Name of the Week

Somewhere between Daisy and Lucie sits Dulcie, 
a neglected antique that's ever so gradually gaining more attention.

 

Origin:

Essentially, Dulcie derives from the Latin word dulcis meaning "sweet" via the Old French dous, dulz, which became douce, dowse in Middle English.  The same word is responsible for the English 'dulcet', Italian 'dolce' and French 'doux'.

Usage:

Douce, the Middle English form of dulcis, was used as personal name from at least the early 13th century. The Latinised form that appeared in records was Dulcia, though Douce — also found spelt Duz, Duce, Dusa Dowse, Dous — was the common vernacular form. There are some examples of the name Douce being used for men at this time but for the most part the name was feminine in use. Though the name was never highly popular, it was not uncommon, and formed the surnames Douce, Dowse, Duce and Dowson. At the same time, the name Dulcibel(la) appears in records, most likely a compound of dulcis and bella. This was the Latinised spelling; the common vernacular form however was Dowsabel or Dousabel.  Both Douce and Dowsabel/Dousabel continued into the 16th century, at which time Dowsabel was used as a poetic term meaning "sweetheart" (Shakespeare uses it as such in The Comedy of Errors c.1595). A veritable crop of girls named Doulce appear in Shropshire baptisms from 1560 to 1590, showing some local popularity. The spelling of Douse morphed over time, with the 'l' from dulcis gradually creeping back in. Examples from the 17th century include Doulce, Doulse, Dulcey, Dulcy, Dulce, Dulse, Dowlce, and Dulcea. Dulcibella came into proper use in the 17th century and received a modicum of popularity. At first it was used alongside Dowsabel, but by the end of the 18th century, Dowsabel was obsolete while Dulcibella continued on well into the early 20th century. In such cases, Dulcie was sometimes used as a short form of Dulcibella. Dulcie was used sparingly at the beginning of the 19th century; Dulcibella was far more common. However, Dulcie surged in popularity towards the end of the century, eclipsing Dulcibella, as we can see from the UK census records: 1841 - Dulcie: 5, Dulcibella: 39. 1861 - Dulcie: 10, Dulcibella: 48 1881 - Dulcie: 53, Dulcibella: 70 1891 - Dulcie: 309, Dulcibella: 99 1901 - Dulcie: 1,028, Dulcibella: 112 1911 - Dulcie: 1,931, Dulcibella: 116 In 1890, 35 Dulcies were registered in England and Wales, giving it a rank around #270. In 1900 there were 78 Dulcies registered, ranking it around #230. Other variations of the name were used at this time, such as Dulcina and Dulciana. Dulcinea, the name Miguel de Cervantes Saavedra used for Don Quixote's love in 1605, was also used occasionally. It remained popular at the beginning of the 20th century — 109 were registered in 1910, 205 in 1920 and 113 in 1930, however it had declined to only 11 registrations in 1940. Globally, Dulcie has seen more popularity in Australia in the 20th century, perhaps thanks to several notable Australian women who bore the name.  While Dulcibella remains obsolete, Dulcie has been very gradually rising over the past decade. In 1996, Dulcie ranked #1072 (18 births) in England and Wales, #728 (32 births) in 2000, #821 (33 births) in 2004, #650 (52 births) in 2008 and #674 (55 births) in 2010. In 2011, Dulcie ranked #658 with 60 births.

Famous Bearers:

History: * Dulcie Deamer (1890—1972), Australian novelist, poet, journalist and actor. * Dulcie Cooper (1903—1981), Australian stage, silent movie and television actress. * Dulcie Holland, AM (1913—2000), Australian composer. * Dulcie Gray, CBE (1919—2011), veteran British actress of the stage, film and television; singer, and mystery author. Literature, Film and Other Media: * Dulcie's Adventure, a 1916 American silent film. * Defining Dulcie (2006), a young adult/teenage novel by Paul Acampora. * Dulcie Duveen, a character in Agatha Christie's Poirot novels, wife of Hastings and twin of Bella whose stage act was called "The Dulcibella Kids." * Dulcie is one of the Disney Fairies, based on the world of Timer Bell. Dulcie appears in the book Dulcie's Taste of Magic and is a baking-talent fairy.

Variants:

Dulcy, Dulcey, Dulce, Dulci, Dulse, Doulce, Dulcia

Pronunciation:

DUL-see [key]

Possible  Longer Forms:

Dulcibella, Dulcibel, Dulcina, Dulcinea, Drusilla

Sibling Names:

Hattie    Idony     Sybil     Amabel     Pearl     Blythe  Ned     Everett     Jude     Barnaby     Miles      Guy

Name Lists:

Dulcet Dainties   Medieval Favourites

 

If you like Dulcie you may also like:   Delphi, Elsie, Daphne, Clemency, Martha, Sadie, Effie, Constance, Mercy, Selina

 

Thanks to Hannah for requesting Dulcie.