Skip to main content

Olympia

Olympia (oh-LIM-pee-uh), which can also be spelled Olimpia or Olympe, is an old European classic that the world should be familiar with, given the title of the Olympic Games. (The actual site of the ancient Olympic games is named Olympia, Greece.) Both the games and the name Olympia are in reference to the Olympian gods and goddesses of Mount Olympus. In fact, it is Greek, meaning "from Mount Olympus."

There are a few well known Olympia's out there. Alexander the Great's mother, actress Olympia Dukakis, Senator Olympia Snowe, French playwright and political activist (feminist and abolitionist writing) Olympe de Gouges, and Princess Maria-Olympia of Greece and Denmark (born in 1967). Not to mention several ships, buildings, songs, art, and even an oyster.

Olympia was last seen on the SSA's charts in 1925 at #984. In 2010 there were only 28 baby girls named Olympia (and none with the Olimpia spelling). Talk about an underused classic. It even comes with cute nicknames like Pia, Ollie, and Olympie. More of a stretch but definitely possible: Lily, Lia, or Polly. Also try variations such as Olympiana, Olimpiada, and Olympienne.
Labels:

Comments

  1. eponymiaJanuary 19, 2012 at 11:43 AM

    Love Olympia -- I can never decide if I prefer Olimpia or the "y" spelling.

    ReplyDelete
  2. ✾Jamie Lee Cooley✾July 26, 2013 at 12:09 AM

    I love it too. On my list for my next baby

    ReplyDelete

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Sailor Moon Baby Names

As a long-time fan girl of Sailor Moon, I was thrilled to hear about a potential reboot of the series, which was supposed to be in 2013 and has now been pushed to 2014. It's been over 20 years since Sailor Moon first aired, but many still get a warm fuzzy feeling when they think of the show. What is not often mentioned is how well researched Takeuchi's name choices were. She covered gems, minerals, astrology, mythology and creative word choices. Today I'll talk about Sailor Moon names. Usagi Tsukino- Bunny - Serena - Princess Serenity - Sailor Moon Usagi means "rabbit" in Japanese, referring to the Japanese legend of the rabbit on the moon, and Tsukino means "moon." In the translation of the comics, Usagi was renamed Bunny appropriately. Keeping with the mythological aspects of the moon and both Greek and Roman moon goddesses, Usagi's character was given the concept of "serene," which gave her the name Serena in the American TV series (a...
3 comments
Read more

Galician Baby Names

I grew up on a street that was named an Italian variant of Roger. When I got married and we bought our first house, it turned out to be on Roger Street. Once noting that coincidence, I started searching for other variants of the name. However, female variants turned out to be pretty nonexistent. Save for Roxeria, which I later discovered was the Galician female form, possibly pronounced rohz-AIR-ee-uh. That led me to a few lists of female Galician names, ranging from common to rare. Here is a sampling of names not often heard here in the states... Albina Alda Alma Alodia Aloia Amada Amadora Amalia Amparo Anisia Antia Araceli Aranzazu Artemisa Avelina Azucena Baia Balbina Baltasara Beatriz Benvida Berenice Bieita Branca Braulia Caetana Carola Casilda Casimira Ceferina Celsa Cipriana Cira Clorinda Coralia Cornelia Cosima Davinia Delfina Desideria Dionisia Dominga Dorinda Dorotea Dositea Edelmira Edenia Elba Elvira Emiliana Etelvina ...
2 comments
Read more

Zezolla, the Italian Cinderella

  Thomas Sully - Cinderella at the Kitchen Fire Continuing with Giambattista Basile's Il Pentamerone fairy tale collection, I present to you the Italian Cinderella, "The Cat Cinderella," whose main character is named Zezolla. Zezolla is not a name that has been used in the U.S. (and pretty much everywhere else). This Cinderella story, one of the first - if not the first recorded on paper, is about a child who is miserable and abused by her stepmother. Zezolla's governess, who is kind and nurturing, urges her to kill her spiteful and mean stepmother, which Zezolla does, and then the governess marries Zezolla's father (an unnamed prince), bringing along her six cruel daughters. (In the story, it is more to the discredit of the governess, and she is mainly considered "tempted by Satan," rather than the murder being Zezolla's fault.) Her father is made to believe these new daughters are gracious girls and begins focusing so much on them that Zezolla...
1 comment
Read more