Felicity (given name)

Last updated
Felicity
Nuremberg chronicles - Felicitas with her Seven Sons (CXIIIIr).jpg
Saint Felicity of Rome, a 2nd-century saint, inspired use of the name Felicity.
GenderFeminine
Origin
Word/name Latin and English
Meaning"happiness, good luck"
Other names
Nickname(s)Fee, Flick, Flicka, Fliss, Flissa, Flossie, Flossy, Liccy, Liss, Lissa, Lissie, Lissy
Related names Felice, Felicia, Feliciana, Félicie, Félicienne, Felix, Felicitas

Felicity is a feminine given name of English origin meaning "happiness". It is derived from the Latin word felicitas meaning "luck, good fortune". [1] It is also used as a form of the Latin name Felicitas, taken from the name of the Ancient Roman goddess Fortuna. [2] It was also the name of Saint Felicity of Rome, a 2nd-century saint venerated by the Roman Catholic Church. The Latin Felicia, a related name, is a feminine form of the name Felix, which is derived from an Ancient Roman cognomen meaning "lucky," or "successful." Traditional English diminutives include Fee, Flick, Flicka, Fliss, Flissy, Flossie, Flossy, Liccy, Liss, Lissa, Lissie, and Lissy, among others. [3] [4]

Contents

Usage

Prior to the Victorian era, Felicia and its vernacular form Felice were the most commonly used forms of the name in English-speaking countries. [5] Some forms of the name such as Philicia became associated with the etymologically unrelated name Phyllis. The name Felicity was used by English Puritans from the late 16th century but was less commonly used by them than other virtue names. [6] The name Felicity has been in regular use in the United Kingdom since the late 19th century and, as of the 2020s, remained among the top 200 names in use for British girls.

The name was also among the top 100 names for girls born in Australia at different times from the mid 1970s to early 1980s. Felicity has also been in regular use in New Zealand.

Felicity also has been in occasional use in North America since the Colonial era, though Felice and Felicia and variations of the name in other languages were much more common. [7] Felicity first ranked among the top 1,000 names for newborn girls in the United States in 1998, the year the American television show Felicity debuted. Felicity was the 390th most popular name for American girls in 1999, rising from 818th place the previous year. The name has also been among the 1,000 most popular names in use for girls in Canada since the late 1990s. [8] Usage of the name has also been influenced by other media. Felicity Merriman is a red-headed American Colonial doll produced by the American Girl company. The doll, which has a tie-in book series, movies, and a number of accessories, was introduced in the United States in 1991. [9] [10] [11] [12] American actress Felicity Huffman has also increased awareness of the name. The character Felicity Smoak was introduced on the American television series Arrow in 2012.

In other languages

Women

Fictional characters

Related Research Articles

The name Felicia derives from the Latin adjective felix, meaning "happy, lucky", though in the neuter plural form felicia it literally means "happy things" and often occurred in the phrase tempora felicia, "happy times". The sense of it as a feminine personal name appeared in post-Classical use and is of uncertain origin. It is associated with saints, poets, astronomical objects, plant genera, fictional characters, and animals, especially cats.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Victoria (name)</span> Name list

Victoria is a feminine given name. It is also used as a family name.

Liz is a female name of Hebrew origin, meaning "God's Promise". It is also a short form of Elizabeth, Elisabeth, Lisbeth, Lizanne, Liszbeth, Lizbeth, Lizabeth, Lyzbeth, Lisa, Lizette, Alyssa, and Eliza.

Felicity may refer to:

Cheryl, occasionally spelt Cheryll, is a female given name common in English-speaking countries.

Caitlin is a feminine given name of Irish origin. Historically, the Irish name Caitlín was anglicized as Cathleen or Kathleen. In the 1970s, however, non-Irish speakers began pronouncing the name according to English spelling rules as KAYT-lin, which led to many variations in spelling such as Caitlin, Ceitlin, Catelynn, Caitlyn, Katlyn, Kaitlin, Kaitlyn, Katelyn and Katelynn.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kylie (name)</span> Name list

Kylie is an English feminine given name with multiple origins. It might be a variant of the name Kyle. It might be derived from the Aboriginal Australian Noongar word kiley, meaning 'curved, returning stick, boomerang'. It might be derived from From the Irish surname O'Kiely, which in turn derives from the Old Gaelic surname O'Cadhla, meaning 'graceful or beautiful', descendant(s) of the graceful one.”

