Usage
The name has been in use, primarily in the Anglosphere, since the 1800s. It has been ranked among the 50 most popular names for newborn girls in the United Kingdom since 2020 and had been rising in popularity for British girls since the 1990s. It was among the 1,000 most used names for newborn girls in the United States between 1880 and 2003, reaching the height of popularity between 1928 and 1966, when it was ranked among the 100 most popular names for newborn American girls. It was also ranked among the 1,000 most popular names for newborn American boys between 1884 and 1953. The name then declined in popularity but has again risen in usage for girls in the United States in recent years and has been ranked among the 1,000 most popular names for newborn girls there since 2014. It has also been among the top 100 names for girls in Australia since 2014, in New Zealand since 2021, and in Sweden since 2019. In Canada, the name was among the 100 most popular names for girls between 1940 and 1973, but has since declined in usage. [1]
Spelling variants in use include Bonney, Bonni and Bonny. Elaborations of the name such as Bonnibel are also used. Other related names, also containing the word element bon, meaning good or attractive in various languages, include the Italian Bona and the Spanish Bonita. Some related given names or surnames include Bonaccorso, Bonaparte, Bonaventura, Boniface, Bonilla, and Bueno.
The increase in usage of the name coincides with its use for characters in movie and television productions. It was the nickname used for Bonnie Blue Butler, the young daughter of Rhett Butler and Scarlett O’Hara in Margaret Mitchell’s 1935 novel Gone with the Wind and its 1939 film adaptation, because the child's eyes were said to be “as blue as the bonnie blue flag.” The name gained some notoriety via bank robbers Bonnie Parker and Clyde Barrow and the 1967 film Bonnie and Clyde made about the couple. The name was later used for Bonnie Bennett, a character in the television series The Vampire Diaries , which aired from 2009 to 2017, and for Bonnie Anderson, the toddler who inherits Andy's toys, in the 2010 film Toy Story 3 and the 2019 sequel Toy Story 4 . [2] [3] [4]
Chloe, also spelled Chloë, Chlöe, or Chloé, is a feminine name meaning "blooming" or "fertility" in Greek. The name ultimately derives, through Greek, from the Proto-Indo-European root *ǵʰelh₃-, which relates to the colors yellow and green. The common scientific prefix chloro- derives from the same Greek root. In Greek the word refers to the young, green foliage or shoots of plants in spring.
Amy is an English feminine given name, the English version of the French Aimée, which means beloved. It was used as a diminutive of the Latin name Amata, a name derived from the passive participle of amare, “to love”. The name has been in use in the Anglosphere since the Middle Ages. It was among the 50 most popular names for girls in England between 1538 and 1700. It was popularized in the 19th century in the Anglosphere by a character in Sir Walter Scott's 1821 novel Kenilworth, which was based on the story of Amy Robsart. Enslaved Black women in the United States prior to the American Civil War were more likely to bear the name than white American women because slave masters often chose their names from literary sources. The name declined in use after 1880 but was revived due to the hit song Once in Love with Amy from the 1948 Broadway musical Where's Charley?. The name peaked in usage in the United States between 1973 and 1976, when it was among the five most popular names for American girls. It remained among the top 250 names for American girls in the early 2020s.
Vanessa is a feminine given name.
Katie is an English female name. It is a form of Katherine, Kate, Caitlin, Kathleen, Katey and their related forms. It is frequently used on its own.
Samantha is a feminine given name.
Angela is a female given name. It is derived from the Greek word ángelos (ἄγγελος), meaning angel from Greek mythology. In the United States, the name "Angela" was at its most popular between 1965 and 1979, when it was ranked among the top 10 names for girls. Between 1922 and 2021, in the United States, the name was ranked in the top 35 names for girls.
Molly is a diminutive of the feminine name Mary that, like other English diminutives in use since the Middle Ages, substituted l for r. English surnames such as Moll, Mollett, and Mollison are derived from Molly. Molly has also been used as a diminutive of Margaret and Martha since the 1700s and as an independent name since at least 1720. The name was more popular in the United States than elsewhere in the Anglosphere in the 1800s due to usage by Irish-American families and by Jewish American families who used Molly as an English version of Hebrew names such as Miriam and Malka. Its popularity with Americans was also influenced by stories about Molly Pitcher, a heroine of the American Revolutionary War.
