Name of the Week

The one and only Una, whose name was
fit for a fairy queen. Now she's a pop star with a name that fits
right in with the popular crowd of Avas, Evas, Islas and Mias.

 

Origin:

Una has two distinct etymologies as a given name.  1. The Latin term una is the feminine for of unas meaning "one, only." 2. Úna is an Old Irish name, most likely derived from uan meaning "lamb." It is anglicised as Oona and Oonagh.

Usage:

The Irish name Úna is an ancient one. It features more than once in Irish mythology; one such bearer was Úna, the queen of the faeries and wife of King Finnbheara. Another notable Úna was the wife of Finn McCool who used her wit and quick-thinking to save her husband by tricking the Scottish giant Bennandonner. Dressing her husband up, she presented him to Bennandonner as Finn's son and served them both cakes, which Finn was able to eat but Bennandonner, having a griddle-iron hidden inside, was unable to. This sufficiently scared the giant off in fear of what the baby's father would be like. Examples of Úna in use in medieval Ireland are numerous. O'Corrain and Maguire even describe it as "an extremely popular name especially in later medieval Ireland." From the 18th century, when most Irish names were 'translated' into English, Úna rendered as Winifred, Winnie, Juno, Unity and Agnes — thanks to a similar association with lambs. It was also found in Scotland, usually in the Scots Gaelic Ùna. The Latin Una was first used as a name in Edmund Spenser’s The Faerie Queene (1590). He used Una "The One, the Truth" as a symbol of Elizabeth's Protestant Church and in direct contrast to Duessa "duplicity."  Being used in such a major piece of literature, inevitably Una came into use in England in the early 17th century. It gradually grew in use through to the 19th century, but by this time, it is very difficult to discern whether the Latin or Irish Una was intended. Perhaps it was sometimes both. Generally, Una has been pronounced YOO-nə in England, while Úna is OO-nə, and anglicised as Oona or Oonagh.  Data from The Surname Atlas (click to enlarge) Una's highest numbers in 1881 were centred in Middlesex (London), Lancashire and Yorkshire — the counties with the largest population size. However, per 100, 000 people, Una was comparatively more popular in the Scottish Highlands and in southern England.  Though Una never made it into the Top 200, birth records for Una in England and Wales do show that it increased over the course of the 19th century, peaking in the 1920s: 1840: 2 births ; 1850: 2 births 1860: 6 births ; 1870: 17 births 1880: 35 births ; 1890: 63 births 1900: 91 births ; 1910: 142 births 1920: 207 births; 1930: 163 births 1940: 78 births ; 1950: 38 births   Since 1996, the spellings Una, Oona and Oonagh have been used quite consistently each year with a birth count of between 3 and 14, putting it below the Top 1000. Since 2007 however, no doubt thanks to the chart success of girl group The Saturdays featuring Irish singer Una Healy, the spelling Una has pulled away from the others, rising to 17 births in 2009, 24 in 2010, 29 in 2011 and 32 births in 2012, ranking #1075.  In Scotland the name has also been rising. In 2005, only one Una was registered and no Oonas or Oonaghs. Over the next five years there were a handful of girls with each spelling and by 2010 there were 3 babies named Una, 2 named Oonagh and 1 Oona. 2012, however also saw a shift in the rise of the name when Una was given to 9 girls (#397), Oona was given to 7 (#467) and Oonagh to 3. In 2013, 4 girls were named Una (#663), 6 named Oona (#506) and 1 named Oonagh. In Northern Ireland, Una has had a birth count of between 1 and 10 since 1997. It peaked in 2001 at #164 and was at its lowest rank in 2008 with 1 birth. The spelling Oonagh was originally more popular, peaking in 1997 at #171 with 11 births, but declined to #451 (3 births) by 2012.  The spelling Oona is also found, quite popularly, in Finland where it has ranked between #28 and #15 in the last decade. In 2013, Oona was at #21 in Finland.

Famous Bearers:

Mythology and Legend:  * Úna, wife of Finnbheara and queen of the fairies in Irish Mythology. * Úna, wife of Finn McCool, who outsmarted the giant Bennandonner. History: * Úna ingen rí Lochlan (d. 1364), daughter of King Lochlainn. * Oona O'Neill (1925–1991), wife of Charlie Chaplin. Contemporary: * Una Stubbs (b. 1937), British actress. * Una Healy (b. 1981), Irish singer-songwriter and member of the girlgroup The Saturdays. * Oona Castilla Chaplin (b. 1986), Spanish actress and dancer, grandaughter of Charlie Chaplin and Oona O'Neill. * Úna MacLochlainn (b. 1987), Irish singer-songwriter. * Oona Louhivaara (b. 1987), Finnish actress. Literature and Media: * Una, a character in Edmund Spenser's The Faerie Queene (1590).  * Una, a character in Stardust. Other: * Una, a genus of butterfly.

Variants:

Oona, Oonagh

Pronunciation:

YOO-nə (Una), OO-nə (Úna/Oona) [key]

Possible  Longer Forms:

Undina, Unity, Urania, Unaisa

Sibling Names:

Maeve     Leila     Fay     Eva     Orla     Ivy  Billy     Angus     Murdo     Fionn      Jock     Albin

Name Lists:

Magical Spirits and Sprites   Butterfly Names

 

If you like Una you may also like:  Alba, Uma, Juno, Ursa, Ines, Anya, Aoife, Luna, Pixie, Lumi

 

Thanks to Kate for requesting this post.