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Imogen (given name)

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Pronunciation/ˈɪməən/
GenderFemale
Origin
Word/nameUnknown, possibly Celtic or Germanic
MeaningUnknown, possibly "maiden", "girl", or “beloved child”
Other names
Related namesImogene, Innogen (Ignoge, Inogene), Immy or Imi (nickname), Imo (nickname), Moggie or Mog (nickname)

Imogen (/ˈɪməən/), or Imogene (/ˈɪmən/), is a female given name of uncertain etymology.

Origin

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It is possible that the name Imogen may have originated as an accidental or deliberate misspelling of the name Innogen, itself a possibly common Irish Gaelic name in the past, from the word 'inghean' meaning "maiden" or "girl",[1] or a British Celtic name derived from the Latin Innocentia.[2] Innogen is known as the name of a legendary British queen and was supposedly wife to King Brutus and mother of Locrinus, Albanactus and Camber. The form Innogen is rare.[3] Another theory is that it is derived from Greek, meaning "beloved child".[4]

Imogen was the name of a politically influential sister[5] of Rivallon I of Dol, a contemporary and ally of William the Conqueror during the Breton-Norman War.

Popularity

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In England and Wales; it was the 34th most popular baby girl name in 2014,[6] whilst in Australia, Imogen was the 35th most popular name for baby girls from 2011-13.[7] It was ranked 86th in popularity for baby girls in Scotland in 2007.[8]

As of July 2014, Imogen had never been in the top 1000 most popular baby names in the United States, with only 131 baby girls named Imogen in the US in 2013.[9]

People

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Fictional characters

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References

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  1. ^ Norman, Teresa (2003). A World of Baby Names. Penguin. p. 131. ISBN 978-0-399-52894-1.
  2. ^ Bartrum, Peter C. (2009) [1993]. "Innogen daughter of Pandrasus" (PDF). In MPS (ed.). A Welsh Classical Dictionary. Vol. 7. National Library of Wales. p. 442.
  3. ^ John Pitcher, 'Names in Cymbeline', Essays in Criticism, v. 43(1), 1993, specifically pp. 3–8; subscription required.
  4. ^ Brown, Michele (1985). The New Book of First Names. Corgi. p. 154. ISBN 9780552122573.
  5. ^ Marjorie Chibnall, ed. (1990). Anglo-Norman Studies XIII: Proceedings of the Battle Conference. p. 168.
  6. ^ "The 100 most popular baby names in England and Wales in 2014 – the full list". The Guardian. 17 August 2015. Archived from the original on 23 September 2016.
  7. ^ Sullivan, Rebecca (5 May 2015). "Australia's top 10 baby names". News.com.au. News Corp Australia. Archived from the original on 6 December 2015.
  8. ^ Behind the Name
  9. ^ Redmond Satran, Pamela (9 July 2014). "The most popular baby names of 2014 so far are..." Today Parents. Archived from the original on 1 April 2016.