Alluringly illusive Cordelia is, in the words of
Anne of the Green Gables, "such a perfectly elegant name"
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Origin: |
Cordelia is a name of myth, mystery and complicated etymology. Like Arthur, Cordelia has long been the source of conjecture with connections with both Celtic and Latin. And, like Arthur, I feel that Cordelia's etymology is also a mixture of common elements and influences. You can find numerous meanings attributed to Cordelia, including "little heart," "daughter of the sea," "jewel of the sea," "lion heart" and "pure maiden" — most are based on very tentative assumptions. Famously, Cordelia is the name of the faithful daughter in Shakespeare's King Lear, first performed in 1606. The story was not one of Shakespeare's own invention but his own retelling of a much older tale. Holinshed's Chronicles (a source which Shakespeare frequently based his plays on) recounted the story in 1577, using the spelling Cordeilla* and an anonymous Elizabethan play, staged in 1594 named The True Chronicle History of King Leir, and his three daughters, Gonorill, Ragan, and Cordella. Shakespeare was also thought to have been influenced by John Higgin's The Mirror for Migistrates: The Tragoedye of Cordila (1574) in which the name is spelt Cordila, Cordilla, Cordile and Cordell* and possibly Spenser's The Faerie Queene (Book 2, Canto 10) in 1590 which also mentions the story of King Lear (Leyr). Spenser's spellings vary within the verse: he lists both Cordelia and Cordeill, and Regan and Rigan*. The first account of King Lear and his daughters dates back to 1135 in Geoffrey of Monmouth's History of the Kings of Britain (Historia Regum Britanniae). In this account King Leir attempted to find husbands for his daughters Gonerilla, Regan and Cordeilla so that he could divide his kingdom among them. To see who deserved the best part, Leir wanted to find which daughter loved him best. Gonerilla and Regan flattered their father; Cordeilla did not and was given no dowry. Aganippus, the King of the Franks, loved her and married her in spite of that and Cordeilla went with him to Gaul. Years later, Gonerilla and Regan usurped their father's throne. Leir fled to Gaul to see Cordeilla and she amassed an army to help restore him to his kingdom. They succeeded and Leir lived for three more year before Cordeilla, then widowed, succeeded him as Queen of Britain. She was eventually deposed by Regan's sons Cunedda and Morgan. So, where did Geoffrey of Monmouth get the name Cordeilla from? There are two prevalent theories: St Cordula was a companion of the legendary (and most likely not historical) St Ursula, the daughter King Dionotus of Cornwall who set out on pilgramage with a retinue of one hundred virgins. They were all captured and beheaded by a Hun army.
The name Cordula likely derives from the Latin cordis meaning "heart" and the suffix -ul , therefore meaning "little heart." This would be a fitting meaning for Cordeilla/Cordelia who is often regarded as having a faithful heart. Experts have also noted that Shakespeare uses the word "heart" and "love" frequently in King Lear. St Ursula was a popular medieval saint, so it is possible Geoffrey was aware of the legend, though the earliest known mention of St Cordula dates from 1278 when St Albertus Magnus spoke of her as a saint. If, like many of the other names in Geoffrey's account (Leir/Llyr, Cunedagius/Cuneda, Marganus/Morgan), Cordeilla is actually Celtic, then the most likely source is Creiddylad. She appears in Welsh legend in the tale of Culhwch and Olwen as the daughter of Lludd of the Silver Hand and was known as a the most beautiful maiden in the British isles. She was fought over by two of Arthur's warriors: Gwythyr and Gwyn ap Nudd until it was decreed that she live with her father until a final battle on Judgement Day which would determine who would be her husband. Some early commentators have speculated that Creiddylad means "daughter of the sea." I can find no linguistic connection for this, however. It seems these early commentators were connecting Creiddylad as the daughter of Llyr (Leir), not Llud, and, as Llyr was the god of the sea (Llyr even means "sea") it is more a case that Cordelia is "the daughter of Llyr/the sea." Around the same time, other scholars (such as C. M. Yonge, 1863) proposed that the name derived from the Celtic crair "a token, jewel, sacred object" . This basis, however, supposed that the full name was the lengthy Creirdyddlydd (note the extra 'r') — though we know the oldest spelling, recorded in the 14th century was Creidylat. It also erroneously assumed Creirdyddlydd was a form of Creirwy (which does derived from crair), who was a completely seperate figure in Welsh mythology. She, too, regarded as the most beautiful woman in the world. A more likely theory, supported by K.M. Sheard, is that Creiddylad derives from the proto-Celtic kred "heart" (craidd in Welsh) and dligiton "duty, debt, law, right, priviledge" (dyled in Welsh). And so we come right back around to "heart" again. Scholars are divided over the connection between Cordelia and Creiddylad. Some are sceptical of a connection between the two, partly because the stories of Creiddylad differs to Cordeilla's (though