Hermione

Meaning of Hermione

Hermione, the Latinate rendering of the ancient Greek Ἑρμιόνη (Hermíonē), is the feminine counterpart of Hermes and ultimately derives from herma, the boundary stone that signified a message or marker; its semantic field therefore encompasses both “messenger” and “pillar.” Classical literature first presents Hermione as the daughter of Menelaus and Helen, a lineage that later allowed Shakespeare to reintroduce the name in The Winter’s Tale, securing its passage into Early Modern English. U.S. birth data confirm sporadic but persistent usage throughout the twentieth century, with modest peaks in the 1920s and 1950s. J. K. Rowling’s portrayal of Hermione Granger in the Harry Potter series precipitated a measurable resurgence: annual registrations, once in single digits, have stabilized near one hundred since 2018, anchoring the name in the mid-800s by national rank. Thus, Hermione blends venerable Hellenic heritage with contemporary literary cachet, offering parents a learned and distinctive feminine option.