Miranda is a feminine given name of Latin origin, meaning "worthy of admiration". William Shakespeare invented the name for a character in his play The Tempest, deriving the feminine name from the Latin word mirandus. In the play, the character is addressed as “Admired Miranda! Indeed the top of admiration! Worth what’s dearest to the world!” People named their daughters after the Shakespearean character beginning in the 1700s. The name was more popular in the United States than elsewhere in the Anglosphere, possibly due to its similarity in sound to Amanda, a name also more common for American girls by the 1800s. The name declined in use after 1900 but was revived in the United Kingdom due to the popularity of the 1948 British fantasy film Miranda about a mermaid named Miranda. The name also increased in usage in the United States when the film began airing on television there in the 1950s. Other media influences also increased usage of the name through the early 2000s. The name has recently declined in usage in the United States due to negative associations with the satirical character Miranda Sings.
Lily is a feminine given name usually derived from lily, the flower. The name became particularly popular along with other flower names for girls during the 1800s and early 1900s. The lily also has associations with and has been symbolic of innocence and purity in Christian art. Names beginning with or containing the letter L have also been particularly fashionable for girls. It is also occasionally used as a diminutive for other names such as Elizabeth.
Hazel is a primarily female given name meaning "hazel", from the name of the tree or the color. It is derived from the Old English hæsel. It became a popular name in English-speaking countries during the 19th century, along with other names of plants or trees used for girls.
Ruth is a common female given name, noted from Ruth, the eponymous heroine of the eighth book of the Old Testament.
Madeleine or Madeline is a feminine given name, ultimately of Greek origin. The name exists in various spellings and pronunciations and is popular among those living in Europe and English-speakers, as well as followers of Christianity, as Mary Magdalene was a central figure in the New Testament.
Jade is a given name derived from the ornamental stone jade, which is used in artwork and in jewellery-making. The name is derived from the Spanish piedra de la ijada, which means "stone of the bowels". There was a belief that when jade was placed on the stomach, it could cure colic in babies. The stone is greatly valued in Asian countries. Confucius believed it had properties encouraging purity, bravery, and honesty. Chinese emperors were buried in suits made of the stone because they believed it would make them live on forever.
Ivy is a given name or surname taken from the name of the plant. It became popular as a given name in the late 1800s along with other plant and flower names for girls. As a given name for girls, Ivy first entered the Top 200 in England and Wales in 1880, when it ranked #180, and reached the height of popularity when it was the 16th most popular name in England and Wales in 1904. It has again risen in popularity and, as of 2020, Ivy was the sixth most popular girls' name in England and Wales. It has also risen in popularity in other English speaking countries. It has ranked among the top 50 names for newborn American girls since 2021 and was the 42nd most used name for girls there in 2022. Other botanical names are also currently fashionable, as are other names that contain the letter v.
Brenda is a feminine given name in the English language.
Cassandra, also spelt Kassandra, is a feminine given name of Greek origin. Cassander is the masculine form of Cassandra. In Greek mythology, Cassandra was the daughter of King Priam and Queen Hecuba of Troy. She had the gift of prophecy, but was cursed so that none would believe her prophecies. The name has been in occasional use since the Middle Ages. The usual English nickname is Cassie. Cassandre is the French version of the name.
April is a feminine given name taken from the month of the same name. It was the most popular month name given to girls in the United States between 1960 and 2000. It was most well used in the Southern United States, where the spring season begins earlier than other regions of the country. The name is believed to have been particularly well-used because April is a month associated with renewal. The name has since declined in usage in English-speaking countries, but remains in regular use.
Olivia is a feminine given name in the English language. It is derived from Latin oliva, olive. Both Oliva and Olivia were Latinate forms in use in English-speaking countries as early as the 13th century. Olive was in common use as a vernacular form. Though not invented by William Shakespeare, the name was popularized by a character in the Twelfth Night.
Beverly or Beverley is an English surname, which was in turn taken from the place name Beverley. The place name derives from Old English, combining befer ("beaver") and leah ("clearing').
Harmony is a modern English name taken from the vocabulary word and from the musical term harmony which is ultimately derived from the Greek word harmonia. Harmonia was the Greek goddess of harmony and concord. It is also an English surname.