there is a strong father/daughter connection), and because, when Geoffrey's Historia Regum Britanniae was translated into Welsh, it did not turn back into Creiddylad. Geoffrey, however, was writing in Latin but dealing with several elements of Welsh mythology. It seems likely to me that he would have come across Creiddylad. We know he was aware of Lludd of the Silver Hand and that Ludd and Llyr were confused by early Welsh chroniclers and copyists (even in Culhwch and Olwen where Creiddylad is first mentioned). Perhaps the Welsh translators were simply unaware that Geoffrey had used Creiddylad for Cordeilla so failed to translate it accordingly. Perhaps also, given that Geoffrey of Monmouth (a native Welshman) was translating ancient British texts into Latin, he had some knowledge of Creidylat's connection with craidd "heart" and Latinised Creidylat as Cordeilla by using the Latin equivalent cordis. |
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Usage: |
It is assumed that Cordelia was little or not used at all before Shakespeare's King Lear, however, this is simply not true. There are several pre-1600 baptisms dating from 1560 onwards which feature the name Cordell. One of the most notable bearers was Cordell Alington (b.1562), the first wife of Sir John Stanhope. She was certainly named Cordell after mother's maiden name (Jane Cordell) — a surname which derives from the Old French cordelle "a little cord." There was also a will of Henry Savile Esq in 1569 which bequeathed his estate to his son Cordell Saville. This Cordell was named after his godfather Sir William Cordell. However, curiously there are several more Cordells on record pre-1600 and, though some of them are male, most of them are female. These women are sometimes also referred to as Cordelia, Cordelle and Cordella. Even Cordell Alington herself is listed also as Cordelia, and her husband, John Stanhope, went on to name a daughter Cordelia with his second wife. It could be that Cordelia was used as a Latinised form of Cordell or, more likely, that Cordell was the vernacular form of Cordelia. Latinised forms in documents were common at this time, while vernacular British forms were rife. Christianas on record were called Christian in real life. Dulcibellas were Dowsabels and even girls listed as Philippa were actually called Philip. It is also worth noting that John Higgins used Cordell as a variant spelling of Cordila in 1574. In the most strange twist of fate, in 1603 (just three years before Shakespeare's Lear) there was a real case which came to court of Sir Brian Annesley, father of three daughters: Grace, Christian and Cordell. He had made a will three years previously granting most of his wealth to his youngest, and still unmarried, daughter Cordell. The elder two daughters tried to have their father declared senile to invalidate the will: Cordell defended her father and succesfully kept her inheritance. This case was quite big news in 1604 and, given the strong parallels, may have inspired Shakespeare to write his own version of King Lear. It is worth noting that Cordell Annesley (b. 1570) is also occasionally listed as Cordelia and Cordella. Though never prolific, Cordelia became much more common in the 17th century, most likely thanks to Shakespeare's play. It continued in steady use through both the 18th and 19th century. It was never popular enough to make the top 100, but it did briefly make the top 200 in England and Wales during its peak in the mid-19th century: Data from the Surname Atlas (click to enlarge)
1840: 31 births Cordelia has for many year been regarded as a traditional name in Cornwall and data from the 1881 UK census (right) supports that. When looking at usage per 100,000 people, Cornwall had the highest density of people named Cordelia, followed by North Wales and South East England. Cordelia was the 488th most frequent name on the census (including both male and female names).
It peaked in 2003 when it ranked #532 with 58 births. In 2012 it ranked #1075 with 32 births. In Scotland, Cordelia has only ranked in six years out of nine since 2005 and has had birth count of no more than 3 in any given year. In 2013, one baby was named Cordelia. |
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Famous Bearers: |
History: * Cordelia Harvey (1824-1898), First Lady of Wisconsin Governor Louis Harvey, known for founding Civil War Orphans homes and advocating good war field hospital conditions. Contemporary: * Cordelia Bugeja (b.1976), British actress. Literature and Other Media: * Cordelia, a principle character in Shakespeare's King Lear (1608). Other: * Cordelia, a moon of Uranus. |
| Variants: |
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Pronunciation: |
cor-DEE-lee-ə [key] |
| Possible Diminutives: |
Callie, Ciera/Cera/Ciara, Cia, Clea, Cora, Cordy, Cory, Della, Delia, Didi, Dolly, Dora, Edda, Lia, Orla, Ria |
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Sibling Names: |
Rosalind Larissa Beatrix Hermione Miranda Arabella |
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Name Lists: |
Upright Elegance Victorian Darlings Shakespearean Names Astronomical Names Names of Roses |
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Thanks to Rachel Emma for requesting this post.
