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Fiona#Notable people with the given name

{{Short description|Feminine given name}}

{{about|the given name}}

{{Use mdy dates|date=September 2024}}

{{Infobox given name

| name = Fiona

| pronunciation = {{IPAc-en|f|i|ˈ|oʊ|n|ə}} {{respell|fee|OH|nə}}

| gender = Feminine

| region = Ireland and Scotland

| language = English

| languageorigin = Gaelic

| derivation = fionn

| meaning = White and fair

| wikt =

| related names = Fionnghal, Fíona, Gwen, Gwenn and Wynne

}}

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 {{lang|ga|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.

Etymology

Fiona originates from the Gaelic word {{lang|ga|fionn}},{{citation |last1=Hanks |first1=Patrick |title=A Dictionary of First Names |pages=99–100 |year=2006 |series=Oxford Paperback Reference |edition=2nd |publisher=Oxford University Press |isbn=978-0-19-861060-1 |last2=Hardcastle |first2=Kate |last3=Hodges |first3=Flavia |author-link1=Patrick Hanks|url=https://archive.org/details/dictionaryoffirs0000hank_l4f5/}}. 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 {{lang|ga|fíon}} (Scotland {{lang|gd|fìon}}) 'wine', from which is also derived the terms (Irish) {{lang|ga|fíniúin}}, (Irish, Scottish) {{lang|ga|crann fíona}} ({{lang|ga|crann}} 'tree'), and (Scottish) {{lang|gd|craobhfhìona}} ({{lang|gd|craobh}} 'tree, bush') 'grape-vine'. An alternative suggested by Hanks (2006) {{sfn|Hanks|Hardcastle|Hodges|2006|pages=348–349}} is that Fíona means vine; this meaning appears in no Irish or Gaelic dictionary, except in the compounds {{lang|ga|crann fíona}} and {{lang|gd|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.[http://geiriadur.ac.uk/gpc/gpc.html The University of Wales' Dictionary website]; accessed April 21, 2020.

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.{{Cite book |last=Creswell |first=Julia |url=http://archive.org/details/dictionaryoffirs0000cres_v3v5 |title=Dictionary of first names |date=1995 |publisher=[England] : Bookmart Ltd. |others=Internet Archive |isbn=978-1-85605-340-2}} Fiona carries connotations of gentility and refinement, often suggesting aristocratic lineage for its bearer.{{Cite book |last=Room |first=Adrian |url=http://archive.org/details/dictionaryoffirs0000room |title=Dictionary of first names |date=2002 |publisher=London : Cassell ; New York : Distributed in the United States by Sterling Pub. Co. |others=Internet Archive |isbn=978-0-304-36226-4}} Fiona is commonly shortened to Fi, with other variations including Fina, Fee, and Tiona.{{Cite book |last=Pickering |first=David |url=http://archive.org/details/penguindictionar0000pick_j7v6 |title=The Penguin dictionary of first names |date=2004 |publisher=London : Penguin |others=Internet Archive |isbn=978-0-14-101398-5}}

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.{{Cite web |last=Campbell |first=Mike |title=Names Related to the name Fiona |url=https://www.behindthename.com/name/fiona/related |access-date=April 30, 2024 |website=Behind the Name |language=en}} The Scottish Gaelic feminine name Fionnghal is also sometimes equated with Fiona.{{cite book |last=Mark |first=Colin |title=The Gaelic-English Dictionary |publisher=Routledge |year=2003 |isbn=0-203-27706-6|url=https://archive.org/details/dictionaryoffirs0000hank_l4f5/}}

Popularity

Initially, the name remained largely confined to Scotland until the latter part of the 20th century when it gained popularity in Britain, Australia, and Canada.{{Cite book |last=Fergusson |first=Rosalind |url=http://archive.org/details/chooseyourbabysn0000ferg |title=Choose your baby's name : a dictionary of first names |date=1991 |publisher=London : Bloomsbury Books|page=85 |others=Internet Archive |isbn=978-1-85471-080-2}} 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.{{Cite book |last=Pickering |first=David |url=http://archive.org/details/penguindictionar0000pick_j7v6 |title=The Penguin dictionary of first names |date=2004 |publisher=London : Penguin |others=Internet Archive |isbn=978-0-14-101398-5|page=121}}{{sfn|Hanks|Hardcastle|Hodges|2006|pages=99-100}}

