Gabrielle "Coco" Chanel; Image via Wikipedia
Every year I take back the reigns during my birthday week and choose a few of the names to profile here at AppMtn. As it happens, my first pick was also suggested by Nicole.
Today’s name of the day is Coco.
Back in 1994, Sonic Youth’s Thurston Moore and Kim Gordon welcomed a daughter, Coco Hayley.
Until then, the only Coco that came to mind was probably Coco Chanel, born Gabrielle. She spent her adolescence in an orphanage, trained as a seamstress by the nuns. After leaving, she earned a living as a cabaret singer. There’s a popular story that her nickname comes from a song she used to sign, but Chanel herself said it came from the word coquette – flirt. Starting with hats, then moving on to perfume, and eventually her own couture house, Chanel’s mark in fashion history is almost impossible to understate.
A handful of works have attempted to capture her story. Katharine Hepburn played Chanel in a 1969 musical. A 1981 biopic starred French actress Marie-France Pisier. More recently, Lifetime produced a 2008 television movie with Shirley MacClaine as a late-in-life Chanel, and a year later, Audrey Tatou starred in Coco avant Chanel. Tatou also became the spokeswoman for Chanel. Did you ever since the Chanel No. 5 commercial featuring her on a train from Paris to Istanbul? Far more glamorous than Amtrak.
Chanel has appeared in the US Top 1000 for girls most years from the 1970s through the present, but Coco has never charted.
Besides the fashion legend, Coco brings to mind:
- Coconuts! It is a funny muddle that gets us there – in Spanish, coco refers to the palm tree, via cocos, from the Latin for berry, but altered by association with coco – face – as in the three holes on a coconut shell;
- There’s also cocoa, the seeds from which we make chocolate. The word was originally cacoa, but coco influenced its spelling, and the confusion endures.
A handful of men have answered to the name, though it generally isn’t on their birth certificates:
- Ko-ko is a male character in the enduring Gilbert and Sullivan musical The Mikado;
- Coco and Koko have been popular names for clowns;
- Late Night talk funnyman Conan O’Brien picked up the nickname;
- Coco Crisp plays center field for the Oakland A’s. Born Covelli, Coco is a childhood nickname.
Plenty of girls have probably answered to Coco for similar reasons. Any name that starts with Co can easily lead to the short form: Colette, Corinne, Coleen, Cordelia, Constance, Coraline, and Coralie all come to mind.
Courtney Cox answered to the nickname Coco, which is how her daughter, Coco Riley, got her name in 2004. Earlier this year, No Doubt’s Tony Kanal and girlfriend Erin Lokitz welcomed their daughter, Coco Reese Lakshmi. In between, singer Colbie Caillat released a 2007 album titled Coco.
Coco often makes the list of craziest celeb baby names. Online there are references to Koko, the gorilla who learned sign language, made famous in a 1978 documentary; video game hero Crash Bandicoot’s little sister; or as suitable for a poodle, but too frou-frou for a child.
As an independent name, Coco is a bit of a risk – like any short name, there’s no room to hide if it doesn’t quite fit. But she’s a stand-out nickname, and a great way to make a more formal choice easier to wear. But with Willow and Harlow in favor, Coco starts to sound absolutely reasonable – and very much on trend.
Jeannine says
November 17, 2011 at 8:41 AMCoco Chanel has long been thought to have been a Nazi sympathizer. True or not, that alone would keep me from considering Coco as a name, or even as a nickname. Extreme perhaps – but the Holocaust raises extreme emotions. — As always, thanks for your great blog. I should be working instead of re-reading this post! 🙂
dreadedjaws says
July 26, 2011 at 7:49 PMI am also of the school of thought that Coco is a seriously cute nickname, but not really substantial enough to fly solo. I used to think Coco was way too froufrou / French Poodle, but I’ve definitely found a soft spot for those types of names since then. I too think of Koko the gorilla that had that pet kitten – I remember the photos of her snuggling the tiny kitten… but somehow that is not off-putting. It’s especially appealing as a nickname in an unexpected way (as in a not french or frilly full name) like Caroline or Constance.
Charlotte Vera says
July 25, 2011 at 11:50 PMCoco is ok as a nickname, but as a given name it belongs on a dog or cat. I actually think it sounds a bit too cutesy on girls, so for that reason I prefer it on the male gender (i.e. Coco O’Brian).
pennylark says
July 25, 2011 at 8:40 PMI actually love Coco, but I don’t think I’d use it as a fn. As a middle, or as a nickname for Colette/Cosette/Colleen, I would definitely use it!
Amy3 says
July 25, 2011 at 7:36 PMInterestingly, I know two elementary-school-aged girls named Coco. I don’t know them well enough to know if it’s a nn for a more formal name, but I do know both go exclusively at school (including in the yearbook) by Coco. I agree it’s cute as a nn, but I’d never use it as a given name, although, Nicole, I think it’s a wonderful way to honor your grandfather as one of the middles.
