Fiona

Fiona
Pronunciation /fiˈoʊnə/ fee-OH-nə
Gender Feminine
Language(s) English
Origin
Language(s) Gaelic
Derivation fionn
Meaning "white", "fair"
Other names
Related names Fionnghal, Fíona

Fiona is a feminine given name. It was invented and first used by the Scottish poet James Macpherson (1736–96), author of the Ossian poems which he claimed were translations from ancient Gaelic sources (sources which, when challenged, he never produced). The name was subsequently used as a pseudonym by William Sharp (1855–1905), who authored several romantic works under the name "Fiona Macleod". The name has since become popular in England, Scotland and Ireland.[1]

The name is considered to be a Latinised form of the Gaelic word fionn, meaning "white", "fair".[1] The name Fiona is also sometimes used as an Anglicisation of the Irish-language name Fíona, although these names are otherwise unrelated (as Fíona is derived from an element meaning "vine").[2] There is also a modern tendency to equate the authentic Scottish Gaelic feminine name Fionnghal with Fiona.[3]

Fiona was the 49th most popular name for baby girls born in 2008 in Germany.[4] Fiona was tied for third place in the ranking of most popular names for baby girls born in Liechtenstein in 2008.[5] The name was the 347th most popular name for girls born in the United States in 2008, where it has ranked among the top 1,000 most popular names for girls since 1990 and among the top 500 since 1999.[6] The name Fiona has been particularly popular for girls of Asian or Pacific Islander descent in New York City, where Fiona ranked as the ninth most popular name for girls from those groups in 2007.[7]

Notable people with this name

Fictional characters

Other uses

See also

References

  1. 1 2 Hanks, Patrick; Hardcastle, Kate; Hodges, Flavia (2006), A dictionary of first names, Oxford Paperback Reference (2nd ed.), Oxford University Press, pp. 99–100, ISBN 978-0-19-861060-1 .
  2. ↑ Hanks, Patrick; Hardcastle, Kate; Hodges, Flavia (2006), A dictionary of first names, Oxford Paperback Reference (2nd ed.), Oxford University Press, pp. 348–349, ISBN 978-0-19-861060-1 .
  3. ↑ Mark, Colin (2003). The Gaelic-English Dictionary (pdf)|format= requires |url= (help). Routledge. ISBN 0-203-27706-6.
  4. ↑ "Die beliebtesten Vornamen des Jahres 2008". www.beliebte-vornamen.de.
  5. ↑ "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2013-11-05. Retrieved 2013-08-15.
  6. ↑ OACT. "Popular Baby Names". www.ssa.gov.
  7. ↑ "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2010-02-09. Retrieved 2009-09-21.
  8. ↑ Alder, Joshua; Hancock, Albany (1855). A Monograph of the British Nudibranchiate Mollusca: With Figures of All the Species. Ray Society. Part 7, Fam. 3, Pl. 38a.
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