Cressida

Meaning of Cressida

Cressida is a feminine given name of Greek origin, etymologically derived from the Ancient Greek Χρυσηΐς (Chryseïs), signifying “golden”; it entered medieval European literature through the retelling of the Trojan War saga in works such as Benoît de Sainte-Maure’s Roman de Troie and Boccaccio’s Il Filostrato, later achieving lasting prominence in William Shakespeare’s tragedy Troilus and Cressida, wherein the eponymous heroine embodies an intricate interplay of loyalty and desire. In contemporary Anglo-American usage, the name remains relatively uncommon yet remarkably stable, registering annual occurrences in the United States Social Security Administration data typically under ten and securing a ranking near the lower quartile of the top one thousand; its phonological form—articulated in English as KRES-i-duh (/ˈkrɛ.sɪd.ɑ/)—imbues it with a concise yet sonorous quality that appeals to those drawn to classical literary associations.