The recent release of new African-American Barbie Dolls got me wondering about Barbie and her friends and, of course, their names.

 

Here’s a list of dolls from the Barbie collection. I’ve included the year each doll was first introduced (apparently, some had multiple release dates). There are a few duplicate names on the list because Mattel issued more than one doll with the same name. Whether these are re-releases or different “characters” I’m not positive (any Barbie experts out there?). Where the Barbie Collector website has the doll listed with a different relationship to Barbie or one of the other characters, I listed each doll with the same name separately because I thought it was interesting to see which names were reused and in what years. Some of the duplicates are also spelled differently.

 

Here’s the list:

 

GIRLS’ NAMES

 

1959

BARBIE  

 

1960s

CASEY  —  Francie’s friend, 1967

CHRIS  —  Tutti’s friend, 1967

CHRISTIE  —  Barbie’s friend, 1968

FRANCIE  —  Barbie’s cousin, 1966

MIDGE  —  Barbie’s best friend, 1963

PJ  —  Barbie’s friend, 1969

SKIPPER  —  Barbie’s sister, 1964

SKOOTER  —  Skipper’s friend, 1965

STACEY  —  Barbie’s British friend, 1968

TUTTI  —  Barbie’s sister, 1966

 

1970s

CARA  —  Barbie’s friend, 1975

FLUFF  —  Skipper’s friend, 1971

GINGER  —  Skipper’s friend, 1976

JAMIE  —  Barbie’s friend, 1970

KELLEY  —  Barbie’s friend, 1973

STEFFIE  —  Barbie’s friend, 1972

TIFF  —  Skipper’s friend, 1972

 

1980s

BECKY  —  Barbie’s friend, 1988

BELINDA  —  Barbie’s friend, 1988

BOPSY  —  Barbie’s friend, 1988

COURTNEY  —  Skipper’s friend, 1989

DANA  —  Barbie’s friend, 1986

DEE DEE  —  Barbie’s friend, 1986

DEVON  —  Barbie’s friend, 1989

DIVA  —  Barbie’s friend, 1986

JAZZIE  —  Barbie’s cousin, 1989

KAYLA  —  Barbie’s friend, 1989

MIKO  —  Barbie’s friend, 1987

NIKKI  —  Barbie’s friend, 1989

STACIE  —  Jazzie’s friend, 1989

TERESA  —  Barbie’s friend, 1988

TRACY  —  Barbie’s friend, 1983

WHITNEY  —  Barbie’s friend, 1987

 

1990s

ANA  —  Barbie’s friend, 1999

BECKY  —  Kelly’s friend, 1996

CHELSIE  —  Barbie’s friend, 1999

CHELSIE  —  Kelly’s friend, 1996

DEIDRE  —  Kelly’s friend, 1998

JANET  —  Stacie’s friend, 1994

KAYLA  —  Kelly’s friend, 1999

KEEYA  —  Kelly’s friend, 1998

KELLY  —  Barbie’s sister, 1995

KIRA  —  Barbie’s friend, 1990

KRISSY  —  Barbie’s sister, 1999

LARA  —  Barbie’s friend, 1999

MARIA  —  Kelly’s friend, 1999

MARISSA  —  Kelly’s friend, 1998

MELODY  —  Kelly’s friend, 1996

NIA  —  Barbie’s friend, 1990

NIA  —  Kelly’s friend, 1999

NICHELLE  —  Barbie’s friend, 1999

NIKKI  —  Skipper’s friend, 1997

SHANI  —  Barbie’s friend, 1994

STACIE  —  Barbie’s sister, 1992

TAMIKA  —  Kelly’s friend, 1999

TARA LYNN  —  Barbie’s friend, 1993

TORI  —  Barbie’s friend, 1999

WHITNEY  —  Stacie’s friend, 1994

 

2000s

COURTNEY  —  Grace’s sister, 2009

GRACE  —  Barbie’s friend, 2009

JANESSA  —  Trichelle’s sister, 2009

KARA  —  Barbie’s friend, 2009

KIANA  —  Kara’s sister, 2009

TRICHELLE  —  Barbie’s friend, 2009

 

 

The names from the 1960s are a mixed bag. A few of the names have a very quirky, Gidget-y feel to them — Skipper and Tutti. These names are more like nicknames than full, given names. Then there are a couple boyish picks — Casey and Chris. We also have Christie (oddly similar to Chris) which is slightly ahead of the naming trend — the name Christie name soared in popularity in the 1970s.

