I keep getting sent this meme that says that Kermit, Elmo, and Grover were relatively common names before the Muppets with those names came upon the scene. Is this true?
TL; DR: The names were on the decline before the Muppets, and while the Muppets may have speeded along their decline, they didn't have much affect on their popularity.
KERMIT
Let's start with Kermit. This is an anglicization of the Irish surname Mac Diarmada (son of Dermot, also anglicized McDermott) via the Manx form, Kermode. As a first name, it wasn't widely used until 1900, when Theodore Roosevelt became president. Roosevelt named his second son Kermit (born 1889), after his wife, Edith Kermit Carow Roosevelt's middle name. Edith's middle name was given to her in honor of Robert Kermit, a shipping magnate and business partner of her father's. When Roosevelt was elected president in 1901, his young family gained the spotlight, and the name Kermit, which had not yet appeared in the Social Security Administration name database, appeared with 17 namesakes. However, Kermit was never a hugely popular name; the highest baby name rank it ever achieved was 175 in 1909. In 1969, when Sesame Street debuted with the character of Kermit the Frog, Kermit was ranked at # 719. It continued its downward trajectory, never recovering its former popularity.
GROVER
The name Grover is an English surname denoting someone who lived near a grove of trees. It rose to poularity after the election of Grover Cleveland, the 22nd and 24th president of the USA (he served non-consecutive terms) in 1884 and 1892. President Cleveland was born Stephen Grover Cleveland in honor of the first Presbyterian minister of the church where his father preached, but was called Grover his whole life. The highest rank the name ever achieved was #20, in 1884/1885. In 1970, the year that the character debuted on Sesame Street, the name had been in decline for several decades, and was at #817 in rank. It continued its decline after this.
ELMO
Elmo is derived from the Greek name Erasmus, via the Italian diminutive form, Ermo. It can also be a diminutive of names like Guglielmo and Anselmo. The highest rank it achieved as a baby name was #271 in 1906. Unlike the other two names, it never had a presidential association! The character of Elmo was introduced on Sesame Street in 1980. At that time, the name Elmo had a rank of #2772. It continused its decline, which began some 60 years prior. The must-have toy "Tickle Me Elmo" came out in time for Christmas of 1996, which probably helped along its decline-- between 1997 and 2025, a period of only 28 years, only 60 babies were named Elmo, an average of only 2.1 Elmos per year!
Bonus: OSCAR
The meme above doesn't mention the name Oscar! Oscar the Grouch was one of the central OG characters in Sesame Street. Oscar had shown a small peak before Sesame Street debuted! However, in addition to the loveable Grouch on Sesame Street, the television show The Odd Couple debuted in 1970, based on the hit film of the same name that had come out in 1968. The Odd Couple features a character named Oscar, who was a cynical, grumpy sports writer in the series. This may have further helped speed along the name Oscar's decline.
However, after decades of decline, Oscar never quite reached rock bottom, the way Elmo and Kermit did. It was popular among Spanish-speakers, and enjoyed a resurgence in the 2000s, as names once considered "old person names" like Max, Sophie, Evelyn, Rose, Etc. became popular again.
