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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.
Anne, alternatively spelled Ann, is a form of the Latin female name Anna. This in turn is a representation of the Hebrew Hannah, which means 'favour' or 'grace'. Related names include Annie.
Maggie or Maggy is a common short form of the name Magdalena, Magnolia, Margaret, Marigold.
Fisher is an English occupational name for one who obtained a living by fishing.
Sarah is a common feminine given name of Hebrew origin. It derives its popularity from the biblical matriarch Sarah, the wife of Abraham and a major figure in the Abrahamic religions. It is a consistently popular given name across Europe, North America, and the Middle East — being commonly used as a female first name by Jews, Muslims, and Christians alike, and remaining popular also among non-religious members of cultures influenced by these religions.
Megan is a Welsh feminine given name, originally a diminutive form of Margaret. Margaret is from the Greek μαργαρίτης (margarítēs), Latin margarīta, "pearl". Megan is one of the most popular Welsh-language names for women in Wales and England, and is commonly truncated to Meg.
Marjorie is a female given name derived from Margaret, which means pearl. It can also be spelled as Margery, Marjory or Margaery. Marjorie is a medieval variant of Margery, influenced by the name of the herb marjoram. It came into English from the Old French, from the Latin Margarita (pearl). After the Middle Ages this name was rare, but it was revived at the end of the 19th century.
Hannah, also spelled Hanna, Hana, Hanah, or Chana, is a feminine given name of Hebrew origin. It is derived from the root ḥ-n-n, meaning "favour" or "grace". A Dictionary of First Names attributes the name to a word meaning 'He (God) has favoured me with a child'. Anne, Ana, Ann, and other variants of the name derive from the Hellenized Hebrew: Anna (Ἅννα)
Rachel, meaning "ewe", is a feminine given name of Hebrew origin, popularized by the biblical figure Rachel, the wife of Israelite patriarch Jacob.
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.
Anna is a feminine given name, the Latin form of the Greek: Ἄννα and the Hebrew name Hannah, meaning "favour" or "grace".
Emily is a feminine given name derived from the Roman family name "Aemilius", and is the feminine form of the name Emil.
Elizabeth is a feminine given name, a variation of the Hebrew name Elisheva (אֱלִישֶׁבַע), meaning "My God is an oath" or "My God is abundance", as rendered in the Septuagint.
Mary is a feminine given name, the English form of the name Maria, which was in turn a Latin form of the Greek name Μαρία, María or Μαριάμ, Mariam, found in the Septuagint and New Testament. The latter reflects the original Hebrew pronunciation of the name מרים, as attested by the Septuagint. The vowel "a" in a closed unaccented syllable later became "i", as seen in other names such as "Bil'am" (Balaam) and "Shimshon" (Samson).
Daisy is a feminine given name. The flower name comes from the Old English word dægeseage, meaning "day's eye". The name Daisy is therefore ultimately derived from this source. Daisy is also a nickname for Margaret because Marguerite, the French version of the latter name, is also a French name for the oxeye daisy.
Charlotte is a feminine given name, a female form of the male name Charles. It is of French or Italian origin, meaning "free man" or "petite". It dates back to at least the 14th century. Other variants of the name and related names include Charlie, Lottie, Lotte, Karlotta, Carlota, and Carlotta.
Janet is a feminine given name meaning "God is gracious" or "gift from God". It is the feminine form of John. It is a variation of the French proper noun Jeannette, Spanish proper noun Juanita, Russian Жанет (Zhanet), Circassian Джэнэт (Dzhenet), and Hungarian Zsanett. It is also the diminutive of Jeanne or Jane.
Janice is a modern feminine given name, an extended version of Jane, an English feminine form of John which is itself derived from the Hebrew Yohanan, meaning or Yehohanan. The name Janice was first used by American author Paul Leicester Ford for the heroine of the 1899 novel Janice Meredith. Janice Meredith was a 1924 silent film based on the novel by Ford and the 1900 stage play A Colonial Girl. Janis is a spelling variant.
Caroline is a feminine given name, derived from the male Charles. Common nicknames and variations include Callie, Carol, Carole, Carolina, Carolyn, Carly, Carrie, and Caz.
Tracy, as a British personal name, was originally adopted from Norman surnames such as those of the family de Tracy or de Trasci from Tracy-Bocage in Normandy, France. Derived from the Gaulish male name Draccios, or Latin Thracius, and the well-identified Celtic suffix -āko, such Norman surnames themselves sprung from several Tracy place-names in France.
References
- ↑ Hanks, Hardcastle and Hodges, Oxford Dictionary of First Names, Oxford University Press, 2nd edition, ISBN 978-0-19-861060-1, p.113.