 

The 1970s bring us mostly “girly” names with the exception of Jamie. There are also a few more nickname names — Fluff, Steffie and Tiff.

 

Several of the dolls from the 1980s are members of rock bands and that is directly reflected in the names Bopsy and Diva. Carrying on the musical theme, Belinda may be a nod to Belinda Carlisle and Whitney to Whitney Houston. In the 1980s we also see the beginning of an expansion into more culturally diverse names with Miko.

 

The names from the 1990s reflect a larger multicultural influence with the names Ana, Nichelle, Tamika and Maria mixed in with previously used names like Kelly and Becky. I’m most surprised by Deidre and Janet, which both reached their popularity peaks decades prior — Deidre in the 1960s and Janet in the 1940s.  They’re somewhat surprising picks for 1990s dolls, in my opinion.

 

The 2000s featured a mix of conventional names, including ultra-popular Grace, and unique names like Trichelle. It looks like Mattel is paying close attention to consumer attitudes and choosing their names accordingly.

 

 

BOYS’ NAMES

 

1960s

ALLAN  —  Midge’s boyfriend/husband, 1964

KEN  —  Barbie’s boyfriend, 1961

RICKY  —  Skipper’s friend, 1965

TODD  —  Barbie’s brother, 1966

 

1970s

BRAD  —  Ken’s friend, 1970

CURTIS  —  Cara’s boyfriend, 1975

 

1980s

DEREK  —  Ken’s friend, 1986

DUDE  —  Jazzie’s friend, 1989

SCOTT  —  Skipper’s boyfriend, 1989

STEVEN  —  Christie’s boyfriend, 1988

TODD  —  Tracy’s fiancé, 1983

 

1990s

KEVIN  —  Skipper’s boyfriend, 1990

TOMMY  —  Ken’s brother, 1997

 

 

 

The guy’s names don’t hold many surprises. Other than Dude, all the names are mainstream and pretty run-of-the-mill. It doesn’t look like quite as much thought or marketing has gone into these names, but then, they didn’t need to — the guys aren’t the stars here, the girls reign supreme in Barbie-land.

 

One of the biggest impacts the male Barbie dolls have had is with the name Ken. People use the word “Ken” to describe a really good looking guy (usually blond) who’s actually so good looking or put together that he looks plastic-y, like a Ken doll. It’s not a compliment usually.

 

 

MORE BARBIE FUN FACTS

 

«  Barbie’s full name is BARBARA “BARBIE” MILLICENT ROBERTS

 

«  Ken’s full name is KEN CARSON

 

«  Barbie has some relatives who were never turned into dolls:

 

 

Mom = MARGARET ROBERTS

Dad = GEORGE ROBERTS

Cousin = LULUBELLE

Aunt =LILLIAN FAIRCHILD

 

«  Barbie has dogs named TANNER and TAFFY

 

 

Sources: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Barbie’s_friends_and_family; http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Barbie; http://www.barbiecollector.com; www.amazon.com

 

 

If you want to add more Barbie dolls to this list, head to the comments section and share!

 

 

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♥  Amanda

 

If you have baby name questions for me, email me at amanda@amandabarden.com.

Your question might appear in a future edition of Ask Amanda.

 

 

 

For more information on baby names and their meanings check out

BABY NAMES MADE EASY: THE COMPLETE REVERSE-DICTIONARY OF BABY NAMES