Arnold-Bocklin-La-Complainte-du-berger-Daphnis-et-Amaryllis

Amaryllis (; ) is a feminine given name derived from the

Ancient Greek Ancient Greek (, ; ) includes the forms of the Greek language used in ancient Greece and the classical antiquity, ancient world from around 1500 BC to 300 BC. It is often roughly divided into the following periods: Mycenaean Greek (), Greek ...

verb ''amarýssō'' (ἀμαρύσσω), meaning "sparkle, shine".

Origin

The name appears in Ancient Greek and Roman literature. In

Theocritus Theocritus (; , ''Theokritos''; ; born 300 BC, died after 260 BC) was a Greek poet from Sicily, Magna Graecia, and the creator of Ancient Greek pastoral poetry. Life Little is known of Theocritus beyond what can be inferred from his writings ...

' '' Idylls'', a goatherd sings a serenade outside the cave of the nymph Amaryllis. Amaryllis was also the name of a heroine in

Virgil Publius Vergilius Maro (; 15 October 70 BC21 September 19 BC), usually called Virgil or Vergil ( ) in English, was an ancient Rome, ancient Roman poet of the Augustan literature (ancient Rome), Augustan period. He composed three of the most fa ...

's pastoral poem ''

Eclogues The ''Eclogues'' (; , ), also called the ''Bucolics'', is the first of the three major works of the Latin poet Virgil. Background Taking as his generic model the Greek bucolic poetry of Theocritus, Virgil created a Roman version partly by o ...

''. The

Amaryllis ''Amaryllis'' () is the only genus in the subtribe Amaryllidinae (tribe Amaryllideae). It is a small genus of flowering bulbs, with two species. The better known of the two, '' Amaryllis belladonna'', is a native of the Western Cape region of ...

flower is named after her. Amaryllis is not a very popular name in Greece, nor in other countries. It has been included in the

Greek Orthodox Greek Orthodox Church (, , ) is a term that can refer to any one of three classes of Christian Churches, each associated in some way with Greek Christianity, Levantine Arabic-speaking Christians or more broadly the rite used in the Eastern Rom ...

calendar only recently, meaning there is a

name day In Christianity, a name day is a tradition in many countries of Europe and the Americas, as well as Christian communities elsewhere. It consists of celebrating a day of the year that is associated with one's baptismal name, which is normatively t ...

for Amaryllis, which is October 10. The name rose in popularity in the United States in 1927 after the publication of ''The Magic Garden'', a serialized fictional story by American author

Gene Stratton-Porter Gene Stratton-Porter (August 17, 1863 – December 6, 1924), born Geneva Grace Stratton, was an American writer, nature photographer, and naturalist from Wabash County, Indiana. In 1917 Stratton-Porter urged legislative support for the Habitat co ...

in ''

McCall's ''McCall's'' was a monthly United States, American women's magazine, published by the McCall Corporation, that enjoyed great popularity through much of the 20th century, peaking at a readership of 8.4 million in the early 1960s. The publication ...

'' magazine, that featured a heroine named Amaryllis Minton. Usage of the name increased from seven in 1926 to 45 American girls named Amaryllis in 1927.

Women

* Amaryllis Collymore (c. 1745–1828), Afro-Barbadian slave, plantation owner and businesswoman * Amaryllis Fleming (1925 – 1999), British cello performer and teacher *

Amaryllis Garnett Amaryllis Virginia Garnett (17 October 1943 – 6 May 1973) was an English actress and diarist. Early life and family Born in St Pancras, London, Garnett was the eldest of the four daughters of David and Angelica Garnett. Her father was a write ...

(1943 – 1973), English actress and diarist * Amaryllis Fox Kennedy (born 1980), American writer and former CIA officer * Amaryllis Tremblay, Canadian actress

References

{{Reflist Given names derived from plants or flowers Greek feminine given names Feminine given names