I moved to Tennessee over a dozen years ago. One thing I quickly found out is how much the people here still revere former Vols QB Peyton Manning. Manning, of course, is arguably the greatest Tennessee football player and one of the best NFL quarterbacks to ever suit up. His impact on the state of Tennessee is massive; it’s been 25+ years since he suited up for the Big Orange, yet it’s common to see Manning jerseys at games or around the state.
Another impact Manning has had on the Volunteer state
is found in their demographics, specifically in the number of kids that have the name “Peyton.” There was a noticeable uptick in Tennesseans (and overall) of babies being named “Peyton” in the mid-90s; not coincidently, that’s when the QB’s career took off.
Of course, UNC has their own version of this. Check out this graph of the name “Jordan.” There’s a very prominent spike in the early to mid 1980’s, with the name reaching its peak in popularity in the ‘90s. While correlation doesn’t always indicate causation, I’m going to make the assumption that most of that was due to Michael Jordan’s enormous popularity.
So, today’s Question of the Day: do you have a UNC-themed name story? I’m sure there are Carolina fans that have a child or pet with a name linked to UNC. Maybe you named your dog Maye in 2017 after this shot; or maybe you know someone who named their kid Jordan. Personally, I have a hazy memory of trying to name one of the ducks or geese on our property Montross in the 90’s, but otherwise the pets in my life have surprisingly not had any UNC links (although my wife did try to name our newest puppy Jackie in honor of Ian Jackson; thankfully, we ended up going with Lacey).
Let’s hear your Carolina names in the comments!
