2nd Presentation

11/15/2021

We know about Nina… what about Cliff?

“Nina” spiked dramatically in 1980 after the 1979 introduction of Nina Cortlandt in soap opera All My Children
My research for the first paper indicated Nina’s character is usually associated with her partner Cliff
The pair deemed a “supercouple”- type of relationship in the soap opera genre that indicates large fanbase/media promotion
If “Nina” was so impacted by the show… is there an observable connection between supercouples and naming?

Duration: 1979-1989
“Nina” is significantly more popular than “Cliff”
- “Cliff” increased from 79 in 1975 to 146 in 1981
- “Nina” increased from 563 in 1978 to 1,889 in 1980
Both names increase at the beginning of the supercouple’s relationship, and decrease together

Do other supercouples from other soaps popular at the same time as All My Children reflect what we saw in the Cliff/Nina graph? Namely: Do the names trend together while their associated supercouples were together? Is the female name always more popular overall?
- The following supercouples chosen from soap operas that were consistently within the top ten most-watched daytime soaps in the US between 1979-1990

Duration: 1983-1990, 1994-2015
“Hope” rises significantly in both shaded portions
- Falls in between them and as soap operas lose popularity in 2000s
“Bo” much less impacted
- Did have a minor rise during the relationship in the 1980s and fall after 1990, a difference of around 100
- Has been on the rise in the 2010s and into the 2020s, though likely not associated with Days of Our Lives

Duration: 1979-2002, 2006, 2008, 2013, 2015
“Luke” falls and remains around the same number for a while, only rising again in the early 1990s
- Luke is the assailant in a 1979 rape scene involving Laura
- Later in the show is openly remorseful and regretful of this
“Laura” is more popular.. until it isn’t
- “Laura” very popular and rising at the beginning of the relationship
- Drops suddenly in 1986 (2000 less births than 1985 and continuously falls after that)
- Surpassed by “Luke” around 1996-1997

With the exception of Victor/Nikki, the female names in these supercouples seem to experience more significant changes in popularity during periods when the couples were together
Female names also seem to be more popular overall (Again with the exception of Nikki)
The names do not seem to consistently trend together, though both genders seem to be affected by their shows
Suggests that rather than a supercouple phenomenon in naming, female names were usually more impacted
- Possibly due to soap operas having primarily female audiences during the late 20th century?
- Alternatively, may have to do with the likeability/popularity of individual characters