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Fiona

Feminine given name From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

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This article is about the given name. For other uses, see Fiona (disambiguation).

Fiona is a feminine given name of Gaelic origins. It means white or fair, while the Irish name Fíona means 'of wine', being the genitive of fíon 'wine'. It was first used by the Scottish writer William Sharp under the pseudonym Fiona Macleod in 1894. Initially, the name was confined to Scotland but later it gained popularity in other countries, such as Liechtenstein, Switzerland, Australia, Germany and Canada.

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Etymology

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Fiona originates from the Gaelic word fionn,[1] meaning white or fair, being a Romantic Era Latinised form; or an Anglicisation of the Irish name Fíona (Scotland Fìona) meaning 'of wine', being the genitive of fíon (Scotland fìon) 'wine', from which is also derived the terms (Irish) fíniúin, (Irish, Scottish) crann fíona (crann 'tree'), and (Scottish) craobhfhìona (craobh 'tree, bush') 'grape-vine'. An alternative suggested by Hanks (2006) [2] is that Fíona means vine; this meaning appears in no Irish or Gaelic dictionary, except in the compounds crann fíona and craobhfhíona In ninth-century Welsh and Breton language Fion (today: ffion) referred to the foxglove species and is also a female given name as in Ffion Hague.[3]

It was used by the Scottish writer William Sharp under the pseudonym Fiona Macleod. Sharp may have drawn inspiration from the Gaelic variation of the name Catherine, namely Caitrìona.[4] Fiona carries connotations of gentility and refinement, often suggesting aristocratic lineage for its bearer.[5] Fiona is commonly shortened to Fi, with other variations including Fina, Fee, and Tiona.[6]

Variations of the name Fiona include Gwenn in Breton, Gwen, and Wynne in Welsh. Masculine forms include Fion, Fionn, Finnán, Finnén, Finn, Gwyn and Wyn.[7] The Scottish Gaelic feminine name Fionnghal is also sometimes equated with Fiona.[8]

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Popularity

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Initially, the name remained largely confined to Scotland until the latter part of the 20th century when it gained popularity in other parts of Britain, Australia, and Canada.[9] Additionally, the Ossianic poems of James Macpherson helped to familiarize the name in the English-speaking world. It experienced a surge in popularity during the latter half of the 1960s.[10][11]

It was the 439th most popular female name in Scotland in 2023.[12] Fiona was the 71st most popular name for baby girls born in 2023 in Germany.[13] The name was the most common female name in the ranking of most popular names for baby girls born in Liechtenstein in 2022.[14]In 2023, in Switzerland, Fiona was the 66th most popular name.[15] In Australia it is the 138th most popular baby name since the 1930s.[16] In New Zealand it was particularly popular during the 1960s until around 1980.[17] In Canada, it was the 287th most popular baby girl name.[18] In the US most girls named Fiona were born in the 21h century and the number of Fionas born per year was greater than 1,000 from 2009 until 2021.[19] In the US, it has ranked among the top 1,000 most popular names for girls since 1990 and among the top 500 since 1999.[20]

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People with the given name

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This section lists people that share the same given name.
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References

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