,

Cassie is a feminine given name and a short form of various other given names Cassandra, Cassandro, and Cassidy mostly used in English-speaking countries. It is more rarely a surname. People and fictional characters named Cassie include:

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Angela (given name)</span> Name list

Angela is a female given name. It is derived from the Greek word ángelos (ἄγγελος), meaning angel from Greek belief systems. 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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bridget</span> Name list

Bridget is an Irish female name derived from the Gaelic noun brígh, meaning "power, strength, vigor, virtue". An alternative meaning of the name is "exalted one". Its popularity, especially in Ireland, is largely related to the popularity of Saint Brigid of Kildare, who was so popular in Ireland she was known as "Mary of the Gael". This saint took on many of the characteristics of the early Celtic goddess Brigid, who was the goddess of agriculture and healing and possibly also of poetry and fire. One of her epithets was "Brigid of the Holy Fire". In German and Scandinavian countries, the popularity of the name spread due to Saint Bridget of Sweden.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Grace (given name)</span> Name list

Grace is a female name from the Latin gratia. It is often given in reference to the Christian concept of divine grace and used as a virtue name. As one of the theological virtues, Grace was in regular use by English Puritans in the 16th through the 18th centuries. The name also has connotations of physical grace, beauty, and charm.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Emily (given name)</span> Name list

Emily is a feminine given name derived from the Roman family name "Aemilius", and is the feminine form of the name Emil.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Zoe (name)</span> Name list

Zoe, Zoey, Zoie, Zoi, Zoé or Zoë is a female first name of Greek origin, meaning "life". It is a popular name for girls in many countries, ranking among the top 100 names for girls born in the United States since 2000. It is also well used in other English-speaking countries including Australia, Canada, Ireland, New Zealand, and the United Kingdom, as well as in other countries including Argentina, Belgium, Czech Republic, France, Hungary, Italy, Mexico, Netherlands, Spain, and Switzerland. In 2022, Zoe was the 20th most popular name given to girls in Canada, while Zoey was 42nd.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Rose (given name)</span> Name list

Rose is a female given name. It is a late Latin name derived from rosa, meaning "rose". Variants are Rosa, Rosario, Rosie, Rosalba, Rosalie, Rosalia, Rosina, Rosaria, Rosalyn and Rosalina. Similar names are Rosanna and Rosamunde. It may be a short form of Rosemary, Roseanne and Rosemond.

Una is a feminine given name with various origins. As used by Edmund Spenser in The Faerie Queene, the name is derived from the Latin unus, meaning one. The Filipino word "una" meaning "first" is also derived from this Latin root. This is also the meaning implied for the given name of Star Trek character Una Chin-Riley, commonly called Number One.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Penelope (given name)</span> Name list

Penelope, often used in reference to Homer's character, is a female first name of Greek origin. It is of uncertain meaning but may be derived from the Greek word penelops, which means duck or refers to another water fowl sacred to the Ancient Greeks. The name might also be derived from the Greek pene meaning web and either ops meaning eye or lepo, meaning unraveled, implying the meaning weaver. The name was revived in the Anglosphere by the mid-16th Century and has since been in occasional use.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cassandra (name)</span> Name list

Cassandra, also spelled 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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">April (given name)</span> Name list

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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">The Secret Origin of Felicity Smoak</span> 5th episode of the 3rd season of Arrow

"The Secret Origin of Felicity Smoak" is the fifth episode of the third season, and fifty-first overall episode, of the American television series Arrow, originally broadcast on The CW. Based on the DC Comics character Green Arrow, the series follows the story of billionaire vigilante Oliver Queen, portrayed by Canadian actor Stephen Amell, who returns home after five years supposedly stranded on a Pacific island, featuring flashback sequences to his time away. The series is part of the Arrowverse franchise, alongside spin-off shows The Flash, Legends of Tomorrow, Supergirl, Batwoman and other associated media. This episode is notable as the first Arrow episode to feature flashback sequences centered entirely on a character other than Oliver Queen, focusing instead on the backstory of the character Felicity Smoak, played by Emily Bett Rickards. The episode was written by Ben Sokolowski and Brian Ford Sullivan and directed by Michael Schultz. It premiered in the United States on The CW on November 5, 2014.

References

  1. MFnames.com - Origin and Meaning of Felicity
  2. Behind the Name - Origin and History of the Name Felicity
  3. "Spotlight on: Felicity". 24 February 2017.
  4. "SAG Awards 2015: Williams H. Macy Explains Felicity Huffman as Flicka".
  5. "Felicia".
  6. "Name of the Week".
  7. Charbonneau, Karen (March 17, 2023). American Baby Girl Names: 1587-1920s. Post Falls, Idaho: A Ship's Cat Book. p. 368. ASIN   B0BYTTGH3L.
  8. "Table 17-10-0147-01 First names at birth by sex at birth, selected indicators (Number)". Statistics Canada. Retrieved 2024-08-25.
  9. "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2013-03-13. Retrieved 2013-04-06.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  10. Fowers, Alyssa; Van Dam, Andrew (13 December 2024). "Puritan baby names are back. Is '90s culture responsible?". Washington Post. Retrieved 14 December 2024.
  11. Popularity for Felicity
  12. "Felicia".
  13. Charbonneau, Karen (March 17, 2023). American Baby Girl Names: 1587-1920s. Post Falls, Idaho: A Ship's Cat Book. p. 368. ASIN   B0BYTTGH3L.
  14. "Meaning, origin and history of the name Felicia".
  15. "Felicia".