British American says
July 25, 2011 at 4:08 PMI always think of a clown when I hear this name. I looked it up and wikipedia says “Coco the Clown, arguably the most famous clown in the UK during the middle decades of the 20th century” so I guess that’s why.
For that reason I don’t really like Coco as a given name – but it would make a cute middle name or a nickname.
Sara says
July 25, 2011 at 3:24 PMAbby – There is a recent independent film too – Coco Chanel & Igor Stravinsky.
Julie says
July 25, 2011 at 1:51 PM…”suitable for a poodle”… Exactly what I thought, prefect for a little, fluffy dog… otherwise it’s suitable only as a nickname. Maybe for Collette?
Claire says
July 25, 2011 at 12:18 PMI knew a Coco, the daughter of an old friend of my father’s, who was known as somewhat of a hippie (the father, that is). It think it was her full name, but I’m not sure. Her sister’s name was Kelly.
I would be tempted to use this name if not for the Koko the Monkey connotation, such as in that episode of Seinfeld when George wants the nickname T-Bone and ends up as Koko after flailing his arms around.
Nicole says
July 25, 2011 at 9:31 AMHappy Birthday Week Abby!!, So glad my name suggestion made it this week!! My grandfather has gone by the name Coco for his whole life. His real name is Gilbert, but if you are not immediate family or his doctor you probably will never know that because he really just goes by Coco. I believe the name came about when he was a young soldier in the Korean War as a nn among friends… and the name stuck. I am very close with him and unfortunately we think that his time on this earth will be coming to an end very soon. The name keeps popping up as a useful but somewhat quirky name in society today, so my husband and I have decided that to honor my beloved grandfather we will be using Coco as a middle name for a girl. I do not want to use it as a nn for another longer name because I feel that the meaning goes away if she chooses to go by something else later in life, plus i am much more into non-family names for the first name so that the child has their own identity…. I am also not so daring to use it just as a first name by itself. She will end up having two middle names as I do >>> mine is First, Maternal Grandmother, Family Middle , Last…. So hers will be First, Maternal Great Grandfather, Family Middle , Last ..
I think it will be a wonderful spark in the middle and a great way to honor my beloved grandfather on a girl. Thoughts?
British American says
July 25, 2011 at 4:06 PMSounds like a lovely choice for you – perfect way to honor your grandfather and definitely fun for a middle name. 🙂
Sarah A says
July 26, 2011 at 8:52 AMNicole, I think that Coco in the middle spot is the perfect way to honor your grandad! I agree that it would lose meaning if it were a nn and she chose to go by something else later in life. And Coco is just too insubstantial imho to go alone in the first spot.
Happy birthday week Abby 🙂
Christina Fonseca says
July 25, 2011 at 7:28 AMCoco is also a nickname in Spanish for Socorro. Had a friend growing up with that name – we called her by her full name at school; she was Coco the rest of the time.
Lola says
July 25, 2011 at 7:08 AMI love Coco as a nickname but feel it lacks strength as a full name. It’s got a cute sound and feels light & airy. But I’d probably ask my lawyer, Coco, what her actual, full name is before long. I’ll admit, my first thought seeing today’s NotD? Ape. And that’s here I stand on Coco. Cute but insubstantial. 🙂
Lou @ Mer de noms says
July 25, 2011 at 6:11 AM‘a song she used to sign’ – think you meant sing 😉 Either way, Coco Avant Chanel was the first french film I watched sans subtitles, and I found it reasonably enjoyable. In that film she gets her name from the song she sang, Qui qu’a vu Coco? (who has seen Coco?). I also grew up playing Crash Bandicoot, and I always enjoyed playing as Coco.
Personally, I see Coco as a nickname for a full name. I’ve yet to decide which long form suits my needs best. Perhaps Coralie, or Cordelia.
annamaria says
July 25, 2011 at 1:36 PMStrangely enough recently there was a post on BabyCenter asking if Coco could work as a nickname for Cordelia. I do like the idea of Coco as a nickname for Co-something name.
C says
July 25, 2011 at 4:49 AMNormally I think most short nicknames are fine as they are and people shouldn’t be pressured to put a longer ‘more formal’ name on the birth certificate but this is my exception I think. And there are so many pretty names beginning with Co-. I love the sound of it though.
Panya says
July 25, 2011 at 3:20 AMI’m not a fan of Coco at all — the name or the person [or her brand, for that matter]. I really dislike everything about Coco as a name.
waltzingmorethanmatilda says
July 25, 2011 at 2:13 AMA coquette in Chanel’s day didn’t mean “flirt” – it was slang for a kept woman, mistress or high-class prostitute. (Deliberate understatement for ironic effect).
This name just reminds me of Coco Pops and Coco the Clown, but it’s definitely an “on trend” name.
countrylizb says
July 25, 2011 at 2:08 AMIn my opinion, Coco is not a name.
photoquilty says
July 25, 2011 at 12:48 PMIn mine,too!