Name of the Week: Ariana

 

 

Origin:

Ariana is a younger form, in many European Romance languages such as Spanish, Italian and Portuguese, of Ariadna. It is also found as Arianna and Ariane (pronounced ah-ree-AH-nə in German and Dutch, and ah-ree-AHN in French).  Ariadna itself is a Latinisation of the Ancient Greek name Ariadne, derived from the archaic Greek prefix ari- "very, most, best" and adnos, the Cretan Greek form of (h)agnos "holy, pure." According to Greek mythology, Ariadne was the daughter of King Minos of Crete and Pasiphaë, herself the daughter of the son god Helios and the Oceanid Perse.  Her father put her in charge of the labyrinth of Crete in which was housed the minotaur. When the Greek hero Theseus came to Crete to destroy the minotaur, Ariadne fell in love with him and helped Theseus to find his way out of the labyrinth with a ball of twine.  The two lovers eloped together, but later they separated – the accounts vary as to why – and Ariadne became the wife of the wine god Dionysus.  The constellation Corona Borealis "the crown" is said to be Ariadne's wedding diadem, which was placed in the heavens by Dionysus.  The Greeks themselves considered Ariadne to have become a goddess — she is said to have ascended to Olympos with Dionysus after he retrieved her from the underworld. However, it is possible that Ariadne's origins lie with an ancient Cretan goddess. Her name, "most holy," certainly suggests a divine epithet. Before it was a given name, Ariana (as well as Aria) was used by classical Greek and Roman writers as a general geographical term used to refer to a vast area that covered the whole of modern-day Afghanistan, eastern Iran, up to the Indus River in Pakistan. The modern name of Iran derives from the Old Persian form Airyane which was ultimately taken from the Old Persian term ariya- "noble, excellent, honourable.".  Ariana is also sometimes considered to be a feminine elaboration of the Welsh arian "silver," taking cues from the names Arianwen, Arianrhod and Ariannell.

Usage:

Ariana had use across Europe — including Britain — from the 16th century. It was used in small numbers in Britain, but wasn't uncommon in Prussia or the Netherlands.  Ariana Nozeman (1626–1661) was the first actress in the Netherlands. In some cases, she was known as Adriana, and it seems most likely she was named after her father, actor and playwright, Adriaan van den Bergh. In Britain, Ariana and Arianna was used in small numbers in the 19th century. Overall it was rare, and almost died out by the 1920s. It saw a modest revival in the 1960s, becoming more established by the 1980s.  Records for Ariana in the England and Wales Birth Index:   Ariana Arianna 1840s: 1850s: 1860s: 1870s: 1880s: 1890s: 1900s: 1910s: 1920s: 1930s: 1940s: 1950s: 1960s: 1970s: 1980s: 1 birth 2 births 2 births 2 births 2 births 1 birth 1 birth 1 birth 0 births 1 birth 0 births 0 births 4 births 19 births 39 births 2 births 0 births 1 birth 0 births 0 births 0 births 0 births 0 births 0 births 0 births 0 births 0 births 7 births 14 births 41 births In the English Speaking World, Ariana has seen the most success in America in the 20th century. It first entered the US top 1000 in 1978 and was in the top 500 by 1987.  Ariana itself entered the US top 100 in 2001 at #92 and Arianna followed at #83 in 2003. They both peaked in 2014 at #37 and #40 respectively and currently rank at #66 (Ariana) and #87 (Arianna).  From 1996 to 2004, Ariana and Arianna were both used consistently, but neither had more than 50 births in any given year. Both names started gently rising after 2006, with Ariana making a notable rise from 2012, making big leaps in 2013, 2014 and 2015. Ariana Grande starred in the Nickelodeon show Victorious in 2009, followed by her first studio album in 2013 which debuted in the top 10 in the UK.  In 2017, Ariana ranked #104 with 524 births and Arianna ranked #244 with 206 births. Similarly, in the same year, Ariana ranked #108 with 44 births in Scotland, and Arianna ranked #103 with 45 births.

Famous Bearers:

History: * Ariana Nozeman (1626–1661), Dutch actress. Contemporary: * Arianna Bergamaschi (born 1975), Italian singer, stage actress and television presenter. * Ariana Chris (born 1975), Canadian opera singer. * Ariana Richards (born 1979), American actress and painter. * Ariana Reines (born 1982), American poet and activist. * Ariana Berlin (born 1987), American gymnast and actor. * Ariana Kukors (born 1989), American swimmer. * Ariana Gillis (born 1990), Canadian singer-songwriter. * Ariana Grande (born 1993), American actress and singer. * Princess Ariane of the Netherlands (born 2007), youngest daughter of King Willem-Alexander. Literature and Other Media: * Ariana Dumbledore, character in J.K. Rowling's Harry Potter series. * Arianna "Ari" Langley, the main protagonist of Mary Stanton's Unicorns of Balinor book series. * Ariane, the lead female character in Ariane et Barbe-bleue, an opera by Paul Dukas. * Ariane, the lead female character in the film Love in the Afternoon (1957).

Variants:

Ariane (French, German), Ariadna (Spanish, Russian, Polish), Arijana (Croatian)

Pronunciation:

a-ree-AH-ə [key]

Possible  diminutives:

Ari, Ana, Ria

Sibling Names:

Ayla     Lyra     Elena     Delilah     Luna     Penelope  Leon     Milo     Blake     Roman     Jude     Atticus

Name Lists:

Harry Potter Names

 

If you like Ariana you may also like:   Elysia, Aurora, Serena, Amaya, Alara, Sabrina, Adelina, Aurelia, Luciana, Valentina

Thanks to Theresa for requesting this name.