Baby Name of the Day: Eunice

The baby name Eunice combines ancient roots with a powerful meaning.

Thanks to Abigail for suggesting our Baby Name of the Day.

WHAT DOES THE NAME EUNICE MEAN?

Eunice comes from the Greek name Eunike. 

Eu translates to good; Nike means victory. So Eunice, together, means “good victory.”

It’s one of many names of Greek origin with a similar starting sound. Think Eugene and Euphemia, as well as plenty of other antiques.

Greek mythology mentions the name a few times. Perhaps the best known is one of the many Nereids, sea nymphs who were the daughters of Nereus and Doris. 

Sometime during the first century, there’s a Queen Eunice in the kingdom of Bosporus. (We know her name because it survives, millennia later, on coins struck during her lifetime.)

In the New Testament, Eunice is the mother of Timothy. In one of his letters, Paul praises her sincere faith. 

Not surprisingly, Puritans embraced the baby name Eunice when they turned to the Bible for naming inspiration.

EUNICE IN THE NINETEENTH CENTURY

In the United States, reliable baby name data is first reported for the year 1880. (Accuracy increases over time.) 

But a number of notable women were named Eunice in the 1800s, suggesting that the name might’ve been quite fashionable.

• Eunice Caldwell Cowles became an educator, involved with the establishment of several schools, including Mount Holyoke College in Massachusetts. 
• Journalist and author Eunice Gibbs Allyn is best remembered for authoring The Cats’ Convention. 
• Born late in the 1800s, Eunice Murray was a suffrage activist who would become the first woman to stand for Parliament in Scotland.

In fact, Eunice routinely ranked in the Top 200 most popular names in the US, and peaked early in the 1900s.

FROM STYLE STAR TO GRANNY NAME TO OBSCURITY

Based on data, the baby name Eunice seems like it must’ve been a style star early in the twentieth century. 

It peaked around the year 1908, and remained in the US Top 200 through the 1930s. 

Notable uses of the given name Eunice track the name’s rise and fall.

• In Tennessee Williams’ 1947 play turned 1951 movie, A Streetcar Named Desire, Eunice Hubbell is the neighbor and landlady. She’s practical and loyal – you might call her the opposite of beautiful, dramatic, anxious Blanche DuBois.
• During the 1960s, Gilligan’s Island gave us the wealthy castaways, Thurston and Lovey Howell. Mrs. Howell’s real name? Eunice. 
• From 1977 to 1981, Eunice Tate is one of the daughters on ABC sitcom Soap. It’s a parody of daytime soap operas.
• In 1974, Carol Burnett created the character Eunice Harper Higgins. The character would go on into the early 1980s, appearing on the sitcom Mama’s Family. She’s an unhappy, long suffering character who makes others suffer along with her – but it is a comedy, so it’s mostly played for laughs. 
• While there are several twenty-first century uses, the most memorable might be American Horror Story’s Sister Mary Eunice McKee.

It’s also a place name.

The characters suggest the arc followed by the name: from mainstream choice with a hint of sophistication, to something decidedly out-of-favor. 

More on that in a minute.

EUNICE KENNEDY SHRIVER

The most famous bearer of the name in recent years, Eunice Kennedy was JFK’s younger sister. She married Sargent Shriver, a politician and US Ambassador to France. Her life’s work was supporting persons with intellectual disabilities. She founded the Special Olympics in 1968. 

Her tireless efforts on behalf of increasing human dignity were recognized multiple times, by US presidents, the pope, and countless organizations promoting athletics and human development. 

HOW POPULAR IS THE NAME EUNICE?

If Eunice was among stylish baby girl names at the beginning of the 20th century, the opposite was true by the 1990s.

After 1995, the baby name Eunice left the Top 1000 entirely. 

As of 2023, just 86 girls were named Eunice – the lowest count in well over a century. 

Variations like Eunis and Eunyce are found occasionally, but were never common enough to make the popularity charts. 

Today, the baby name Eunice is undeniably very rare as a first name. 

One exception: globally, Eunice continues to surface. In South Korea and Kenya, as well as other places world-wide, Eunice has remained in use. Maybe that’s down to the influence of Christianity, or perhaps it’s because the sound works well in other languages.

ANTIQUE GEM

Here’s the thing about Biblical baby names: they’re hard to forget.

That’s even more true when a name has been popular in the past, as was true with Eunice.

Factor in a powerful meaning, and this might be the perfect name for parents after a strong, surprising, antique choice that is immediately familiar and seldom shared.

If Frances and Clementine, Winifred and Priscilla can all trend, then why not Eunice? 

What do you think of the baby name Eunice?