Some of the feminine Anglo-Saxon names in Æthel- survived into the modern period (e.g. Etheldred Benett 1776–1845). Ethel was in origin used as a familiar form of such names, but it began to be used as a feminine given name in its own right beginning in the mid-19th century, gaining popularity due to characters so named in novels by W. M. Thackeray (The Newcomes – 1855) and Charlotte Mary Yonge (The Daisy Chain whose heroine Ethel's full name is Etheldred – 1856); the actress Ethel Barrymore – born 1879 – was named after The Newcomes character.
Notes & Queries published correspondence about the name Ethel in 1872 because it was in fashion.[3]
The feminine name's popularity peaked in the 1890s. In the United States, it was the 7th most commonly given name for baby girls in the year 1894. Its use gradually declined during the 20th century, falling below rank 100 by 1940, and below rank 1000 in 1976.[4]
Ethel was also occasionally used as a masculine given name during the 1880s to 1910s, but never with any frequency (never rising above rank 400, or 0.02% in popularity).[4]
PeopleEdit
Ethel D. Allen (1929–1981), the first African-American woman to serve on Philadelphia City Council
Ethel Anderson (1883–1958), Australian poet, essayist, novelist and painter
This page or section lists people that share the same given name. If an internal link led you here, you may wish to change that link to point directly to the intended article.
October 28, 2023
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For other uses see Ethel disambiguation Look up athel in Wiktionary the free dictionary Ethel also aethel is an Old English word meaning noble today often used as a feminine given name Contents 1 Etymology and historic usage 2 People 3 Fictional characters 4 See also 5 ReferencesEtymology and historic usage EditThe word means aethel noble 1 2 It is frequently attested as the first element in Anglo Saxon names both masculine and feminine e g AEthelhard AEthelred AEthelwulf AEthelburg AEthelflaed AEthelthryth Audrey It corresponds to the Adel and Edel in continental names such as Adolf AEthelwulf Albert Adalbert Adelheid Adelaide Edeltraut and Edelgard Some of the feminine Anglo Saxon names in AEthel survived into the modern period e g Etheldred Benett 1776 1845 Ethel was in origin used as a familiar form of such names but it began to be used as a feminine given name in its own right beginning in the mid 19th century gaining popularity due to characters so named in novels by W M Thackeray The Newcomes 1855 and Charlotte Mary Yonge The Daisy Chain whose heroine Ethel s full name is Etheldred 1856 the actress Ethel Barrymore born 1879 was named after The Newcomes character Notes amp Queries published correspondence about the name Ethel in 1872 because it was in fashion 3 The feminine name s popularity peaked in the 1890s In the United States it was the 7th most commonly given name for baby girls in the year 1894 Its use gradually declined during the 20th century falling below rank 100 by 1940 and below rank 1000 in 1976 4 Ethel was also occasionally used as a masculine given name during the 1880s to 1910s but never with any frequency never rising above rank 400 or 0 02 in popularity 4 People EditEthel D Allen 1929 1981 the first African American woman to serve on Philadelphia City Council Ethel Anderson 1883 1958 Australian poet essayist novelist and painter Ethel Percy Andrus 1884 1967 educator and founder of AARP Ethel Armes 1876 1945 American journalist and historian Ethel Armitage 1873 1957 British archer and 1908 Olympic competitor Ethel Ayler 1934 2018 American stage and film actress Ethel Azama 1934 1984 American jazz and popular singer Ethel Barrymore 1879 1959 American stage and screen actress Ethel Bentham 1861 1931 English doctor politician and suffragette Ethel Blondin Andrew born 1951 Canadian politician and parliamentarian Ethel Branch American attorney and politician Ethel Cain born 1998 American singer songwriter Ethel Catherwood 1908 1987 Canadian high jump gold medalist in the 1928 Olympics Ethel Clay Price 1874 1943 American nurse and socialite Ethel Clayton 1882 1966 American silent film actress Ethel Harriet Comyns Lewer 1861 1946 British ornithologist and periodical editor publisher and owner Ethel Dovey 1882 1920 American stage actress and singer Ethel McGhee Davis 1899 1990 American educator social worker and college administrator Ethel Roosevelt Derby 1891 1977 younger daughter of U S president Theodore Roosevelt Ethel de Fraine 1879 1918 British botanist Ethel Gilbert American expert in the risks of radiation induced cancer Ethel Hillyer Harris 1859 1931 American author Ethel Hatch 1869 1975 British muse of Lewis Carroll Ethel Hays 1892 1989 American cartoonist and illustrator E Ann Hoefly 1919 2003 American brigadier general Ethel Johnson athlete 1908 1964 English sprinter Ethel Johnson wrestler 1935 2018 American professional wrestler Ethel Kennedy born 1928 American widow of Robert F Kennedy Ethel Lang actress 1902 1995 Australian actress Ethel Lang supercentenarian 1900 2015 British supercentenarian and the last Victorian Ethel Leach 1850 or 1851 1936 British politician Ethel MacDonald 1909 1960 Scottish anarchist activist and propagandist Ethel Merman 1908 1984 American actress and singer Ethel Moore 1872 1920 American civic education and national defense work leader Ethel L Payne 1911 1991 African American journalist Ethel Rosenberg 1915 1953 American executed for espionage Ethel Schwabacher 1903 1984 American abstract expressionist painter Ethel Shannon 1898 1951 American silent film actress Ethel Smith organist 1902 1996 American organist and recording artist Ethel Smyth 1858 1944 English composer and women s suffrage leader Ethel Teare 1894 1959 American silent film actress Ethel Grey Terry 1882 1931 American silent film actress Ethel L M Thorpe 1908 2001 British Canadian nurse Ethel Turner 1872 1958 Australian novelist and children s writer Ethel Lilian Voynich 1864 1960 English novelist and musician Ethel Warri British Nigerian business woman Fictional characters EditEthel Ambrewster a character in the sitcom The Ropers Ethel Beavers a character in the sitcom Parks and Recreation Ethel Blackmore a character in the webcomic Subnormality Ethel Hallow a character in The Worst Witch book series by Jill Murphy Ethel Janowski a character in the film Criminally Insane Ethel Mertz a character in the television program I Love Lucy Ethel Mertz a character from The Howard Stern Show Ethel Skinner a character in the British soap opera EastEnders Ethel Sprocket a character in the Canadian animated sitcom Ricky Sprocket Showbiz Boy Ethel Rogers a character in Agatha Christie s novel And Then There Were None Ethel Thayer a character in the play On Golden Pond Big Ethel a character in Archie Comics Silvercoat Ethel a character in Xenoblade Chronicles 3See also EditAEtheling Odal rune Odal disambiguation Eth of The Glums on Take It From HereReferences Edit Ethel Auntyflo com Retrieved 24 May 2021 Ethel SheKnows 22 August 2018 Retrieved 24 May 2021 Withycombe E G 1945 The Oxford Dictionary of English Christian Names 2nd ed Oxford Clarendon Press p 102 a b statistics cited after behindthename com nbsp This page or section lists people that share the same given name If an internal link led you here you may wish to change that link to point directly to the intended article Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Ethel amp oldid 1181628976, 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