Ottilie is a feminine given name. It is a French derivative [1] of the medieval German masculine name Otto and, like other related Germanic names beginning with the prefixes Ad-, Aut-, Od-, Ot-, Oth-, or Ud-, has the meaning "prosperous in battle", "riches", "prosperous" or "wealth". [2] The English place name Otley and surname Ottley are related names.
The name has been in use among Flemish and German families since the medieval era. Odilia of Cologne is a Roman Catholic saint who was a virgin companion of Saint Ursula, according to Catholic tradition. According to legend, Odile of Alsace, another Roman Catholic saint, was born blind but regained her sight when she was baptized. The saints, who are both also known as Ottilie or Ottilia, were revered in France, Germany, and Switzerland. Ottilie is a variant of Odile. Ottilia, Ottiliana, and Ottoline are variants of Ottilie. Ottilie was in occasional use in the United Kingdom by the 19th century, where it was in use mainly by families of Flemish and German descent who had settled in Yorkshire and Lancashire as well as in London. Ottilie and variant Ottoline came into rare, occasional use among upper class English families by the early 20th century. [3]
Ottilie continued to gradually increase in use among socially influential British families during the late 20th and early 21st centuries. Between 2010 and 2018, it was among the top 50 names most often given to newborn girls whose parents published a birth announcement in The Daily Telegraph and was the most popular name for girls for the first time in 2019. Ottilie has remained a popular name for girls in subsequent years among readers who published a birth announcement in the British newspaper. One study found that Ottilie was the second most popular name chosen by billionaires for their daughters. [4] [5] The name has also increased in overall popularity in England and Wales since 2010. It has ranked among the top 500 names for girls in those countries since 2015 and was the 83rd most popular name for girls there in 2022. [6]
Usage of the names Ottilie and Ottilia in the United States was greatest in the 1800s among Austrian, Bohemian, German, Polish, and Swiss immigrants. [7] Many variants and elaborations of the name were also in use. [8] It is now an unfamiliar name to many Americans, but is also increasing in usage in the United States. Usage of the name for American girls nearly doubled from 2022, when 34 American girls were named Ottilie, to 2023, when 67 American girls were given the name. [9] [10] [11] Usage of the name might have increased in the United States after an American influencer used the variant name Ottlie for her daughter in 2023. [12]
Bonnie is a Scottish given name and is sometimes used as a descriptive reference, as in the Scottish folk song, My Bonnie Lies over the Ocean or Bonnie Dundee about John Graham, 7th Laird of Claverhouse. It comes from the Scots language word "bonnie", or the French bonne (good). That is in turn derived from the Latin word "bonus" (good). The name can also be used as a pet form of Bonita.
Hilda is one of several feminine given names derived from the name Hild, formed from Old Norse hildr, meaning 'battle'. Hild, a Nordic-German Bellona, was a Valkyrie who conveyed fallen warriors to Valhalla. Warfare was often called Hild's Game. Hilda of Whitby was an early Christian saint.
Ingrid is a feminine given name. It continues the Old Norse name Ingiríðr, which was a short form of Ingfríðr, composed of the theonym Ing and the element fríðr "beloved; beautiful" common in Germanic feminine given names. The name Ingrid remains widely given in all of Scandinavia, with the highest frequency in Norway. Norwegian usage peaked in the interbellum period, with more than 2% of newborn girls so named in 1920; popularity declined gradually over the 1930s to 1960s, but picked up again in the late 1970s, peaking above 1.5% in the 1990s. Ingrid was also among the most popular names for girls in Germany from the 1920s to the 1950s.
Michaela is a female given name. It is a female form of the Hebrew name Michael (מִיכָאֵל), which means "Who is like God".
Aurora is a feminine given name, originating from the name of the ancient Roman goddess of dawn Aurora. Her tears were said to turn into the morning dew. Each morning she traveled in her chariot across the sky from east to west, proclaiming renewal with the rising of the sun. The Romans also associated the Northern Lights, or the Aurora borealis, with the goddess. Aurora is also traditionally the name of the princess in the fairy tale Sleeping Beauty and the many works of art it has inspired. The tale of a cursed princess who slept for one hundred years and was awakened by the kiss of a prince might be considered a modern retelling of the ancient story of Aurora the dawn goddess, whose myths also include stories of a long sleep and an awakening at dawn.
