Name of the Week: Ramona

 

 

Origin:

Ramona is the feminine form of Ramón, the Spanish form of the Frankish Raginmund, from which we also get Raymond in English. Raginmund was composed of two prevalent name-elements. The first, ragin, translates roughly as "might" or "counsel, advice". The second element is mund, a common Germanic, Old English and Norse name element, meaning "protection." The original meaning was more "guardian, handler," ultimately derived from the Proto-Indo-European *man- "hand."

Usage:

Ramona dates in use in Spain and Spanish-speaking countries from at least the 16th century. It was first used in Britain in the 18th century, but these were confined to Spanish families. Curiously, there were little concentrated pockets of these Spanish families in Knarsdale, Durham and Redmarshall, Northumberland. On the whole, however, the name was rare in Britain.  1884 saw the publication American author Helen Hunt Jackson's novel Ramona which centred around a Scots-Native American orphan girl, Ramona, as she is brought up within a Mexican household.  The novel was a huge success in America, selling more than 15,000 copies within the first 10 months.* It also led to the creation of Ramona-related tourist attractions in California and "ultimately inspired a romanticised false past for the region."* The immediate impact of the novel cannot be seen in British birth records. Ramona was in small usage in England and Wales right up until the late 1920s, as records from the Birth Index shows: 1840s: 2 births 1850s: 1 birth 1860s: 0 births 1870s: 4 births 1880s: 2 births 1890s: 2 births 1900s: 2 births 1910s: 8 births 1920s: 77 births 1930s: 62 births 1940s: 17 births 1950s: 48 births 1960s: 95 births In fact, Romana's usage saw a marked leap in the last quarter of 1928 in England and Wales. This coincides with the release of the 1928 Hollywood silent film adaptation of Ramona, starring Dolores del Río in the title role, and the tile song for the film, Ramona, which became a huge hit that year.  A breakdown of these births are as follows: Jan-Mar 1925: 0 Apr-Jun 1925: 1 Jul-Sep 1925: 0 Oct-Dec 1925: 1 Jan-Mar 1926: 0 Apr-Jun 1926: 0 Jul-Sep 1926: 0 Oct-Dec 1926: 0 Jan-Mar 1927: 0 Apr-Jun 1927: 0 Jul-Sep 1927: 0 Oct-Dec 1927: 1 Jan-Mar 1928: 0 Apr-Jun 1928: 0 Jul-Sep 1928: 0 Oct-Dec 1928: 16 Jan-Mar 1929: 23 Apr-Jun 1929: 14 Jul-Sep 1929: 14 Oct-Dec 1929: 5 click to enlarge From 1996 to 2007 in England and Wales, Ramona ranked consistently in each year but with no more than ten births in any given year. The name saw more of a pronounced rise from 2010 when it reached #1472 with 20 births. Since then, Ramona has continued to have more than than 20 births each year, peaking at #1098 with 32 births in 2013.  In 2016, Ramona ranked #1525 with 21 births in England and Wales.

Famous Bearers:

History: * Ramona Davies (1909−1972), American cabaret singer and pianist. Contemporary: * Ramona Lofton (born 1950), better known by her pen name Sapphire, is an American author and performance poet. * Ramona Bădescu, a Romanian-born Italian actress, singer, model, and politician. * Ramona Badescu, Hungarian-French children's author. * Ramona Mallory Lambert, American actress. * Ramona Marquez (born 2001), British actress. * Ramona Sarsgaard (b. 2006), daughter of actors Maggie Gyllenhaal and Peter Sarsgaard. Literature and Other Media: * Ramona, main character in the 1884 Ramona novel by Helen Hunt Jackson. * Ramona Quimby, main character in the Ramona series of children's stories by Beverly Cleary. * Ramona Victoria Flowers, one of the protagonists in the Scott Pilgrim series. * Ramona Ortega, a main character in the 2002 Esperanza Rising novel by Pam Munoz Ryan. * Ramona Ramirez, Spanish nanny in the British TV series Cold Feet. * To Ramona, song by Bob Dylan. * Ramona, song by the Ramones.

Variants:

Raymonde (French), Raimunde (German), Raimonda (Italian)

Pronunciation:

rə-MŌ-nə  [key]

Possible  diminutives:

Remy, Romy, Ray, Mona, Money

Sibling Names:

Tamsin     Loretta     Monica     Lorna     Greta     Gianna  Xavier     Valentin     Dante     Maxim     Inigo     Quentin

Name Lists:

Names of Roses

 

If you like Ramona you may also like:   Paloma, Romola, Selma, Bryony, Romilly, Roxana, Leonor, Bonita, Isadora, Bronwyn

Thanks to Alice for requesting this name.