Goldie is a nickname or given name used in reference to an informal Englishdiminutive word for gold or an English version of the Yiddish name Golda or Golde, also meaning gold.[2] It was often used as a pet name for a girl with blonde hair.[3] It is also used as a nickname for formal names such as Marigold.[4] It has a “vintagevibe” for some parents who have considered it.[5] Other commentators note that the name has risen in use for girls along with other names of a similar style that all exude cuteness and promote enjoyment, perhaps in reaction to serious times.[6] The English expression good as gold is often used to describe people who act virtuously and, in the case of children, are well-behaved.[7]
Names given in reference to gold such as Golda and Golde were popular for Yiddish-speakingJews in Eastern Europe and also began to be used more widely in the United States after immigrants from that cultural group arrived there in large numbers between 1880 and 1925. Americans named Golda or Golde often were called Goldie. The name Goldie has also been widely used in the Anglosphere for other cultural groups, often inspired by literary, film, television, or popular culture references such as Sweet Girl Goldie: A Wonder Story of Butterfly Time, an 1884 butterfly-shaped children's book by American author and illustrator Lizbeth Bullock Humphrey about a little girl named Goldie who frees her uncle's butterfly collection; Little Goldie, or the Child of the Camp, an 1893 play by Charles O. Willard about a girl who turns out to be a mining heiress; Goldie’s Inheritance: A Story of the Siege of Atlanta, a 1903 historical novel by Louisa M. Whitney, based on the true story of her sister who helped Union soldiers escape from a Confederate prison during the American Civil War; and Goldie Green, a 1922 American film about Goldie, a 19-year-old theater manager who supports her parents and siblings and chooses to marry the penniless man she loves instead of a wealthy attorney. Goldie Griffith (1893-1976) was an American bronco rider in Buffalo Bill's Wild West Show whose 1913 marriage in the middle of a performance at Madison Square Garden received media coverage. Later influences included American country singer Goldie Hill (1933-2005), who had a 1953 hit song called I Let the Stars Get in My Eyes, and American actress Goldie Hawn (born 1945), whose popularity in the 1970s and 1980s also increased interest in the name.[8]
Usage
The name was among the one thousand most used names for girls in the United States between 1880 and 1940, then declined in use. It has recently increased in usage again and has been among the one thousand most used names for newborn American girls since 2021. It was also among the top 1,000 names for American boys at different points between 1891 and 1908.[9][10] It was also among the top 1,000 names for newborn girls in Canada, where it ranked in 871st position on the popularity chart in 2021 with 31 uses.[11] The name appeared among the top 1,000 names for newborn girls in England and Wales for the first time in 2021, debuting in 860th position.[12]
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