The Baby Name Wizard

Does Amanda fit that mold?

I forgot the character in Close Encounters was even named Gillian--I don't think the name even comes up a lot in the script. The male lead is Roy--that didn't get any bump--and the little boy, Gillian's son, was Barry--again, no bump, even with Barry Gibb also on the scene at the same time. (I suspect the movie's character was named Barry just to rhyme with the young actor's name, Carey--he was a very little boy.)

So the "readiness" factor makes a lot of sense. Right name, right time, boom.

Was there also a bump in the 90's because of Gillian Anderson of X-files fame?

Our niece Jill now goes by the name "Jillian", especially with people she knows through work. She expressed some concern that the alteration of her name would hurt her mother's feelings, but my sister-in-law said, "Oh, no--I should have named you 'Jillian' in the first place, instead of just 'Jill'." Except that our Jill was born in 1973, and so was just a few years too early to be a Jillian; her mother simply would not have thought of it then.

I was in grade school when Ryan's Hope debuted, and watched it with our babysitter, unbeknownst to my mother. I remember loving the characters "Mary" and "Faith" but being enchanted by "Jillian"'s name. Perhaps the boost in the 80's could also be attributed to early, impressionable "Jillian Coleridge" fans finally being old enough to have children to name. (Similar to the popularity of "Hayley" when Hayley Mills's young fans grew up.)

That is so cool!

Gillian is a name I have really liked for a long time, and although I never watched the soap, I remember thinking while hearing of X-Files that Gillian Anderson's spelling of her first name was quite pretty. I am surprised Gillian/Jillian haven't become more popular since then.
Come to think of it, many of my all time favorite names come from programs I watched in childhood or films. As a young teen I liked Danielle from All in the Family in the early 80's, and from Little House on the Prairie, the names Caroline, Grace, Jonathan, Cassandra, (characters)and Alison (actresses) were and still are some of my favorite names. Other sources were Olivia, Ben, and Cora (the Waltons) Natalie, Charlotte, and Joanna (the Facts of Life) and Amanda (Bad News Bears). I could probably think of many more!

It looks like Gillian Anderson was born in the late '60s. I wonder what inspired the choice for her parents. Do we know the derivation of Gillian?

I think Amanda is more in the realm of reviving an old name, like Sophia and Isabella (and less popular names like Hazel) are. I've always heard that Amanda was a Victorian name (though not a super popular one) that was ready to be revived.

Would Melissa fall in that category, or does it owe its popularity in the '70s/'80s to Allman Brothers Band fans?

I had a friend when I was younger named Gillian, but pronounced with a hard G, like in girl.

Everyone called her Gilli. It fit her so well, because she was adorable and free-spirited.

Then at some point in late high school, she started to take herself more seriously and insisted on being called Gil, still with the hard G.

I definitely prefer Gillian with the hard G over the rhyme of Jillian.

Thinking of more names like this-the example of Jill vs. Jillian and the latter being more popular.
I get Carol vs. Caroline/Carolyn; Susan vs. Susannah; Angel vs. Angelina/Angelica/Angelique/etc. Are there any other "lengthened" names that this phenomenon would apply to? Is the reasoning more along the "chopping" idea just to get a different name or is it the nickname thing? Meaning if you don't care for the sound/style/whatever of Jill go for Jillian, or is it more like "oh I want a name with versatility so Caroline sounds better than just plain Carol"? My feeling is that with girls it's a style thing but with boys it's a nickname thing.
Boys: Max vs. Maxwell/Maximillian;Jack vs. Jackson;John vs. Johnathan;etc.

I've rediscovered my love for Jillian. Wasn't there a witches movie with Sandra Bullock and Nicole Kidman with a character named Jillian? I think she was sometimes called Jilly or JillyBean which I found quite adorable.

Just thinking... Laura will soon be able to attribute this "Detective" post to why Vivian/Vivienne exploded. It's familiar enough, has the nickname Vivi which is a little step away from the pretty but overused Livi/Olivia, it has the "V" like Ava, Eva names...oh yes, parents are ready for it.

As Sister Melinda said: right name, right time, boom.

Fascinating. Another name which seems to have risen in sync with media exposure is Olivia, but I am missing a link... perhaps Laura or one of you can help...

In 1974 Olivia was 402 in popularity. In 1975 it had jumped to 232... What happened during this time? Olivia Newton John moves to the US and has her first 4 number one singles.

Between 1975 and 1986, Olivia stayed pretty steady -- it goes up and down a few spots ranging between 248 and 196 during those 12 years.

