Name of the Day: Felicity
Since we covered Felix a few weeks back, it seems only natural that we turn to the feminine form for today’s Name of the Day: Felicity.
Thanks to Katharine for suggesting this virtuous moniker.
When fictional Felicity Porter ditched Stanford to move clear across the county to the University of New York, a fresh naming possibility appeared on the small screen. The year was 1998, and with plenty of newborn girls called Grace (over 5000), Faith (about 3200), Hope (nearly 2000) and a few hundred kindred spirits christened Charity, Harmony and Constance, it’s little wonder that this appealing virtue name quickly charted. It helped that Felicity star Keri Russell was thoroughly appealing, and the character she played seemed like an admirable source of inspiration - it’s not quite like calling your little girl Tila Tequila.
In 1998, there were 260 newborn Felicitys. One year later, the number jumped to 715. Today, Felicity ranks the 707th most popular choice for girls in the US. That’s about 400 newborns - not strikingly unusual, but infrequently heard. Comparably popular names include India, Journey and Rosemary.
Like the masculine version of the moniker, this choice has ancient roots with the Latin word felicitas, which means lucky or happy. A minor Roman goddess was known as Felicitas, a symbol of Imperial Rome’s success.
The most famous Felicity in early days knew not luck but suffering. This second century Christian slave was put to death with her master Perpetua. Both women left behind infants, earned sainthood for their martyrdom and inspired a prayer for mothers and children separated by war. Their story was tremendously popular in the early church, and even today lends the name a certain steadfast and serious tone. While the name’s meaning might be optimistic, it’s not as lightweight as calling your daughter Sunny or Smiley.
Odds are that Felicity hibernated for many centuries and was revived by the intrepid Puritans and their affection for virtue names. This is sharply different from Felix, which has enjoyed steady use. Possibly this is due to several competing feminizations of Felix, including Felice (found in England in the 1400s and later in Italy) and Felicia, which appeared in the US Top 1000 most years until 2005.
While there were certainly always a handful of women - and perhaps a few men - called Felicity, it took TV to put this name top of mind for modern parents. Today, it stays in the spotlight thanks in part to actresses Felicity Huffman and Felicity Kendal.
Should you choose this moniker for your daughter, you’ll be able to indulge her with the American Girl doll by the same name. Felicity’s books appeared in 1991 and her story become a movie on the WB in 2005.
Felicity is that most elusive of names - one that feels instantly familiar, but is not burdened by her history. It’s also widely recognized, has overwhelmingly positive associations and is nicely feminine. She could be Annabel’s little sister, or a perfectly reasonable virtue choice for your own daughter.
Filed under: Names for Girls, Names of the Day, Saints |
Tags: Felicity
Felicity’s a pretty choice. A bit too fussy for me, I’m more a Felix fan, he feels a bit more rough & tumble to me, but I can easily see Felicity’s charms. Warm & friendly, less blunt that Grace or Hope, less stern than Constance and not as lightweight as Sunny or Harmony. Felicity’s pretty, light, airy and will still grow up well. I can easily see Felicity on a baby, toddler, teen, young Adult, middle aged woman and old lady. Would make a lovely and slightly unexpected choice. And why does my brain keep saying Felicity & Penelope would make fabulous sisters?
Felicity -love it. It’s just a nice name, you know? I can’t imagine someone named Felicity being unpleasant. Of course if they were, it’d be really ironic (well, if they were sad it would be). Anyway, I like it for the same reasons you and Lola have outlined.
Felicity and Penelope would make pretty excellent sisters. They both have a lighthearted happy-go-luckiness about them but still work on grown women. The only problem I have is the same syllableness (remember Josephine and Beatrix?) but it’s a small quibble.
Oooh … Lola, I love Penelope and Felicity together. It almost makes me wish I were having twin daughters.
Though, Catherine, I always think of your point about same-syllableness whenever I hear sibsets like that in the real world.
I guess the possibility that Felicity would be a grouch is one real hesitation - I have a younger sister who is simply not a ray of sunshine, and I suppose she’d have hated to be Felicity. (Then again, given how much she hates her too-short-ends-in-i given name, it might still be a step up. I’ll have to ask.)
I agree with everyone here! Felicity is such a happy and bubbly name. It sounds fun and sunshiney. And Penelope and Felicity would definitely make great sisters
I think the only drawback to Felicity is that it’s not very versatile. As mentioned above, if you are a more serious, dour sort of girl, there’s not ready nickname you could use.
The American Girl connection has also kind of juvenilized (is that a word? Guess it is now!) the name for me. It seems like it would work a lot better on a kid or a teenager than an adult. Judge Felicity Smith seems a bit far-fetched to me.
But, it’s pretty and has a solid history behind it, so I don’t hate it or anything. Just not for me, I guess.
Oh, and AM, I have two name of the day request. I’ve been considering Lorelei or Nina for a potential, yet-to-be-conceived daughter. I’d love to hear you weigh in on them.
If we’re doing NotD requests, let me add Whitney to the list, please. I don’t know if it’s your speed, but I’m recently interested in this one. For my own “potential, yet-to-be-conceived daughter”. It’s a little 1980s spoiled rich girl, but that might be why I like it.
Reaching for the calendar …
July 30 will be Lorelei; we’ll unpack Nina on August 1; and Whitney is August 3.
Many thanks for the inspiration - I’m particularly intrigued by Nina, as I always think of it as a diminutive. Hmmm …
I think you’ve hit the nail on the head perfectly when you describe Felicity as ‘that most elusive of names - one that feels instantly familiar, but is not burdened by her history’. Although, I couldn’t put my finger on it, that is exactly what I love about the name and why I suggested it. The only issue I have with Felicity has also been mentioned above and is her overtly happy-feminine, even flighty sound. My other minor quibble is a lack of nickname (Flossie and Flick sound too much like pets names for my liking). Any idea on that front? These issues aside, Felicty remains one of my favourite girls names…
My apologies, Katharine - as I read your comment, I realized that I didn’t acknowledge your suggestion. I’m editing now to remedy my oversight.
Nicknames *are* an issue for Felicity. There’s Liss, Lissa, Licia, even Fliss … but those are in the same style as Flossie and Flick, aren’t they? Fee, like we hear for Fiona or really any starts-with-F name, is an option, but awfully brief. The one I rather like is Flicka. But since Flicka was the HORSE, that doesn’t really work, either.
While I’m sure a nickname would emerge, I do always like to think that out in advance - so it is a strike against Felicity, if a small one.