21T17:27:26Z")
_“Help me, Rhonda, help help me, Rhonda…”_ Every Rhonda I know was born in the 1960’s… ---
**Author:** ![Ethilrist](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ethilrist/32/4604_2.png) [@Ethilrist](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ethilrist)\ **Post date:** [July 21, 2004, 5:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/names-that-became-popular-or-unpopular-due-to-pop-culture/256153/38 "2004-07-21T17:46:24Z")
> [@h.sapiens](#): > > I bet there are at least a few Trekkies who named their children Seven or Beverly Deanna or Wesley (or Spock). My wife wanted to name our daughter Losira (TOS, first female starship captain, “I am for you, Mr. Sulu”). My mom was noticeably unimpressed, so we named her after a character in an Anne McCaffrey novel. Her middle name’s Hillary, though; she’s named after a couple SCA friends of ours (got nothin’ to do with Senator Clinton). A standup comic once pointed out that there was a perfectly good name that wouldn’t get given out very often: Jason. I doubt many people would name their kid Hannibal. Those who would are probably very, very strange. ---
**Author:** ![Gadarene](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e47c2d/32.png) [@Gadarene](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gadarene)\ **Post date:** [July 21, 2004, 5:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/names-that-became-popular-or-unpopular-due-to-pop-culture/256153/39 "2004-07-21T17:50:47Z")
I know of at least one couple who named their daughter Mercedes after the character in _License to Drive_. If I’m going to name my child after someone in a movie, damned if I’ll pick a movie starring the redoubtable Corey Haim. ---
**Author:** ![Beltane](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/aca169/32.png) [@Beltane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Beltane)\ **Post date:** [July 21, 2004, 6:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/names-that-became-popular-or-unpopular-due-to-pop-culture/256153/40 "2004-07-21T18:13:48Z")
> [@gum](#): > > yeah, I know about ‘Paris’ Which is kind of odd, since Paris was named after a man. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/names-that-became-popular-or-unpopular-due-to-pop-culture/256153.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/names-that-became-popular-or-unpopular-due-to-pop-culture/256153.md?page=3)