Then in 1987, it jumped from 215 to 166. I thought it was due to the little girl named Olivia on the Cosby show, but she did not join the show until 1989. Her appearance coincides with another large leap from 123 in 1989 to 72 in 1990. Then there is its steady march to its high mark of number 4 in 2004.

So was there something that happened in 1986/1987 which caused the 2nd leap in Olivia? Soap opera character? Movie character?
Hurricane?

Guesses?

I believe Gillian has a very different history in the UK. It was popular in my Mum's generation (she was born in the 1930's), and so she chose to name my sister Sarah Gillian in 1970. (That's Gillian with a J sound. I have never come across it pronounced with a hard G in the UK.)
By 1970 it was already considered old-fashioned, which didn't bother Mum. In fact, she was appalled when she discovered how popular Sarah was- she had had no idea.
I believe we do have Jillian with a J in the UK too, but it's not as common. Quite often, a girl named Gillian would shorten it to Jill with a J, but Jill was not the given name.

I've noticed this spelling difference with other names too. For example, Geoffrey in the UK and Jeffrey in the US, and Stephen/Steven. It's not universal, but certainly more common in the UK to use the first way, until recently anyway.

I have no idea whether this was in 1986/7, but Olivia is the name of a Sesame Street character. She's a middle-aged black jazz singer who performs with the sax-playing owl (Hoots?). I was in prime Sesame Street watching years in the late '80s, and it was definitely my first exposure to the name. For years, I thought of it as a name that only middle-aged black women had! I also found it quite pretty, though.

I think the FABULOUS, award-winning Olivia picture books are part of the rise in popularity. First book OLIVIA SAVES THE CIRUS was published in 2001.

I thought OLIVIA was the first book? Also, I would say the books, being named after a real girl, are a symptom not a cause of the rise. (And, yes, they are fabulous!)

In 1983, Alice Walker's book The Color Purple was publsihed and then in 1985 was the Steven Spielberg film. Olivia is the name of the child.

Bell Book and Candle was another witchcraft movie, starring Kim Novak as another Gillian, using the shortened name of Gil with the hard G. As Valerie says, I think this pronunciation is the US variant.

I meant to note that the movie came out in 1958, well before Gillian showed on the charts.

Thoughts on what drove up the popularity of Kayla in the early 80s? It was 581 in 1981 and shot up to 133 the next year. Wikipedia shows that a character on Days of Our Lives, Kayla Brady, showed up around that time.

There was a similar rise for Morgan. It was 459 in 1979 and 162 by 1981. Thoughts on where that came from?

Growing up, my best friend was named Jillian. I was born in 1982 and she was born in 1979 and we often thought of ourselves as a "Blossom and Six" type because of our names. Mara and Jillian were strange names in a neighborhood with Megan, Kyle, Dan, Matt, and 2 Kevins.

I think *some* of the Morgan popularity is that it is a sound-alike/look-alike to Megan which was also growing at that time. (But if anyone want to suggest why Megan took off, I'm all ears.)

Hmmm...Olivia in the Color Purple... perhaps. The actress on Sesame Street was on from 1979 to 1989, so I don't think it caused a leap.

Morgan -- Morgan Fairchild the actress. Appears on Dallas in 1978 and then in a series Flamingo Road in 1980. Plus a few other guest appearances in tv shows and made for TV movies.

Kayla -- I think you are right that it was the soap opera character.

It's interesting that some of these names that take off because of a celebrity, aren't even the celebrities' "real" names. Morgan Fairchild was born "Patsy Ann" and, of course, we all know that Miley Cyrus was born "Destiny." Fascinating that made up stage names can have such an effect on baby-naming parents.

I think it makes a lot of sense that sometimes the made up stage names have a lot of influence... because it increases the odds that it is the right name at the right time. The same qualities that draw the actor/actress to choose that name appeal to the parents who like the name after hearing on television or in the movies. Now it has all the attractiveness that drew the actor/actress to choose it AND the glamour of hollywood attached to it.
I've noticed, too, that a lot of pen names are currently fashionable names (I think someone may have brought that up on this blog before) or even fashion forward names. This makes sense too, since an author is going to want to be memorable, and if he or she is writing for a younger audience especially, seem hip. Sophie Kinsella comes to mind, for instance. I'm pretty sure that's a pen name for a woman who is MUCH older than the young characters featured in her books. But I may be wrong on that.

Hey Mari, if you skim the comments section in the last post (about Jolie's twins), I gave a mini-thesis on why I think Vivian will experience a surge. NE minds do indeed think alike!

I knew one Gillian--hard "G," male, and Scottish. I gathered at the time that it was a Scottish men's name. But that was very long ago, when I was quite young and unable to do follow-up research.

