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Origin: |
Delilah is the name of one of the principal characters in the Book of Judges, Chapter 16, in the Hebrew Bible. As the story goes, Delilah is loved by Samson, the final Judge of Israel, and she is bribed by the Philistines to find out the source of Samson's strength. Eventually, she goads into telling her—it's his hair—and when he is asleep, she orders a servant to cut Samson's hair and turns him over to the Philistines. From Biblical times to Tom Jones' classic 1968 hit song Delilah, the name Delilah has been a byword for treachery, deceit and cunning. However, several modern critics have been keen to liberate Delilah from this stigma, pointing out that she is unique among female Biblical figures because she acts independently without relying on, or being defined by, male relatives. There is very little difference between these women's actions and Delilah's: all three exploited the weaknesses of their enemies' most prominent military foe and were the cause of their deaths. However, Jael and Judith are praised in Biblical tradition as heroines while Delilah is denigrated simply because of which side she supported. The etymology of Delilah is under debate by scholars. Like many ancient names, its true origins, it seems, are obscured through the mists of time. Traditionally, Delilah has been derived from the Hebrew verb dalal (דָּלַל) which, in Delilah's case, is often said to mean "delicate, languishing", but it has many meanings including "to hang", "look with languishing eyes", "hang down", "be low", "to be laid low" and "weak". However, as it is still disputed whether Delilah was an Israelite or not, more recent theories have focussed on non-Hebrew sources. One theory connects Delilah to the related Arabic words dalla "to behave amorously" and dalila "a guide".** Many scholars agree that Delilah's name (whether Hebrew or not) was deliberately adapted by Biblical writers as a pun on laylah (לילה) the Hebrew word for "night", which was used as a clear contrast to Samson's name, derived from shemesh (שֶׁמֶשׁ) meaning "sun".***** As Caroline Blyth (2017) poetically puts it: "Ultimately, despite our best efforts to pin down a meaning for [Delilah], uncertainty will always prevail; Delilah may play a central role in the Judges 16 story, she may be the only woman in Samson's saga to be granted a moniker, but this moniker remains unfathomable. [...] Rather than being 'an everlasting curse on the lips of men', the name Delilah may instead be an everlasting enigma that captures the multifaceted complexity of this biblical persona."* |
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Usage: |
Despite her "bad girl" Biblical reputation, Delilah can be found in baptisms from the 17th century in Britain. At this time, other 'rule-breaking' Biblical women (such as Bathsheba and Vashti) were used as names, and we should not find this unusual given that the Bible was one of the main sources for names during this period.
Records in the England and Wales Birth Index:
In the 1949 film Samson and Delilah, Hedy Lamarr played a more sympathetic version of Delilah. According to this re-telling, Delilah has been in love with Samson for a long time but betrays him to avenge the deaths of her father and sister, which she believes are the fault of Samson. She later comes to regret her actions and stays with him as the temple collapses around them. Samson and Delilah became the highest-grossing film of 1950*, winning two of its five Academy Awards nominations. This may have played some small part in Delilah's modest renewal in use in the 1950s.
It broke into the top 1000 at #816 (37 births) in 2006, and, by 2008 it had leapt to #408 (105 births). It plateaued for two years and then, from 2011 has been on a steady and steep upward climb. Regionally, Delilah broke into the top 100 in the South West (#89) and South East (#96) in 2017. It cracked the combined England and Wales top 100 in 2018 at #90 with 601 births. Individually, it ranked #90 in England and #107 in Wales in 2018. It was also more common for younger mothers, ranking at #46 for mothers under 25, #71 for mothers aged 25-29, #124 for mothers aged 30-34 and #170 for aged 35 and over. In Scotland, Delilah saw very little use at all from 1975 to 2010—only given to seven girls overall in that time. In 2012, it rose to #426 (8 births) but its ranks has fluctuated since. To date, Delilah peaked at #289 (13 births) in Scotland in 2017. In 2018, Delilah ranked #348 with 10 births in Scotland. In Northern Ireland, Delilah is even rarer. It reached a peak of #355 (4 births) in 2017 but was given to fewer than 3 babies in 2018, putting it well below the top 500. |
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Famous Bearers: |
History: * Delilah Leontium Beasley (1867–1934), American historian and newspaper columnist. Contemporary: * Delilah Rene (b. 1960), American radio personality.* Delilah Cotto (b. 1970) Puerto Rican-American actress, dancer and model. * Delila Hatuel (b. 1980), Israeli fencer. * Delilah DiCrescenzo (b. 1983), American distance runner. * Delilah Fishburne (b. 2007), daughter of actors Laurence Fishburne and Gina Torres. * Delilah Genoveva del Toro (b. 2011), daughter of actors Benicio del Toro and Kimberly Stewart. * Delilah Grace Cavendish (b. 2012), daughter of cyclist Mark Cavendish and model Peta Todd. * Delilah Grace Wilshere (b. 2013), daughter of footballer Jack Wilshere. * Delilah Ruby Sinclair (b.2018), daughter of British soap actress Helen Flanagan and footballer Scott Sinclair. * Delilah-Rae Monk (b. 2018), daughter of British singer Cher Lloyd. Literature and Other Media: * Delilah, a 1973-1974 Canadian sitcom |
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Variants: |
Delila, Dalilah (Biblical variants), Dalila (French, Italian, Spanish, Portuguese), Dalida (Greek, Russian, Slovak, Ukrainian, Hungarian, Croatian, Czech) |
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Pronunciation: |
də-LĪ-lə [key] |
| Possible diminutives: |
Dell, Della, Dellie, Dolly, Lila, Lyla |
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Sibling Names: |
Arabella Savannah Ariana Sienna Aurora Eliana |
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Name Lists: |
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Thanks to Alice for requesting this name.
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