Belinda

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Belinda

Gender: Feminine
Language: English
Etymology:
Belinda’s exact origin is unknown. Some sources indicate that Belinda is from the Old Germanic name Betlindis, (where “lindis” means “snake”) and it was the wife of Orlando in the Charlemagne records, but this is uncertain.
-or-
It may be an elaboration of the Italian Bella (“Beauty”)

History:
Belinda first appeared in the 17th century as a literary name. It can be found in Henry Purcell's (1659-1695) and Nahum Tate’s (1652-1715) opera Dido and Aeneas in 1689. Sir John Vanbrugh (1664-1726) used it in his 1697 play The Provok’d Wife. Then English satirist Alexander Pope used it in his mock-epic The Rape of the Lock in 1712-1714. There was also Belinda, the 1801 novel by Maria Edgeworth (1767-1849).

Belinda was used occasionally in the 18th, 19th and even 20th centuries.

Pronunciation: bell-inn-dah.

Diminutives:
English: Bindy, Linda.

Famous Bearers:
Fictional Characters:
Belinda (1714)
The heroine of Alexander Pope’s mock epic The Rape of the Lock.

Popularity:
Percentage from the 1990 U.S. Census:
0.059 % named Belinda

Popularity of Belinda:
Popularity (for newborns):
In the United States...
1900-1940: N/A
1940-1950: 505th most popular.
1950-1960: 174th most popular.
1960-1970: 165th most popular.
1970-1980: 217th most popular.
1980-1990: 448th most popular.
1990: 627th most popular.
1991: 620th most popular.
1992: 747th most popular.
1993: 744th most popular.
1994: 824th most popular.
1995: 994th most popular.
1996: 975th most popular.
1997: N/A