Re: Valerie and the hard "G" Gillian

That's funny -- I've *only* come across the hard "G" version in the UK. I had two Scottish friends with that name when I lived in Aberdeen a decade ago. One would be in her 30s now, the other in her late 40s to early 50s.

RE Olivia... The character Charlene on Designing Women named her baby girl Olivia. The episode in which she "gave birth" aired as a one hour special on New Years Day 1990. Would that be enough to give the name such a boost?

Kayla definitely has to be for the Days of Our Lives character. I watched back then, and she was indeed beloved. In fact, that's one reason I can't get behind the name Vivian/Vivienne - there was a Days character who went by that name, and although I haven't seen or thought of her in YEARS, I cannot divorce the name from DOOL.

Did Sophia (RIP) make a comeback due to all the people who grew up watching The Golden Girls (maybe even the reruns)?

I'll be having baby #3 in about 6 weeks and Jillian is currently my top name for a girl so this thread has been interesting. I actually didn't realize the name is so new - 70s. I thought it had a timeless quality to it. I guess since it's made up of two more timeless names "Jill" and "Ann" it gives that effect to me. I tend to like any names that have a form of "Ann" in it anyway. I like the way Jillian can roll off the tonque quickly (jill-e-un) or more frilly (jill-lee-anne).

I don't know anyone with the name. In 2006, my dental hygienist named her new baby Jillian and I was struck by how unique and pretty it sounded with out sounding "out there". Wasn't there a contestant on Project Runway last season named Jillian? Hubby isn't sure about the name yet (he prefers Julianne), but he is a big X-files fan so he may come around.

I could use some input on a name for baby 3. I really like southern sounding names that make me think of hoop skirts and plantation houses. I also really like names with a z sound. I really like the names we used for our two girls: Susannah Constance and Isabelle Ione (Ione pronounced i-OWN, not i-own-EE). The only z sounding girl name we have on our list though is Anastasia and that sounds more Russian than southern. Lol… I realize that I might be painting myself into a corner trying to match z sounds since there are a lot of names out there that have it, but we don’t care for them for various reasons. I’m thinking about trying to put the z sound in the middle name if we just can’t find something we like for the first name. So how does Jillian, Julianne, Madeline, or Anastasia sound with Susannah & Isabelle? Or is there something else? At least with the boys name we’re pretty happy with either Isaac or Zachary.

Hehehe! I forgot about Vivian on DOOL--yeah, not really namesake material. But it still put the name in the air, added to its familiarity. With names, 10 side characters might be better popularizers than one or two main characters.

I imagine the hard-G male Gillian is a variant on Cillian/Killian, no?

Olivia--I still connect that to the Waltons--I think it rings "old-fashioned" from that media presence, without actually being many real-life grandmothers' names. (Wasn't this one of the "faux antiques" Laura wrote about last year?)

I wonder if some media names have two "bumps"--one for the babies born soon after the name has begun appearing in popular shows, and one a few years later for the children of people who carried the name for a few years, planning to use it when the chance arose. Same cause, two different cohorts responding.

Shirley, congrats on your new baby on the way! I think Zachary is a perfect name with your girls. Jillian is a good pick also, but maybe Lillian evokes more of that southern belle feeling you're looking for. Some other ideas:

Cassandra
Marianne
Jaqueline
Vanessa
Vivian (just to bring things full circle with the last thread!)

Good luck deciding!

Shirley,
As a mom to a Suzanna who loves the Z sound I have to recommend:

Eliza

Other names that come to mind:

Caroline or Carolina
Charlotte

I like Julianne and Madeline the best of your names, but the others are nice too.

Gillian in the UK - such a middle-aged name. I'd be amazed to hear of a baby called Gillian or Jillian.

I was at primary school in the 1970s with a girl called Jilian Hill - I think the single l was to prevent her becoming Jill Hill, and she was always called Jilian.

Shirley -- If you're looking for a /z/ sound on a name that conjures a Southern belle, I think Wendy's got it with Eliza. That would work very well with your other daughters' names, too.

Otherwise, I like Jillian. I'm not crazy about it paired with Anastasia, though, because of the repeating /an/ sound. Why not Jillian Eliza or Jillian Elizabeth if you move the /z/ to the mn spot?

Yes, I love the name Marianne. That one needs to come back.

Mari, the movie is Practical Magic. Nicole Kidman's character is named Gillian.

Curiously, I know three girls under three named Jillian and a five year old with Jilliana as her mn. It was also the answer to my little riddle a few weeks back-you'll remember there was a troop of sisters at swim class named Stella, Clara, Gabriella, and...the babe turned out to be Jillian.

