Name of the Week: Ethel

 

 

Origin:

Ethel derives from the Old English æðel "noble" which was a common element in Anglo-Saxon names such as Æðelþryð (Etheldred), Æðelflæd (Ethelfleda), Æðelfrið (Elfrida), Æðelind (Ethelinda), Æðelberht (Ethelbert), Æðelmær (Ethelmer), Æðelræd (Ethelred), Æðelric (Ethelric), Æðelstan (Ethelstan), Æthelweard (Ethelward) and Æðelwine (Ethelwin).  Ethel itself was not used as an independent name initially, but arose as a short form for those names beginning with Ethel, especially Etheldred (æðel + þryð "strength") which became popular thanks to the veneration of 7th century princess St Etheldred.

Usage:

Due to the popularity of the saint, Etheldred (often found in the vernacular form Audrey) was used through the Middle Ages into the early modern period. The name was used moderately and quite consistently over that time in England, though was rare in Wales and Scotland. Other Ethel- names such as Ethelbert and Ethelburg also survived in use, though were not as common.  Burial record of Ethel Devenish, Langton Herring, Dorset, 1699 Ethel alone can be found in parish records in the 17th century, though it is difficult to tell whether these were listed simply as short forms for Etheldred et al (see image right).  The late 18th century obsession with Gothic fiction and architecture particularly brought the Ethel- names back into the spotlight, and, with it, Ethel itself also grew more common.  At first, Ethel on its own was quite rare -- you were more likely to meet a baby Ethelinda, Etheldreda or Ethelbert in 1840 than a baby Ethel -- but it got a wider exposure in 1855 with the publication of William Makepeace Thackeray's novel The Newcomes in which the main female character was called Ethel Newcome.  We certainly know that this influenced some parents in the naming of Ethel: actress Ethel Barrymore (1879–1959) was named after Ethel Newcombe, her father's favourite literary character.  Thackeray's novel was followed in 1856 by Charlotte Mary Yonge's The Daisy Chain, whose heroine was Etheldred "Ethel" May.  The impact of these literary characters can be seen in birth records for Ethel in England and Wales: Data from the Surname Atlas 1838: 5 births 1839: 1 birth 1840: 0 births 1841: 1 birth 1842: 1 birth 1843: 1 birth 1844: 2 births 1845: 5 births 1846: 6 births 1847: 3 births 1848: 7 births 1849: 12 births 1850: 4 births 1851: 10 births 1852: 7 births 1853: 10 births 1854: 18 births 1855: 51 births 1856: 49 births 1857: 69 births 1858: 86 births By 1860, Ethel ranked #117 with 132 births. By 1870 it had risen to #56 (1069 births) and then further to #13 (8140 births) in 1880 and #7 (14486 births) in 1890.  It was most common in southern England, and quite popular in northern England and South Wales, but was much less common in Scotland where it only reached #45 in 1900 compared to its #9 rank in England and Wales.  Indeed, from 1974 to 2014, Ethel has only ranked seven times: once in 1975, 1979, 1987, 2006 and 2011; and twice in 1977 and 1978.  click to enlarge By 1914, Ethel was still #19 in England and Wales but began to decline afterwards -- #38 by 1924 and #91 in 1934, after which it fell out of the top 100.  As with all "it" names of a generation, Ethel became typified as a turn-of-the-century name, meaning that by the 1950s it was in "middle-aged aunt" territory, and by the 1980s was firmly a "grandma" name.  In the last 20 years, Ethel has been consistently below the top 1000 in England and Wales. It did see a slight rise after 2010, peaking in 2013 at 2460 (10 births).  This followed the revelation in January 2012 that Lily Allen had named her second daughter Ethel Mary which gave the name a bit of fashionable exposure.  In 2014, Ethel ranked #3514 with 6 births.

Famous Bearers:

History: * Dame Ethel Smyth (1858–1944), English composer and women's suffrage leader. * Ethel Bentham (1861–1931), British doctor, politician and suffragette. * Ethel Lilian Voynich (1864–1960), English novelist and musician. * Ethel Turner (1872–1958), Australian novelist and children's writer. * Ethel Benjamin (1875–1943), New Zealand's first female lawyer. * Ethel Barrymore (1879–1959), American stage and screen actress. * Ethel Clayton (1882–1966), American silent film actress. * Ethel Anderson (1883–1958), Australian poet, essayist, novelist and painter. * Ethel Roosevelt Derby (1891–1977), younger daughter of U.S. President Theodore Roosevelt. * Ethel Merman (1908–1984), American actress and singer. Literature and Other Media: * Ethel Newcome, character in William Makepeace Thackeray's novel The Newcomes (1855). * Etheldred "Ethel" May, a character in Charlotte Mary Yonge's novel The Daisy Chain (1856). * Ethel Hallow, character in The Worst Witch book series by Jill Murphy.

Variants:

Ethelle

Pronunciation:

ETH-əl [key]

Possible  diminutive:

Ettie, Ethie, Elle

Sibling Names:

Vera     Sybil     Agnes     Myrtle     Edith     Mabel  Giles    Wilbur    Percy     Walter     Lloyd     Clifford

Name Lists:

Funky-Clunky Names   Victorian Darlings   Names of Roses

 

If you like Ethel you may also like:   Blythe, Enid, Thora, Betty, Dora, Tilda, Rita, Thelma, Dorothy, Delyth

 

Thanks to Jess for requesting this post.