It was the 439th most popular female name in Scotland in 2023.{{Cite web |last=Kelly |first=Lesley-Anne |last2=Morrice |first2=Emma |last3=Sabljak |first3=Ema |date=March 28, 2024 |title=Tarzan, Banksy, Frenchie, and Pasty: The full list of Scottish baby names used in 2023 revealed |url=https://www.thecourier.co.uk/fp/news/4934031/most-popular-scottish-baby-names-2023/ |access-date=April 30, 2024 |website=The Courier |language=en-GB}} Fiona was the 71st most popular name for baby girls born in 2023 in Germany.{{Cite web |title=Die beliebtesten Vornamen des Jahres 2023 – Top 500 |url=https://www.beliebte-vornamen.de/jahrgang/j2023/top-500-2023 |access-date=April 30, 2024 |language=de-DE}} The name was the most common female name in the ranking of most popular names for baby girls born in Liechtenstein in 2022.{{Cite web |title=Fiona and Gabriel, Luis (Louis) and Noah most common first names in 2022 |url=https://www.llv.li/en/news/fiona-and-gabriel-luis-louis-and-noah-most-common-first-names-2022 |access-date=September 20, 2024 |website=www.llv.li |language=en}}In 2023, in Switzerland, Fiona was the 66th most popular name.{{Cite web |title=Female first names of newborns by language region and canton |url=https://www.pxweb.bfs.admin.ch/pxweb/en/px-x-0104050000_102/px-x-0104050000_102/px-x-0104050000_102.px/ |access-date=September 20, 2024 |website=PX-Web |language=en}} In Australia it is the 138th most popular baby name since the 1930s.{{Cite web |last=Nicholas |first=Josh |title=Close call: most popular Australian baby names of the past century revealed |url=https://www.theguardian.com/news/datablog/ng-interactive/2023/jan/12/close-call-most-popular-australian-baby-names-of-the-past-century-revealed |access-date=April 30, 2024 |website=The Guardian |language=en}} In New Zealand it was particularly popular during the 1960s until around 1980.{{Cite web |date=May 1, 2024 |title=Revealed: Top Kiwi baby names of 2023 |author= Megan Watts |url=https://www.nzherald.co.nz/lifestyle/top-baby-names-for-2023-unveiled-what-kiwis-are-naming-the-next-generation/GOHMHZSLGFCIRCDCLS6SAAONXI/ |access-date=April 30, 2024 |website=The New Zealand Herald |language=en-NZ}} In Canada, it was the 287th most popular baby girl name.{{Cite web |last=Government of Canada |first=Statistics Canada |date=May 9, 2023 |title=Baby Names Observatory |url=https://www150.statcan.gc.ca/n1/pub/71-607-x/71-607-x2023021-eng.htm |access-date=April 30, 2024 |website=www150.statcan.gc.ca}} 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.{{Cite web |title=Popular Baby Names |url=https://www.ssa.gov/oact/babynames/ |access-date=April 30, 2024 |website=www.ssa.gov |language=en}} 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.{{cite web|url=http://www.ssa.gov/cgi-bin/babyname.cgi|title=Popular Baby Names|last=OACT|website=www.ssa.gov|access-date=September 21, 2009|archive-date=February 2, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180202070118/https://www.ssa.gov/cgi-bin/babyname.cgi|url-status=dead}}

People with the given name

=Fictional characters=

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{{given name|section=yes}}

References

{{Reflist}}

External links

  • {{Commons category-inline|Fiona (given name)}}

Category:Feminine given names

Category:English feminine given names

Category:Irish feminine given names

Category:Scottish feminine given names