 | |
| Gender | Female |
|---|---|
| Language(s) | Greek |
| Origin | |
| Meaning | foliage |
| Other names | |
| Related names | Filiz, Philis, Phillida, Phillis, Phyliss, Phyllicia, Phyllida |
Phyllis or Phillis is a feminine given name of Greek origin meaning foliage . Phyllis is a minor figure in Greek mythology who killed herself in despair when Demophon of Athens did not return to her and who was transformed into an almond tree by the gods. Phillida, Phyllicia, and Phyllida are all variants of the name. [1]
The name has been in use since the 1600s when, often spelled Phillis, it was used by English poets John Wilmot, Earl of Rochester and Matthew Prior. African-born American poet Phillis Wheatley (1753–1784), who was captured and enslaved in the United States and was later freed, was named Phillis by her enslavers after the slave ship on which she arrived. Phillis was a popular name for women among the population of enslaved women in the United States. In the spelling Phyllis, the name was popularized in the late 1800s after it was used by bestselling popular Irish novelist Margaret Wolfe Hungerford for the heroine of her 1877 romantic novel Phyllis, the Duchess . The name Phyllis was among the top 1,000 names for newborn girls in the United States in 1880 and increased in use in the late 19th century and early 20th century. The popularity of American actress Phyllis Haver (1899–1960), also raised the profile of the name. Phyllis was among the top 100 names for American girls by 1915 and peaked in popularity in 1929 as the 24th most popular name for American girls. It remained among the top 1,000 names for American girls until 1950 and then declined in use. [2]
The name was also at its most popular in the Anglosphere, in countries such as Australia, Canada, New Zealand, and the United Kingdom, in the first part of the 20th century. [3]
Maeve, Maev or Maiv is a female given name of Irish origin. It comes from the Irish name Méabh, which was spelt Meadhbh in Early Modern Irish, Meḋḃ or Meaḋḃ in Middle Irish, and Medb in Old Irish. It may derive from a word meaning "she who intoxicates", "mead-woman", or alternatively "she who rules". Medb is a queen in Irish mythology who is thought to have originally been a sovereignty goddess.
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.
Tabitha is an English feminine given name, originating with Tabitha, mentioned in the New Testament Acts 9:36.
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. 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.
Phyllis is a character in Greek mythology, daughter of a Thracian king. She marries Demophon, King of Athens and son of Theseus, while he stops in Thrace on his journey home from the Trojan War.
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 awakenened 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.
Holly is an English-language surname and given name.
Jennifer, also spelled Jenifer or Jenefer, is a feminine given name, the Cornish form of Guinevere, that became popular in the English-speaking world in the 20th century.
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.
Scarlett is a feminine given name. The color scarlet symbolizes courage, passion, force, joy and heat. The cardinals of the Roman Catholic Church wear scarlet as a color of the blood of Christ and the Christian martyrs. It gained popularity due to the character Scarlett O'Hara in Margaret Mitchell's best-selling novel Gone with the Wind and the film adaptation. The name has been well used in recent years for girls in the United Kingdom and in the United States.
Iris is a feminine name.
India is a feminine given name derived from the name of the country India, which itself takes its name from the Indus River. The name was used for India Wilkes, a character in the novel and film Gone with the Wind. Its use for girls in England began during the British rule in India during the 19th century. It has been used for daughters of aristocratic families in England that had ties to Colonial India, such as India Hicks. It has had an exotic image in the Anglosphere and also is similar in sound to other fashionable names such as Olivia and Sophia. In more recent years, some critics have viewed use of the name for non-Indian girls as problematic because they say it evokes the British Raj and colonialism. Although India is a feminine given name in the world, it is not a popular given name in India.
Shirley is a given name and a surname originating from the English place-name Shirley, which is derived from the Old English elements scire ("shire") or scīr and lēah. The name makes reference to the open space where the moot was held. The surname Shirley became established as a female given name in 1849 due to its use in Charlotte Brontë's novel Shirley, in which the character explains that her parents had intended the family surname for a son. It was further popularized in 1851–52 by its pseudonymous use by California Gold Rush writer Louise Amelia Knapp Smith Clappe. It was eventually brought to its highest popularity, in the 1930s, by the fame of child star Shirley Temple.
