‘The Young and the Restless’: Ashley Abbott Helped Popularize the Name Ashley For Girls in the 1990s
The Young and the Restless premiered in 1973 and recently celebrated its 50th anniversary. Throughout its long run, the soap opera has had a huge influence on American culture. In the 1980s and 1990s, the name Ashley was even popularized by the character Ashley Abbott.
Ashley Abbott was introduced in 1982
In 1982, actor Eileen Davidson joined the cast of Y&R as Ashley Abbott, the daughter of John Abbott, Sr., and Dina Mergeron. The role has been taken on by a few other actors throughout the years, but it is mainly associated with Davidson.
Ashley is known for being involved with her family’s business, Jabot Cosmetics. After graduating from college, she started out as a lab chemist before eventually moving up the ranks in the company. She has served as the president as well as CEO of Jabot.
Additionally, Ashley has also been involved in a fair share of romantic relationships. Some of her most famous flings include Victor Newman and Brad Carlton. In the late 2000s, Ashley even had crossover appearances on The Bold and the Beautiful, where she fell in love with Ridge Forrester.
Ashley Abbott helped to popularize the name Ashley
Ashley is a hugely popular character on Y&R. In the 1980s and 1990s, fans of the show even got inspired by her to name their daughters Ashley. According to Town & Country, the moniker was more commonly used for boys, but that all changed around this time, thanks to Y&R.
As reported by the Social Security Administration, Ashley became one of the top 5 baby names for girls in 1983. It continued to rise up the list and became the most popular name in 1991 and 1992. Its popularity gradually dropped after that. The year 2001 was the last time we saw Ashley in the top 5.
Other ways in which ‘Y&R’ has contributed to American culture
Related: 4 Surprising Facts About ‘The Young and the Restless’
Y&R’s influence has been seen in other ways as well. In 1984, when reality TV was not much of a thing in the American media landscape, Y&R garnered attention when it aired the first ever facelift on live TV. Jeanne Cooper, who played Katherine Chancellor, wanted to get a facelift in real life and decided to have the procedure worked into a storyline on the show.
“My God! It was groundbreaking. And the first reality show on TV was my facelift!” she told Michael Fairman TV in 2012. “It was so funny, having the cameras in the procedure room while they were doing my facelift, but when it was over, it was incredible.”
Nowadays, reality shows featuring medical procedures are rather popular. Series like Botched, Dr. 90210, and Dr. Pimple Popper have attracted many fans over the years.
In 2001, Y&R also found its way into a Mary J. Blige song. In the single “No More Drama,” the Y&R theme music could be heard. One of the songwriters, Jimmy Jam, is a huge soap opera fan who decided to craft a track around the iconic show.
