Will “Good Vibrations” give you “Fun, Fun, Fun” “All Summer Long”?

Brian Wilson, who — with Mike Love — wrote those songs for The Beach Boys in the 1960s, turns 79 today .

Brian is the Irish form of ancient Celtic Brigonos, probably meaning “high, noble.” Irish king Brian Boru’s forces defeated the Vikings of Dublin at the Battle of Clontarf in 1014. Though Brian died in battle, he became the hero of Ireland’s struggle against foreign domination.

In the 10th century, Norse kings of Dublin also ruled York in northern England. They adopted Brian from the Irish and took it to York. Celtic-speaking knights from Brittany came to southern England with Norman invaders in 1066, introducing the name there. Though Brian died out as a first name in England outside of Yorkshire, it lasted long enough to establish Bryan as a common English surname.

The English rulers of Ireland suppressed the name, and the Irish turned to Barney and Bernard as substitutes. A few Irish immigrants went back to Brian after arriving in America. The 1850 census found 855 Bryans and 264 Brians, with 30% of the Bryans and 57% of the Brians born in Ireland.

Many Bryans had no direct Irish connection, being part of the general fashion for turning surnames into given names. Bryan boomed as a first name when Nebraska’s William Jennings Bryan (1860-1925) became the Democratic nominee for president in 1896, shooting up 330% in one year to rank 157th. The name peaked again in 1900 and 1908 during Bryan’s other presidential runs.

Jackson and Sophia won again during the pandemic, though other tragedies hugely impacted baby names last year.

May 7 the Social Security Administration released the United States’ top baby names of 2020.

On SSA’s lists, Liam and Olivia rank first, as they did in 2019.

SSA counts every spelling separately. I add together spellings pronounced the same, creating lists I believe more accurately indicate popularity.

When boys named Jaxon, Jaxson, Jakson, etc., are added to Jackson, 20,213 were born in 2020, ranking it first for the eighth year in a row.

The rest of 2020’s Top 10 for boys were Liam, Noah, Aiden, Oliver, Elijah, Lucas, Grayson, William and James — the same 10 as last year, though Oliver moved up two places.

Kayson was the boy’s name among the Top 100 with the biggest increase, rising from 96th to 62nd. Though Kayson is the top spelling, it was only 19% of the total, which included Kason, Kaison, Kasen, Cason, etc. Blending the sounds of Mason and Grayson with Kayden, Kayson has become the perfect “different but not too different” choice for thousands of parents.

When Sofia and other spellings are added, 20,014 Sophias arrived in 2020. Sophia has been No. 1 since 2011. The rest of the girls’ Top 10 are Olivia, Emma, Ava, Isabella, Amelia, Charlotte, Mia, Camila and Riley.

The U.S. Olympic Swim Trials are taking place in Omaha this month. Twenty-nine-year-old Melanie Margalis, holder of the U.S. record in the 400-meter individual medley, is expected to win that event here. At the 2016 Olympics, she won gold as part of the U.S. women’s 4×200-meter freestyle relay.

Mélanie is the French form of Melania, a Latin name derived from Greek “melaina,” meaning “black.” Melania the Elder (c. 350-417) and granddaughter Melania the Younger (c. 383-439) were fabulously wealthy Roman women who used their fortune to build convents and give relief to the poor. St. Jerome, angry at the elder Melania for supporting his theological rival Origen, called her “black in name and black in nature.” That didn’t stop both Melanias being revered as saints.

Though the Normans brought the name Melanie with them to England in 1066, it was rare and soon died out. In the 1850 United States census, 144 of the 189 Melanies were born in French-settled Louisiana, France, or Belgium.

Melanie’s rare American use before 1940 was usually in a Roman Catholic context. For example, when Martha Anne Holliday (1850-1939) joined the Sisters of Mercy in Atlanta in 1883, she was renamed “Mary Melania,” and called “Sister Melanie.”

Sister Melanie’s second cousin, Atlanta journalist Margaret Mitchell, often visited her. When Mitchell wrote “Gone With the Wind” (1936), she named selfless genteel Melanie Hamilton, best friend to fiery Scarlett O’Hara, after Sister Melanie.

Trevor may not sing tonight, but he’ll surely joke about singers. Tonight, South-African born comedian Trevor Noah, star of Comedy Central’s “The Daily Show,” hosts the 63rd Grammy Awards.