Fiona

Where Fiona comes from

From Irish fionn (“fair, white”). In use before 1713. Popularized by James Macpherson (see 1765 quotation), and perhaps by the 19th-century Scottish writer William Sharp, who chose “Fiona Macleod” as his pen name. * (Sara Duterte): After the fictional character Princess Fiona from the Shrek series, who transforms from princess to ogre.
— Wiktionary's entry for Fiona
  • Scottish Gaelic
  • 3 syllables
  • Vowel-ended
Along the way
  1. 1942
    First appearance
    #3,194 among girls, 9 babies — the first year at least five got the name.
  2. 1958
    Fiona Shaw born
    Irish actress
  3. 1969
    Fiona May born
    British-born Italian long jumper
  4. 2017
    Peak, #180
    1,683 babies named Fiona — more than any year before or since.
  5. 2023
    The fade
    The first year with half the peak's births — down to #400.
In the dictionary
  • A female given name from Scottish Gaelic, in regular use since the 20th century, first in Scotland, then in England.
Namesakes
  • Fiona Shaw · Irish actress, born 1958
  • Fiona May · British-born Italian long jumper, born 1969
  • Fiona Graham · Australian anthropologist, geisha, 1961–2023
  • Fiona Dourif · American actress and producer, born 1981
  • Fiona Ferro · French tennis player, born 1997

Sources: the origin note and dictionary entry are quoted from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 4.0); the namesakes come from Wikidata (CC0); the milestones are worked out from the SSA record.