Ada is a feminine given name. One origin is the Germanic element "adel-" meaning "nobility", for example as part of the names Adelaide and Adeline. The name can also trace to a Hebrew origin, sometimes spelled Adah עָדָה, meaning "adornment". Ada means "first daughter" among the Igbo People. Its equivalent for "first son" in the same clan is Tahitii and Okpara across all Igbo ethnic group in Nigeria. The Igbo people are one of the largest ethnic groups in Africa. Ada means "island" in Turkish, and it was the 35th most popular girls' name in Turkey in 2016. Finally, the name occurs in Greek mythology and was in use in Ancient Greece.
Brandy is a given name sometimes given in reference to the alcoholic beverage or used as a feminine form of Brandon. It is also an English surname likely derived from the Germanic word element brand, meaning sword. Related surnames with the same meaning are the Italian Brandi and Brando. Usage of the name as a first name for boys has likely been a transferred use of the surname. Census records show that Brandy was in use as a masculine name in the United States, primarily for Black men, in the mid 19th century. Brandy was occasionally used as a hypocorism for women and girls for various names such as Brandina, Brenda, or Maranda, but was not widely used as a formal name for girls until the 1940s. Usage for girls might have been inspired by usage of the name Sherry, also the name of an alcoholic beverage, for girls in the 1940s. Further usage was inspired by use of the name for film characters: the attractive con woman character Brandy Kirby played by Lizabeth Scott in the 1951 film Two of a Kind, the saloon girl Brandy played by Mari Blanchard in the 1954 western Destry, and Brandy de la Court, played by Michele Girardon in the 1962 film Hatari! Spelling variant Brandi first appeared among the 1,000 most popular names for American girls in 1966. Brandy also appeared among the top 1,000 names in 1967. The name came into greater use in the Anglosphere following the release of the hit 1972 song Brandy by Looking Glass. The name peaked in usage in 1978 in the United States when it was the 37th most popular name for American girls. It has since declined in usage. Spelling variants include Brandee, Brandi, Brandie, and Brandye.
Jamila (Arabic: جميلة) is a feminine given name of Arabic origin. It is the feminine form of the masculine Arabic given name Jamil, which comes from the Arabic word jamāl, meaning beautiful. The name is popular on a global scale, in regular use by both Arabic speaking and non–Arabic speaking populations and holds religious significance for some Muslims. Due to differences in transcription, there are several variations on how to spell the name.
Goldie is a nickname or given name used in reference to an informal English diminutive word for gold or an English version of the Yiddish name Golda or Golde, also meaning gold. It was often used as a pet name for a girl with blonde hair. It is also used as a nickname for formal names such as Marigold. It has a “vintage vibe” for some parents who have considered it. 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. The English expression good as gold is often used to describe people who act virtuously and, in the case of children, are well-behaved.
Reina, which is also spelled Raina, Rayna, or Reyna in English, is a feminine given name with multiple, unrelated origins from a number of different languages and cultures. All of these unrelated names are pronounced and written similarly in English.
Sally is an English language feminine given name that originated as a hypocorism for Sarah. Young children often have difficulty in pronouncing the letter r, which resulted in nicknames like Sally that substitute the letter r for l. Other examples include Dolly for Dorothy, Hallie for Harriet, Lolly for Laura, and Molly or Polly for Mary. Sally and spelling variant Sallie have also been in use as independent names since the 1700s. The name was popularized by cultural influences in the early 20th century, including the popular Broadway musical Sally, which debuted in 1920. Actress Marilyn Miller played Sally on stage and a 1929 film. An earlier film featured Colleen Moore in the role of Sally. The popularity of performer Sally Rand also increased usage of Sally in the Anglosphere in the 1920s and 1930s. In the United States, the name was among the top 100 names for American girls until 1956. It reached the peak of its popularity in 1939, when it was the 52nd most popular names for American girls. It then declined in use, but had a brief increase in use in the late 1970s due to the influence of the American actress Sally Field. It is also a nickname for Salome and Salimeh, which are especially popular in the Eurasian country Georgia.
Deirdre is a feminine given name of Celtic origin and of unknown meaning. Deirdre is the name of a tragic heroine of Irish mythology. More attention was drawn to the name during the early 20th Century in Ireland and throughout the Anglosphere after W. B. Yeats published his poem Deirdre in 1907 and playwright J.M. Synge published his play Deirdre of the Sorrows in 1910. There are a number of spelling variants and pronunciations of the name in use.