Name of the Week

Much like our modern -ley/-leigh/-lee names, in the 17th century the -indas
were the new trendy hipsters. While others have faded, Lucinda has endured, 
taking the role of sweet Lucy's sultry and sophisticated big sister. 

Origin:

Lucinda started life as a 17th century elaboration of Lucy / Lucia, which was combined with the suffix -inda. Lucinda may have been partly inspired by the Latin names Lucina and Lucida — both of which were in use in the 16th and 17th century — but the -inda ending was already sufficiently popular among literary names of that century. Clorinda, Dalinda, Dorinda, Melinda, Mirinda, Rodelinda and Rosalinda were other examples from literature and opera, and demonstrate the suffix's popularity.  Lucy, Lucia, Lucina and Lucida all ultimately derive from the Latin lux "light, bright, clear". Lucina, more specifically, was the Roman goddess of childbirth; her name explicitly meant "she who brings into the light".

Usage:

Lucinda appeared on the scene in a series of literary works at the turn of the 17th century. Cervantes used Luscinda (Lucinda) for a character in his famous work Don Quixote (1605 and 1615). Cervantes even explains in the novel that the names of poetic and pastoral heroines were elaborated by the authors, and as such, Lucinda was a poetic form of Lucia: "If my lady, or I should say my shepherdess, happens to be called Ana, I'll sing her praises under the name of Anarda, and if Francisca, I'll call her Francenia, and if Lucia, Lucinda, for it all comes to the same thing; and Sancho Panza, if he joins this fraternity, may glorify his wife Teresa Panza as Teresaina." Don Quixote Part II, Chapter 73. The Jacobean play The Knights of Malta (1647) featured another Lucinda; a beautiful and virtuous captive of the knights of Malta. When, in 1695, the composer Henry Purcell wrote incidental music for a revival of Aphra Behn's play Abdelazer (1675), it contained a song called "Lucinda Is Bewitching Fair", and later a character in Richard Steele's The Conscious Lovers (1722) was named Lucinda also.  The name's appearance in popular culture led to its use as a first name, particularly in Spanish, Portuguese and English speaking countries. Early 17th century British records are particularly prevalent in the London and Middlesex area. The name, at first, was not especially common, but its use began to rise over the 18th and 19th century.  The 1841 UK census lists 386 Lucindas (93% in England, 5% in Scotland and 2% in Wales). The figure had risen to 508 in 1861, 771 in 1881, 866 in 1901 and 684 in 1911. Lucinda was consistently registered between 10-30 times per year in England and Wales, ranking it between #250 and #300.  The name then slowly declined in the early 20th century (only 53 Lucindas were registered throughout the whole of the 1920s), but began to increase in usage again by the 1950s — which, it is worth noting, coincided with the peak of popularity for the name Linda. Leslie Dunkling's statistics on the number of births for every 10,000 registered for the name Lucinda, provide more insight: 1960 - 4 (in every 10,000) 1965 - 8   1970 - 4 1975 - 4 1980 - 6 1985 - 6 1990 - 10 In 1996, Lucinda ranked #282 with 132 births in England and Wales. It gradually fell to #322 (111 births) in 1998, #405 (78 births) in 2000, #547 (54 births) in 2002, #821 (33 births) in 2004, #606 (55 births) in 2006, #691 (52 births) in 2008, #730 (50 births) in 2010 and #915 (39 births) in 2011. In Scotland, Lucinda ranked #629 (4 births) in 2011 and #815 (3 births) in 2012.

Famous Bearers:

History: * Lucinda Ballard (1906—1993), Award winning American costume designer for Broadway theatre. Contemporary: * Lucinda Childs (b. 1940), American dancer and choreographer. * Lucinda Green, MBE (b.1953), British equestrian. * Lucinda Williams (b. 1953), American rock, folk and country singer-songwriter. * Lucinda "Lulu" Guinness, OBE (b. 1960), a British accessories fashion designer.  * Lucinda Fredericks (b.1965), British-Australian equestrian.  Literature and Other Media: * The Winning of Lucinda, a story in the Cronicles Avonlea of Series by L.M.Montgomery. * Lucinda, A Little Girl of 1860 (1934), a novel by Mabel Leigh Hunt. * Oscar and Lucinda (1988), a Victorian style novel by Peter Carey. * The Lucinda Pierce Mystery series, by Diane Fanning. * Lucinda, the fairy godmother in Gail Carson Levine's Ella Enchanted.  Other: * Emesis lucinda, a species of butterfly.

Variants:

Lucy, Lucina, Lucida, Lucilla, Lucille

Pronunciation:

loo-SIN-də  [key]

Possible  diminutives:

Cinders, Cindy, Cilla, Lucy, Luca, Lulu

Sibling Names:

Cressida     Rosanna     Evelina      Arabella     Cordelia     Angelina  Douglas     Jonathan     Laurence     Winston     Ralph      Nicholas

Name Lists:

Upright Elegance   Operatic Appellations   Butterfly Names    Names from Beatrix Potter

 

If you like Lucinda you may also like:   Camilla, Lavinia, Estella, Clarissa, Rosalind, Miranda, Callista, Letitia, Sabina, Candida

 

Thanks to Marcie for requesting Lucinda.