The baby name Cricket made headlines when Busy Philips chose it for her daughter in 2013.
But is it a crazy, celebrity-only pick, or a rising favorite?
Thanks to Grey for suggesting our Baby Name of the Day.
CRACKLE AND CREAK
The baby name Cricket has a great sound. That crisp ‘Cr’ at the top, the stylish -et girl ending.
But, of course, the name instantly brings to mind an insect.
Cricket comes from the French criquer – to creak, to crackle. It’s an onomatopoeic choice. Like roar and meow, the creature’s name comes from the associated sound.
We tend to lump grasshoppers, katydids, and crickets together as the more approachable of the insects, along with ladybugs and butterflies. True crickets belong to the family Gryllidae, and with their antennae and those big jumping legs, they are insects – even if they’re pretty much harmless to humans, and their night-time chirping is a gentle reminder of summer nights.
WISH UPON A STAR
In some cultures, the appearance of a cricket is a good omen. In others, it’s best to escort them out of your house as they can herald illness, even death. There’s a history of keeping them as pets, and even staging cricket fights. They are also edible, and you just might find them on the menu.
American pop culture tends towards the pro-cricket image.
Credit Disney’s top hat-wearing Jiminy Cricket, perhaps.
Carlo Collodi penned The Adventures of Pinocchio – in Italian – in 1883. The story inspired Disney’s 1940 animated feature Pinocchio.
Collodi invented “Il Grilo Parlante” – the talking cricket – for the story, but back in 1883, the character played only a minor role.
In 1940, Disney expanded the character, gave him a name, and made him Pinocchio’s wise companion.
And, of course, he sings “When You Wish Upon a Star,” one of the most iconic songs of the twentieth century.
As for the name, “Jiminy Crickets” started out as a mild oath, a not-quite-swear. Dorothy says it in The Wizard of Oz. The seven dwarves said it in the Snow White movie, released by Disney just a year prior.
There’s also Cri-kee from the animated Disney movie Mulan.
1961 Newberry Honor Book The Cricket in Times Square was about the adventures of Chester Cricket.
One more: the children’s literary magazine Cricket launched in 1973. It still exists, now with multiple related titles.
BATS AND BUDDY
It’s also a sport, of course. The word comes from a Middle Dutch word cricke – stick and the French criquet – piece of wood.
Cricket is also slang for a harmonica, and Buddy Holly’s back-up band was called The Crickets. This almost puts Cricket in the company of Harmony, Aria and Drummer – if the musical meaning were more widely known.
BY THE NUMBERS
The baby name Cricket has seen more use than you might guess:
- 1950 was the first year at least five girls received the name.
- By 1962, 22 newborns received the name.
- In 1982, that number reached 24 newborn girls.
- More recently, the numbers are smaller. Parents welcomed 18 Crickets in 2008 and 5 in 2012.
- In 2018, just nine girls received the baby name Cricket.
What explains the ups and downs?
From 1959 through 1963, actor Connie Stevens starred on detective series Hawaiian Eye. A pair of private investigators untangled all sorts of goings-on in Honolulu, mostly at a local hotel. Stevens played photographer Cricket, also frequently on site at the hotel, and an assistant to the duo as they caught the bad guys and kept the island safe for visitors.
In 1983, soap opera The Young and the Restless introduced a teen model named Cricket. The character eventually grew up, became a lawyer, and district attorney. She shed her childhood nickname along the way, and answered to Christine instead.
That seemed like an explanation for the 1980s Crickets, except the soap opera introduced the character a year after the name’s peak.
CHRISTINE
Maybe the Cricket-Christine connection holds a clue.
Christine was a Top 100 choice in the US from the 1940s into the 1990s, ranking in the Top 20 from 1967 to 1974. Cricket’s rise parallels Christine’s popularity.
It was a good moment for outlandish nicknames, too. The Preppy Handbook, published in 1980, told the world all about Muffy and Corkie and Biff and Trip. The names are all over 80s pop culture, from Murphy Brown to Back to the Future.
The soap opera character’s name could easily reflect pop culture, rather than driving it.
It’s not just Christine, though. It’s easy to imagine Cricket as a nickname for any hard-C first with classic style: Catherine and Caroline seem obvious possibilities.
Of course, that includes Christopher, Christian, and other boy names, taking Cricket into unisex territory.
WREN, BEAR, AND …
We’re borrowing baby names from birds in big numbers. After all, Busy Philips named her firstborn Birdie Leigh. Animals, like Bear and Fox, are trending, too.
This makes the baby name Cricket seem more wearable than ever.
If you love nature names, and like the upbeat, energetic vibe of Cricket, this might be one to consider.
What do you think of the baby name Cricket? Is it better as a nickname? Or would you use it as a formal name for a child?
First published December 10, 2013, this post was revised substantially and re-published on August 9, 2020.
Too cute I too in 2010 I named my little baby girl Cricket and it was my childhood memory of watching with my mum “Young and The Restless ” and me loving the character Christine nickname Cricket. When I first watched this I thought that was her name and it wasn’t until she became a lawyer on the program that I found out her name was Christine . Funly enough I liked this name also . I too before my girl was born had 3 pages of girls names I liked and Cricket wasn’t on my list as I had forgotten at the time and it wasn’t until I held her in front of me when she was first born that Cricket was the only name in my head and she just suits it . And people so far love it and now shes primary school age she loves it too
If I have a Girl or A Boy his or her name will Be Cricket.
We are thinking of naming our fourth baby (a boy) Cricket. Here in Montana, most people pronounce Creek as crick, so we like that his nickname would be water related. And, there’s a small 22 rifle (for kids) called a cricket, so we like the hunting association too. Also, since this boy is due in the summer, we think Cricket is so fitting of those warm summer nights and it brings to mind bonfires, starry nights, sunsets, and well, just happiness.
Nicky, I love the way you described it! It’s more common for girls, but SO very rare that your son would surely be the only Cricket – which means it’s really unisex. And a great nature name, too!
We named my 10-week-old Portuguese Water Dog Cricket on the way home from Dallas to Houston. We were camping overnight and she caught a cricket gently with her paw, sniffed at it, and then let it go. We had already named her Britta but when I said Cricket her ears perked up and she ran right to me. When we called her Britta she just looked at us.
What an amazing story, brynnmorgan2015! And, of course, a great name. 🙂
I think of Rickety Cricket in “It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia.”
Am I the only one who associates the name Cricket with the creepy talking doll of the ’80s?
It seems more masculine to me…maybe because it is very much tied to the sport in my mind. I don’t see it as a name, though.
Krickitt is the name of the woman in the book and movie, The Vow.
https://thecarpentersvow.com/
You forgot Crickett on the CW’s Hart of Dixie! That show is a name treasure trove, and Crickett has become a more prominent character in recent seasons.
https://hartofdixie.wikia.com/wiki/Crickett
I once knew a Cricket who was a BOY! His given name was Christopher, but he had a little sister who couldn’t quite pronounce it, and, well… Cricket he became. Now, he’s a forty-something with kids of his own, so the name has always sounded masculine to me. What an interesting thought to give it to a girl!
Love the idea of Cricket as a nickname for Christopher!
I never thought of it as a nickname for Christopher, that’s actually pretty good. I much prefer it to Chris.
Personally I love Cricket, especially as a nickname for Chrysanthemum.