The Guiding Light soap opera started the Daisy name trend. Frank Dicopoulos tells how the show changed baby names.
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The Unexpected Effect of Soap Opera
Frank Dicopoulos, who played Frank Cooper on “Guiding Light” for 30+ years, recently shared a mind-blowing thing about the show’s cultural influence.
The popular soap opera didn’t just entertain—it actually started a baby-naming trend that’s still visible today.
The Daisy Effect
“I can’t tell you how many people come up and say they named their baby Daisy after Harley had her baby,” Dicopoulos told Remind Magazine.
And what’s even more amazing—some viewers have made major life decisions because of the show’s storyline.
“They kept their baby because she (Harley) had decided to keep her baby.”
A Dramatic Birth
This storyline began in 1987 when Dicopoulos’ character Frank and his sister Harley (played by Beth Ehlers) were introduced.
Harley’s pregnancy and her difficult decision of whether to keep the baby or not attracted the audience.
Susan “Daisy” Lemay was finally born dramatically—on a highway, when Frank and Harley’s car crashed on the way to the hospital.
Numbers don’t lie
Data from the Social Security Administration confirms Dicopoulos’ statement.
Before the storyline aired, the name Daisy was at the lowest point in popularity for a century, with only 444 babies per million.
The next year, it rose almost 50% to 655, and by the end of the decade, Daisy’s popularity had reached the highest level since 1935.
Birth of a Star
A few years later, a young Brittany Snow played the role of teenage Daisy from 1998-2001.
Dicopoulos speaks highly of Snow, who is now a Hollywood star, saying she is “kicking ass” in the industry.
Part of TV History
“Guiding Light” was no ordinary soap opera—it is America’s longest-running scripted broadcast program.
Starting as an NBC radio serial in 1937 and moving to television in 1952, the show went through countless changes in the industry before finally ending in 2009.
Star Making Machine
Dicopoulos is proud to have worked with many actors who later became major stars.
He fondly remembers Murray Bartlett (who played Cyrus Foley) as “a really nice guy,” and shares that when he recently met Matt Bomer (who played Ben Reade), he “had big hugs.”
From influencing baby names to launching Hollywood careers, “Guiding Light” left a legacy that continues to shine even after its final episode.
