 | |
| 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]
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.
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.
Kaylee is a given name, most often for females. The name is a modern English combination of the name elements Kay and Lee.
Amelia is a feminine given name. Its English form was likely influenced by the names Amalia, derived from the Germanic root amal, with meanings "vigorous, active, work", and Emilia, derived from the name of the Roman Aemilia gens. The name of the gens is likely derived from the Latin word aemulus, meaning rival. The name Amelia has been associated with both names, as well as with the name Emily, also derived from Emilia.
Fiona is a feminine given name of Gaelic origins. It means white or fair, the Irish name Fíona means vine.
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 1967 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.
Violet is a female given name which comes from the eponymous flower. As with other such names, its popularity has varied dramatically over time. Flower names were commonly used from about 1880 through about 1910 in the United States, with usage dropping throughout the next 80 years or so; Violet was the 88th most frequent girls' given name in 1900, dropping below position 1000 by 1960. In 1990, the name appeared again in the top 1000 at position 289 and subsequently increased in popularity. It was the 20th most used name for newborn American girls in 2022. It rose rapidly in popularity for American girls born that year, one of several fashionable names that contain a letter v.
Florence is usually a feminine given name. It is derived from the French version of (Saint) Florentia, a Roman martyr under Diocletian. The Latin florens, florentius means "blossoming", verb floreo, meaning "I blossom / I flower / I flourish". Florence was in the past also used as a translation of the Latin version Florentius, and may be used in this context as a masculine 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.
Miranda is a feminine given name of Latin origin, meaning "worthy of admiration". William Shakespeare invented the name for a character in his play The Tempest, deriving the feminine name from the Latin word mirandus. In the play, the character is addressed as “Admired Miranda! Indeed the top of admiration! Worth what’s dearest to the world!” People named their daughters after the Shakespearean character beginning in the 1700s. The name was more popular in the United States than elsewhere in the Anglosphere, possibly due to its similarity in sound to Amanda, a name also more common for American girls by the 1800s. The name declined in use after 1900 but was revived in the United Kingdom due to the popularity of the 1948 British fantasy film Miranda about a mermaid named Miranda. The name also increased in usage in the United States when the film began airing on television there in the 1950s. Other media influences also increased usage of the name through the early 2000s. The name has recently declined in usage in the United States due to negative associations with the satirical character Miranda Sings.
Lily is a feminine given name usually derived from lily, the flower. The name became particularly popular along with other flower names for girls during the 1800s and early 1900s. The lily also has associations with and has been symbolic of innocence and purity in Christian art. Names beginning with or containing the letter L have also been particularly fashionable for girls. It is also occasionally used as a diminutive for other names such as Elizabeth.
Hazel is a primarily female given name meaning "hazel", from the name of the tree or the color. It is derived from the Old English hæsel. It became a popular name in English-speaking countries during the 19th century, along with other names of plants or trees used for girls.
Iris is a feminine name.
Tammy is a feminine given name. It can be a short form of the names Tamsin, Thomasina, Thomasin, or Tamar, Tamara or other names starting with Tam. Tamsin, Thomasina, and Thomasin are feminine versions of the name Thomas, a Greek form of the Aramaic name Te'oma, meaning twin. Tamara is a Russian form of the Hebrew name Tamar, which means "palm tree". In Israel "Tami" (תמי) is commonly used as an abbreviation of the original Hebrew name.
Dakota is a unisex given name derived from the name of the Native American Dakota people, or from the name of two states in the United States, North Dakota and South Dakota, which are also derived from the Dakota people indigenous to that area. The name is translated to mean "friend", "friendly" or "allies" in the Yankton-Yanktonai and Santee dialects of the Dakota language.
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.
Ivy is a given name or surname taken from the name of the plant. It became popular as a given name in the late 1800s along with other plant and flower names for girls. As a given name for girls, Ivy first entered the Top 200 in England and Wales in 1880, when it ranked #180, and reached the height of popularity when it was the 16th most popular name in England and Wales in 1904. It has again risen in popularity and, as of 2020, Ivy was the sixth most popular girls' name in England and Wales. It has also risen in popularity in other English speaking countries. It has ranked among the top 50 names for newborn American girls since 2021 and was the 42nd most used name for girls there in 2022. Other botanical names are also currently fashionable, as are other names that contain the letter v.
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.
Daphne is a feminine given name of Greek origin meaning laurel. It originates from Greek mythology, where Daphne was a naiad, a variety of female nymph associated with fountains, wells, springs, streams, brooks and other bodies of freshwater. The name came into popular use in the Anglosphere in the late 1800s along with other flower, tree, and plant names that were in vogue at the time. In the United States, the name was in use for enslaved African-born women named by enslavers who used names from the Ancient Greek and Roman classics for the enslaved population in order to display their education to their contemporaries. United States census records from the 1800s show a majority of the women bearing the name in the pre-Civil War era there were Black. The name was also in rare use in the United Kingdom in the late 18th and early 19th centuries, where a working class mother and daughter in Scotland were both named Daphne. The name became fashionable for daughters born to aristocratic families in Britain in the late 1800s and early 1900s. The name increased in use in the Anglosphere after author Daphne du Maurier rose to prominence in the 1940s and 1950s. Usage also increased after the name was used for characters in novels or television productions such as the popular 1960s American television series Surfside 6 in which Diane McBain played socialite Daphne Dutton, who had her own yacht called the Daffy II. After the show first aired, the name Daphne tripled in use for newborn American girls between 1960 and 1962. In recent years, the name has increased in usage due to the aristocratic character Daphne Bridgerton on the 2020s Netflix streaming television series Bridgerton.