Skip to main content

Desdemona

desdemona-theodore-chasseriau
Desdemona by Theodore Chasseriau


Desdemona (dez-deh-MOH-nah) is an English literary name meaning "ill-fated." William Shakespeare used the name in Othello, but the play was based on the story Un Capitano Moro which was in Giovanni Battista Giraldi's Gli Hecatommithi, where the name was spelled Disdemona, from the Greek word dysdaimonia. It has never been a terribly popular name because of the character, who is murdered by her husband, and the name's meaning. However, Desdemona has been a character name in several other works of fiction since, including the Midnighters trilogy by Scott Westerfeld, the book Middlesex by Jeffrey Eugenides, and Jimmy Buffet's Where is Joe Merchant? Desdemona also features in two other plays - Toni Morrison's Desdemona, and Paula Vogel's Desdemona: A Play about a Handkerchief. It's also been used for four songs, is a moon of Uranus, and an asteroid demonically named 666 Desdemona. Desdemona Mazza was an Italian silent film actress, and the Desdemona Underwing Catocala Desdemona) is a beautiful butterfly found in Utah and Arizona. So, Desdemona really has a lot in her favor. Plus, nicknames! Choose from Dez, Dezzie, Dessie, Dessa, Desda, Demi, Demo, Mona and more.

Desdemona has been listed in Social Security Administration name charts in 1904, 1919, 1972, 1976, 1977, 1994, and last year in 2017 when it was given to 8 girls. I'm sure there may have been instances of Othello pop-ups that contributed to the name being used in these specific years. For example, there was a 1993 Otello performance by Luciano Pavarotti.
Labels:

Comments

  1. AnonymousSeptember 11, 2024 at 3:03 PM

    Respect and that i have a swell offer: How To Plan House Renovation home addition cost

    ReplyDelete

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Massimo

Today's name: Massimo (male) Pronunciation: MAH-see-moh Potential nicknames: Masi, Simo, Max Origin: Along with Massimiliano, Massimo is the Italian variant of the Latin name Maximilian (which was the name of three Roman emperors and a few saints), meaning "greatest." Popularity: Massimo did not rank on the top 1000 baby names in 2010, but there were 148 baby boys born named Massimo and 5 named Massimiliano. In 2011 there were 107 named Massimo. Fun fact: (1) The name Maksim is also a variant of Maximilian. (2) Massimo has been the surname of many powerful Roman families. (3) Saint Massimo, a 5th century bishop. (4) Massimo D'Alema, Italian Prime Minister. (5) Massimo Capra, Canadian celebrity chef. .
Post a Comment
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

Elowen

Elowen is a recent Cornish baby name meaning "elm." It may not take off in America like the last Cornish hit, Jennifer, but it's certainly pretty. She's part of a "linguistic revival," as Appellation Mountain puts it  here . Her nickname could be Ellie, Elle or Ella, or a more unusual choice, Wendy. The pronunciation of Elowen is "ell-LOH-en," though most Americans will probably stick with "ELL-oh-wen." Please note that it is not spelled Elowyn. There is a similar name, Eowyn, but if you spell it Elowyn it will no longer be the Cornish name meaning elm tree, just some creative name. Other great Cornish names include Penrose, Chesten (the Cornish form of Christine), Demelza, Denzel, Hammitt, Kerensa/Kerenza, Meraud (very similar to French gem name Emeraude, both meaning emerald, but Meraud is pronounced "meh-row"), Merryn, Morwenna, Tremain, Emblyn, Jory, Massen, Treeve and Cotton. Here's 's a link to a post on Cornish n...
2 comments
Read more