Give Dean Friedman credit for igniting the success of Ariel as a baby name for girls

 

While driving around to take care of a few errands, I listened to a Siruis/XM 70s on 7 rebroadcast of Casey Kasem's American Top 40 for the week ending August 6, 1978.   

46 years ago, I lived Springfield, Massachusettts and rarely listened to AM radio.  It was impossible, however, to avoid this one-hit wonder by Dean Friedman.  It spent 22 weeks on the Billboard Hot 100 but only peaked at #26.

Guess when Ariel first appeared on the Social Security Administration list of top 1000 baby names for girls?

Source:  SSA Popular Baby Names

Ariel timeline:

1977:  "Ariel" debuts on the Billboard Hot 100 for the week ending April 16.

1978:  Ariel makes its first appearance on the SSA Baby Names Chart.

1984:  The movie "Footloose" opened on February 17.  One of its characters is a rebellious PK named Ariel Moore.

1989:  Disney's "The Little Mermaid", a.k.a. Ariel, is released in theaters on November 13.

1990:  Ariel reaches its peak on the SSA baby names chart.