Name of the Week

A Spartan princess, an ancient city and
an intelligent muggle-born witch.

 

Origin:

Hermione is the transliterated form of the Ancient Greek name Ἑρμιόνη. In Greek mythology, Hermione was the daughter of King Menelaus and Queen Helen of Sparta who was caught between two suitors: Orestes son of Agamemnon and Neoptolemus son of Achilles.   Hermione was also, and arguably more notably in ancient times, the name of a port town in the Peloponnese which, by the 8th century, was a city state in control of neighbouring towns. It was the site of many dedicated temples and was an important site of trade, shipbuilding and production of the sought-after red dye porphyra. Pausanius described it as "a city which I found afforded much to write about." Hermione is undoubtedly derived from Hermes, the name of the god of transition, boundaries and the divine messenger. Scholars are divided as to where the name comes from. Certainly, it is an extremely ancient name, possibly pre-Greek. Even ancient scholars were at a loss to account for the name's origin. Plato suggested "that the name Hermes has to do with speech, and signifies that he is the interpreter," thanks to its similarity to ερμενηυς (hermenus) "interpretor." However, it is now believed that hermenus was derived from Hermes, not the other way around.  Most scholars feel it likely that it derives from ἕρμα (herma) meaning "heap of stones, boundary marker," which ties in very nicely to his duty as the God of Boundaries.

Usage:

There are several examples of Hermione in use in the Classical and Hellenistic Greek eras. The Lexicon of Greek Personal Names has recorded 107 examples of the name in use, many of them in Asia Minor where it was around the 11th most popular name for women.  Hermione was also not uncommon in the Roman Empire, often found in the Latinised form Hermiona. St Hermione (d.117) was a Christian martyr of Ephesus, while Pompeii sports the tomb of a Lollia Hermiona.  On British shores, Hermione didn't have much use until the 17th century, when it was used in literary circles. Most notably, Shakespeare used the name for his beautiful and virtuous queen of Sicily in A Winter's Tale, which was first published in 1623. In 1673, Jean-Baptiste Lully's opera Cadmus et Hermione was first performed, which was based on the ancient Greek myth of Cadmus. However, according to the myth, Cadmus's wife was the goddess Harmonia, not Hermione. Lully was not the only one to make the mistake; Milton wrote "...those that in Illyria changed Hermione and Cadmus." Most likely the confusion started with the Latin form Hermiona, and later medieval texts adopted the forms Harmonie, Harmiona and Hermonia. In terms of usage, Hermione appears on baptism records in the late 17th century. It was rare initially, but by the 19th century, Hermione (while still uncommon) had established regular use. It gradually, gained in use by the end of the century, averaging 5-6 births per year. Birth in England and Wales: 1840s: 5 births 1850s: 5 births 1860s: 16 births 1870s: 21 births 1880s: 53 births 1890s: 61 births 1900s: 69 births 1910s: 89 births 1920s: 79 births 1930s: 78 births 1940s: 102 births 1950s: 36 births 1960s: 54 births In the the 1990s, Hermione was just sitting within the top 1000. It's fortunes changed however, when J.K.Rowling used the name for the principle female character in her Harry Potter series, the first of which was published in 1997. The first film was released in 2001.  Click to enlarge In 1996, Hermione ranked #974 in England and Wales with 21 births. After the publication of the first Harry Potter book, the name slowly began to rise in usage up to #637 (40 births) in 2000. It was the year after the first film hit the cinemas however that Hermione really began to move ranking #394 (84 births) in 2002, #265 (158 births) in 2003 and #265 (162 births) in 2004. Since its peak in 2004, Hermione has seen a sporadic and gradual decline in use, but it still remains in more use than its pre-Potter status.  In 2013, Hermione ranked #542 with 77 births in England and Wales.  It is less common in Scotland where it ranked #1021 (2 births) in 2014. It did not rank in Northern Ireland at all.

Famous Bearers:

History: * Saint Hermione of Ephesus (d. 117 A.D.), early Christian martyr. * Hermione Gingold (1897–1987), British actress. * Hermione Baddeley (1906–1986), British actress. * Hermione Hammond (1910–2005), British painter. Contemporary: * Hermione Norris (b. 1968), British actress. Literature and other Media: * Queen Hermione of Sicily, a character in The Winter's Tale (1623) by William Shakespeare. * Hermione, a character in the opera Cadmus et Hermione (1673) by Jean-Baptiste Lully. * Hermione Granger, a main character in the Harry Potter novels and films by J.K. Rowling.  * Hermione Bostock, a character in the fiction of P. G. Wodehouse. * Letter to Hermione, a song from the album Space Oddity by David Bowie. Other: * HMS Hermione, four ships of the Royal Navy.

Variants:

Ermioni, Ἑρμιόνη (Greek) Hermiona (Latinised)

Pronunciation:

hər-MĪ-ə-nee (UK) er-mee-Ō-neh (Greek) [key]

Possible  Diminutives:

Hermie, Mimi, Minnie, Hera, Hero, Mione, Marni

Sibling Names:

Cassandra     Penelope     Emmeline     Beatrix      Ophelia     Rosalind  Dominic     Alexander     Sebastian     Maxim     Theodore     Benedict

Name Lists:

Upright Elegance   Vintage   Saintly and Stylish   Shakespearean   Harry Potter Names   Mythological Names    Ancient Place Names   Butterflies

 

If you like Hermione you may also like:   Ottilie, Persephone, Thessaly, Arabella, Phaedra, Jemima, Sabina, Venetia, Perdita, Theodora

 

Thanks to Arabella for requesting this post.