Daphne Meaning, Origin, History, And Popularity

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Origin, Meaning, And History Of Daphne

Daphne is of Greek origin, and it means ‘laurel.’ In Greek mythology, Daphne is a minor figure and a Naiad, a type of female nymph kindred to fountains, streams, rivers, and other water bodies. According to Greco-Roman mythology, Daphne invoked her father, a river God to transform her into a laurel tree to foil the unwanted advancements made by Apollo.

As a special reverence, the winners of the Pythian Games were honored with laurel wreaths gathered from Thessaly. In later centuries leading up to today, laurel wreaths represented victorious celebrated personalities like military generals, poets, athletes, and musicians. Therefore, laurel has also come to mean ‘victory’ or ‘achievement.’

Besides the myth, Daphne is a genus of evergreen shrubs with poisonous berries and scented flowers. The name became popular during the 1800s, along with many of these plants.

Some variants of the name in other languages include Defne (Turkish), Dafna (Hebrew), Dafne (Spanish/Italian), Dafina (Albanian/Bulgarian/Macedonian), and Daphné, Daphnée (French).

In fiction, Daphne Blake is one of the main characters from the Scooby-Doo series. She is a wealthy woman known for her beauty and fashion taste. However, owing to her proclivity towards danger, she is known as ‘danger-prone Daphne.’ Daphne Clarke is the character from the TV series ‘Neighbors’ that Elaine Smith played. She is a sassy, confident, and financially independent woman that stood out among the female characters on TV during the 1980s.

Daphne Millbrook is a fictional character from the superhero TV series ‘Heroes.’ Played by Brea Grant, she possesses superhuman speed. Daphne Greengrass is a fictional character from the Harry Potter series by J.K. Rowling. She is a member of the Greengrass family, an old wizarding family, and the sister-in-law of Draco Malfoy. Finally, Daphne Basset is the fourth Bridgerton child in the TV series ‘Bridgerton,’ where Phoebe Dynevor portrays the role.

Daphne

Meaning One from Bay tree

Gender Girl

Religion Christianity,Greek

Origin Greek

Names starting with D.. Da.. Dae.. Dav.. Day.. Dee.. Dei.. Dep.. Dev..

How To Pronounce Daphne?

English

Famous People With The Name Daphne

Joane Daphne Mary PearsonOfficer in women’s wing of UK’s Royal Air Force and recipient of the George Cross
Daphne Frances JacksonEnglish nuclear physicist and first female physics professor in the UK
Daphne Zuniga
Daphne ArdenBritish athlete and winner of the bronze medal at the 1964 Tokyo Olympics
Daphne Lee AshbrookAmerican actress known for her role in Doctor Who: The Movie and Star Trek: Deep Space Nine
Daphne CeeneyDecorated Australian Paralympian and the first Australian woman to compete at the Paralympic games

Daphne On The Popularity Chart

The popularity of Daphne has gradually increased since the 80s as per the data released by the Social Security Administration. Have a look at the chart to learn more about its popularity over the years.

Popularity Over Time

After a lackluster performance through the 80s and 90s, the name has grown in popularity clocking in 1097 babies per million sharing the name as of 2021.

Source: Social Security Administration