Piper

Rosetta Jacobs was born in early 1932. Even though she had Jewish grandparents and attended a Hebrew school, she found her name too "Jewish". Thus, she signed a contract with Universal Studios in the late 1940s, changing her name to Piper Laurie. 

It is not known why Jacobs selected Piper Laurie as her new name, especially in an era in which Laurie was a popular first name. If it weren't for that change, though, Piper probably wouldn't be a feminine given name today. Piper entered sparing use in 1951 and has been used consistently since then. 

Even though Piper debuted in the top 1000 during the late 1990s, a few namesakes were born earlier. American author Piper Kerman, who wrote "Orange is the New Black", was born in 1969. American actress Piper Perabo, who was named for Laurie, came along in 1974. Besides, Piper possibly existed as a given name before the 1950s. Jennifer Choldenko's Al Capone Does my Shirts, which takes place in 1935, features a female Piper. 

In 1998, the TV series "Charmed" premiered. It featured three sisters who find out they were witches. These sisters all have "p" names: Piper, Phoebe, and Prudence "Prue". The next year, Piper rose into the 600s. There's a clear reason why Piper started to rise, not after Piper Laurie changed her name, but after a TV series featuring a namesake debuted. 

Piper is an Old English surname that dates from the late Middle Ages. It was often given to people who played pipes. Although there are some old-fashioned surname-names like Shirley and Beverly, such names didn't become trendy for females until the 1980s. Around that time, Ashley and Alexis became popular. By the late 1990s, Paige, Taylor, and Bailey joined these surnames in the top 100. 

This being said, parents weren't sure about using occupational surnames for girls in the 1950s. Parents who watched "Charmed" in the late 1990s realized that Piper fit in with all their favorite surname-names. 

Piper continued to rise through the 2000s, reaching the top 100 in 2012. It is now declining from its peak at #67 in 2015 and 2016. Nevertheless, it's clear why so many parents love the name Piper. While most surname-names are unisex, Piper is completely feminine. That's probably because an actress kickstarted the name by adopting it as her first. Piper is also musical through its connections to pipe players. 

STYLES:

Surname

SISTERS:

Aspen, Harlow, Everly, Reese, Isla, Presley, Scarlett, Lark

BROTHERS:

Hudson, Finn, Sawyer, Liam, Wyatt, Beckham, Paxton, Jude

ALTERNATIVES:

Briar, Fifer, Honor, Palmer, Penrose, Perry, Saylor, Winter

FURTHER RESOURCES:

"Piper." Names, Behind the Name, 21 Jan. 2022, https://www.behindthename.com/name/piper. 

Sandel, Abby. "Piper: Baby Name of the Day." Master List: Girl Names, Appellation Mountain, 12 Dec. 2018, https://appellationmountain.net/name-of-the-day-piper/. 

Waterhouse, Emma. "Piper." Names, Nameberry, 5 Aug. 2023, https://nameberry.com/babyname/piper/girl. 

What do you think about Piper? 

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