Felicity
Meaning of Felicity
Rooted in the Latin felicitas—an abstract noun that Roman poets likened to a cornucopia overflowing with “good fortune” and “beatitude”—the name Felicity carries the gleam of a virtue ensconced in antiquity, yet it continues to radiate a gentle modernity along contemporary nursery walls. Historically, the appellation evokes both sacred and civic imagery: the early-Christian martyr Saint Felicity, whose steadfast joy under persecution became a beacon for the faithful, and the goddess Felicitas, who personified prosperity in the marble heart of the Forum Romanum. Over centuries, English-speaking Puritans resurrected the name as a linguistic talisman, believing that a child so called might inhale happiness as naturally as breath; a similar sentiment animates today’s parents, as evidenced by its steady ascent through United States birth registers since the late twentieth century. Lyrically pronounced fuh-LIS-i-tee, the four-syllable cadence unfurls like a silken ribbon, leaving on the ear the promise of sunshine after rain, while literary and pop-cultural echoes—from Restoration comedies to modern television dramas—further enrich its tapestry of associations. In sum, Felicity stands as a melodious testament to the perennial human wish that a daughter’s life be crowned, sicut stella matutina, “like the morning star,” with abiding joy.
Pronunciation
English
- Pronunced as fuh-LIS-i-tee (/fəˈlɪs ɪ ti/)
U.S. Popularity Chart
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Notable People Named Felicity
| Felicity Jones - English actress Felicity Rose Hadley Jones has earned nominations for two Academy Awards and two Golden Globes. |
| Felicity Kendal is an English television and theatre actress, best known as Barbara Good in The Good Life, whose career of more than seventy years began with her family’s touring company in India and included the film Shakespeare Wallah. |
| Felicity Aston is a British explorer, author, and climate scientist. |
| Felicity Ward is an Australian comedian and actress known for Spicks and Specks, Thank God Youre Here, Good News Week, and for writing and performing in The Ronnie Johns Half Hour with The 3rd Degree. |
| Dame Felicity Lott is a renowned English soprano. |
| Dame Felicity Ann Dahl, widow of Roald Dahl and formerly married to Charles Reginald Hugh Crosland, gave a rare 2008 interview to promote the inaugural Roald Dahl Funny Prize and reflect on her life with him. |
| Felicity Nussbaum - Felicity A. Nussbaum is a UCLA Distinguished Research Professor of English specializing in eighteenth century literature and culture, critical theory, gender studies, and postcolonial and Anglophone studies, and previously taught at Syracuse University and Indiana University South Bend. |
| Felicity Jane Johnson is an Australian Paralympic tandem cyclist who won silver at the 2008 Beijing Games and gold at the 2012 London Games. |
| Felicity Landon is a British freelance journalist near Stowmarket who has spent 35 years covering global maritime and logistics and has won Seahorse Freight Association awards, including 2023 Journalist of the Year. |
| Felicity Colman is an Australian academic and creative media arts theorist, Professor of Film and Media Arts, and Dean of Research and Knowledge Exchange at the London College of Fashion, University of the Arts London. |
| Felicity Price is an Australian actress and screenwriter who co wrote and starred in Wish You Were Here, earning a 2012 AACTA best actress nomination and winning best original screenplay. |
| Felicity Pia Hampel is an Australian human rights lawyer who has served as a judge of the County Court of Victoria since 2005, after starting as a barrister in 1981 and becoming Senior Counsel in 1996. |
| Felicity Finch is a British actress best known for portraying Ruth Archer in the BBC Radio 4 drama The Archers with a Northumberland accent. |
| Retired British badminton player Felicity Gallup represented England and Wales, briefly left to model in Japan, then returned to reach the 2002 Commonwealth Games womens doubles quarterfinals for Wales with Joanne Muggeridge after upsetting the top seeds. |
| Felicity Wardlaw is an Australian road cyclist and the 2014 national time trial champion. |
