Daphne
Meaning of Daphne
Daphne, pronounced DAF-nee, springs from the ancient Greek δάφνη—Latinized in Roman literature as laurus—signifying the fragrant laurel whose evergreen boughs once crowned triumphant generals and poet-kings; thus, the name carries an intrinsic aura of victory, honor, and poetic accomplishment. Classical myth envelops Daphne in a poignant narrative: a river nymph whose fleet grace so captivated Apollo that, to preserve her autonomy, she was metamorphosed into the laurel tree, forever binding her identity to resilience and verdant immortality. Over centuries the appellation migrated through Latin Christendom into the vernaculars of Europe, maintaining a subtle yet persistent presence; in the United States, its popularity has oscillated like the gentle sway of laurel leaves—modest in the early twentieth century, receding mid-century, and now blooming anew, its national rank ascending from the 600s in the 1990s to the mid-180s in 2024. Parents who choose Daphne today often seek a name that intertwines botanical grace, mythic depth, and scholarly heritage, offering their daughters a legacy that whispers of evergreen strength and the quiet triumphs that crown a life well lived.
Pronunciation
English
- Pronunced as DAF-nee (/ˈdæfni/)
U.S. Popularity Chart
States Popularity Chart
Notable People Named Daphne
| Daphne Caruana Galizia was a Maltese investigative journalist and anti corruption blogger renowned for exposing political corruption, including the Panama Papers, before she was assassinated by a car bomb. |
| Dame Daphne du Maurier was an English novelist, biographer, and playwright, daughter of actor-manager Sir Gerald du Maurier and actress Muriel Beaumont, and granddaughter of writer and cartoonist George du Maurier. |
| British composer Daphne Oram, cofounder of the BBC Radiophonic Workshop, pioneered electronic music and musique concrete in the UK and broke new ground on The Innocents soundtrack. |
| Daphne Guinness is an English fashion designer, socialite, actress, film producer, and musician. |
| Margaret Daphne Hampson is an English theologian, educated at Oxford and Harvard, who held a chair in Post Christian Thought at St Andrews and is known for an influential realist stance that rejects Christianity as neither true nor moral and calls for ending patriarchal religion to advance human freedom. |
| Daphne Eurydice Zuniga is an American actress who debuted at 19 in the 1982 slasher The Dorm That Dripped Blood and later starred in The Initiation in 1984. |
| Panamanian actress and singer Daphne Rubin-Vega is best known for originating Mimi in Rent and Lucy in Jack Goes Boating. |
| Daphne Odjig was a Canadian First Nations artist of Odawa, Potawatomi, and English heritage known for her Woodlands and pictographic style paintings. |
| Daphne Nur Oz is an American television host, food writer, and chef best known for co hosting The Chew and The Good Dish. |
| Daphne Marlatt is a Canadian poet and novelist based in Vancouver. |
| Dame Daphne Sheldrick was a Kenyan conservationist and author who founded the Sheldrick Wildlife Trust and spent over three decades rescuing and returning orphaned elephants to the wild. |
| Daphne Koller is an Israeli American computer scientist, former Stanford professor and MacArthur Fellow, cofounder of Coursera, known for AI research in biomedicine and recognition by MIT Technology Review for Bayesian machine learning. |
| Daphne Iking is a Malaysian television personality, emcee, and occasional actress. |
| Daphne van Domselaar is a Dutch goalkeeper for Arsenal and the Netherlands national team. |
| Daphne Wright is an Irish visual artist whose sculptural installations probe unspoken human concerns, exhibited internationally, recipient of the Paul Hamlyn Award and a Henry Moore Foundation fellowship, member of Aosdana, and represented by Frith Street Gallery in London. |