Michelle is a given name, originally a variant of Michèle, the French feminine form of Michel, derived from the Hebrew name Michael meaning "Who is like God?". The usual Latin feminine form of the name was Michaela, with Michael the vernacular form for both men and women. The name was given in reference to the archangel Michael, a saint of the Roman Catholic Church. The usual French feminine form of the name was Micheline. The name Michelle was rare until the 20th century. It became a popular name in France and later throughout the Anglosphere after 1930, popularized by French-born film actress Michèle Morgan, who was born Simone Roussel. The name was further popularized by the 1965 hit Beatles song "Michelle". The name peaked in usage for American girls in 1968, when it was among the five most popular names for newborn girls. The name has since declined in popularity but remains in regular use in English-speaking as well as French-speaking countries.
Agnes is a feminine given name derived from the Greek Ἁγνή Hagnḗ, meaning 'pure' or 'holy'. The name passed to Italian as Agnese, to French as Agnès, to Portuguese as Inês, and to Spanish as Inés. It is also written as "Agness". The Greek name descends from the Proto-Indo-European *h₁yaǵ-, meaning 'to sacrifice; to worship', from which also the Vedic term yajña originates. The name is mostly used in Greece and in countries that speak Germanic languages.
Patricia is a feminine given name of Latin origin. Derived from the Latin word patrician, meaning 'noble', it is the feminine form of the masculine given name Patrick. Another well-known variant is Patrice.
Lia is a feminine given name. In the Spanish-speaking world, it is accented Lía. In English-speaking countries, the name may be a variant of Leah or Lea. Lia may be a diminutive of various names including Julia, Cecilia, Amelia, Talia, Cornelia, Ophelia, Rosalia / Roselia, Natalia, Aurelia, Adalia / Adelia, Ailia, Apulia, Alia / Aleah. In Hebrew, the name means to me, God and is also the Israeli version of the English pronunciation of Leah or Lea. It can also be a surname.
Tristan, Tristram or Tristen is a given name derived from Welsh drust, influenced by the French word triste and Welsh/Cornish/Breton trist, both of which mean "bold" or "sad", "sorrowful".
Jacqueline is a given name, the French feminine form of Jacques, also commonly used in the English-speaking world. Older forms and variant spellings were sometimes given to men.
Barbara is a given name used in numerous languages. It is the feminine form of the Greek word barbaros meaning "stranger" or "foreign". In Roman Catholic and Eastern Orthodox tradition, Saint Barbara was imprisoned in a tower by her father. She was then martyred by her father when she refused to renounce Christianity. According to legend, her father was then punished with death by lightning. As such, Saint Barbara is a protectress against fire and lightning. Early Christians occasionally referred to themselves as "barbarians" in opposition to the pagan Romans and Greeks. The story of Saint Barbara is said to have been an inspiration for the fairy tale Rapunzel and other European stories that feature a maiden in a tower.
Destiny is a primarily feminine given name meaning "destiny", "fate", which is ultimately derived from the Late Latin word destinata. Commonly used spelling variants include Destinee, Destiney, and Destinie.
Judith is a feminine given name derived from the Hebrew name Yəhūdīt (יְהוּדִית), meaning "praised" and also more literally "Woman of Judea". It is the feminine form of Judah. Judith appeared in the Hebrew Bible as one of Esau's wives, while the deuterocanonical Book of Judith tells of a different Judith. It is in common usage in English, French, German, many Scandinavian languages, Dutch, and Hebrew. In Ethiopia and Eritrea it is called Yodit.
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, Chara, Karlotta, Carlota, and Carlotta.
Goethe is a German surname. It is best known for Johann Wolfgang von Goethe (1749–1832). It belongs to the group of surnames derived from given names, in this case given names in Got-, in most cases likely Gottfried. Variants of the surname include Göth, Goeth and Göthke, Götke.
Regina is a Late Latin feminine name meaning "queen" from the Latin, Italian and Romanian word meaning the same. Regina was the name of an early Christian saint.
Cornelia is a feminine given name. It is a feminine form of the name Cornelius or Cornelis. Nel, Nele, Nelly, Corey, Cornie, Lia, or Nelia can be used as a shortened version of Cornelia. Conny, Connie, Nele, or Neele are popular German short forms used in their own right. Lia and Cokkie are diminutive versions of the Dutch name.
Goth, Göth or Góth is a surname of German and Hungarian origin.
Nova is a given name of Latin origin meaning "new".