I love it, but had to let go of it for any hypothetical daughters when we used Jack for our older son.

Shirley-Could I suggest Cecily? Or how about French-Cosette has the Z sound and says hoop skirts to me!
Or Rosalie?
I think all your current choices are very pretty ones. I'm inclined to say Madeline works best with the other girls' names. It is terribly popular out here, but I don't know if you mind that.

I know a Gillian (hard G) and a Jillian (soft G) and always thought of these as two different names.

Shirley: How about Anneliese or Annalise? It has the "Anne" component and the s/z sound (sort of). It would seem to fit your other daughters names. I have always thought this was a lovely name.

I agree that Ann Jillian is the trigger. I definitely remember the blonde bombshell in the tv show "It's a Living." In fact, I can still remember the theme song. She has the correct spelling to account for the surge as well.

I was actually named after Ann Jillian myself. Fun to hear more about my name! Thanks!

I have long thought that Gillian was one of those medieval names, with a long, checquered history. Juat checked Dunkling and Gosling, and they confirm that. It's the English form of "Juliana", but apparently both hard and soft "G"'s have been used.

"The Collins Dictionary of First Names" says the name lost favor for a period in the seventeenth century, when it became associated with "to jilt", through its nicknames Gillot and Gillet!

Short forms Gill and Jill came to be used independently. "Jillian" is a variant of Gillian-- as Kathryn is to Katherine, Jillian is to Gillian.

D. and G. also mention a completely separate Gaelic masculine name, "Gillean" which takes a hard "g" and denotes a "servant of St. John". Says it is almost entirely exclusive to Scotland... I'd bet at this point it would be constantly confused with the female "Gillian".

Shirley - I'd like to throw Melanie out there, as she was a true Southern lady in GWTW.

For Shirley--

Southern-ish names with a Z sound: Louisa (there is a Louisa Street in New Orleans, not far from Pauline). Lizette (if you count Louisiana as the South which I sure do), and REALLY Southern, Liza as a double name (Liza Jane, Liza Mae/y, Liza Jo, etc.).

Shirley, I like the Eliza and Anneliese suggestions for your girl, or Julianne. Madeline is just too trendy for me to get behind. My younger sister's best friend is named Jillian (she's 22), and I cannot divorce the name from that association.

Eo, you are absolutely correct and I was mistaken; the hard-g Scottish male Gillean I met long ago had the "--ean" spelling. I had forgotten that. But I think that led, subconsciously, to my continued jolt/double-take at hearing the name "Gillian Anderson" pronounced with a soft-g (the American actress and the Australian filmmaker, both female). Even today, I hear the soft-G and register it as "creative," whether in its alternate sound to Gillean or its alternate spelling to Gillian.

Thanks, then, for the link to the medeival soft-g; it helps cement it in my mind.

Speaking of Ryan's Hope, wasn't the most glamorous female character named Ryan? Any big bump in girl Ryans?

As for Olivia, Laura did several interesting posts about the faux-antique trend.

I think Caroline is one of those lengthened names, my sister is Carol (we were born in the 60s, she's named for my mom's good friend, born in the 40s). But I never hear of other Carols my age or younger.

Jane:

Sophie Kinsella is the pen name of Madeleine Wickham (who has also written books under that name, such as "The Tennis Party"), and she was born in 1969, making her in her late thirties and not all THAT much older than the people she writes about. Her first novel came out in 1995 when she was only 26.

Re: Ryan--I knew two girls born in the late 70s/early 80s named Ryan, that I can remember. I can definitely see one of them being named for Ryan's Hope, if there was a glamorous female Ryan character (I never saw the show, so...). Interestingly (to me, anyway), this girl was part of the same group of kids that contained the female Aidan I've mentioned before. They were from a rather moneyed and metropolitan set, and it makes me wonder if the boys names for girls AND the Irish name obsession might've had an early start among such types in the 70s/80s.

The other Ryan, I'm more skeptical about any strong relation to Ryan's Hope, because her older sisters were Shane and Casey, so the parents really seemed to have a solid theme established by the time Ryan showed up. But again--well-to-do urban parents with three Irish boys for girls names. Hmmm....

hyz, hasn't it been established that names in the U.S. start at the so-called "top" of the socio-economic ladder and then trickle "down" to the masses? The famous examples are Crystal, Tiffany, and Courtney; I just can't remember where I've read this.

"Shirley-Could I suggest Cecily? Or how about French-Cosette has the Z sound and says hoop skirts to me!
Or Rosalie?"

I like Cosette, and along the same lines, how about Rosalyn? (As a Texan, I pronounce that Rozz-a-lyn.) Very pretty under-used name.