Bridget is an Irish female name derived from the Gaelic noun , meaning "power, strength, vigor, virtue". An alternative meaning of the name is "exalted one". Its popularity, especially in Ireland, is largely related to the popularity of Saint Brigid of Kildare, who was so popular in Ireland she was known as "Mary of the

Gael The Gaels ( ; ; ; ) are an Insular Celtic ethnolinguistic group native to Ireland, Scotland, and the Isle of Man. They are associated with the Gaelic languages: a branch of the Celtic languages comprising Irish, Manx, and Scottish Gaelic ...

". This saint took on many of the characteristics of the early Celtic goddess

Brigid Brigid or Brigit ( , ; meaning 'exalted one'),Campbell, MikBehind the Name.See also Xavier Delamarre, ''brigantion / brigant-'', in ''Dictionnaire de la langue gauloise'' (Éditions Errance, 2003) pp. 87–88: "Le nom de la sainte irlandaise ''B ...

, who was the goddess of agriculture and healing and possibly also of poetry and fire. One of her epithets was "Brigid of the Holy Fire".Todd (1998), p. 23 In German and Scandinavian countries, the popularity of the name spread due to Saint Bridget of Sweden. In the

Irish language Irish (Standard Irish: ), also known as Irish Gaelic or simply Gaelic ( ), is a Celtic language of the Indo-European language family. It is a member of the Goidelic languages of the Insular Celtic sub branch of the family and is indigenous ...

, the name is spelled or , . In the

Scottish Gaelic Scottish Gaelic (, ; Endonym and exonym, endonym: ), also known as Scots Gaelic or simply Gaelic, is a Celtic language native to the Gaels of Scotland. As a member of the Goidelic language, Goidelic branch of Celtic, Scottish Gaelic, alongs ...

language, the name is spelled , . At one time the name was so popular for Irish girls that Bridey was used as a slang term for an Irish girl in English-speaking countries. Some Irish servant girls were called Biddie or Biddy by their employers even if that wasn't their real first name. It has been steadily used in the United States throughout the 20th and 21st centuries, though never among the top 100 most popular names for girls. It was most popular in the 1970s, when it ranked as the 153rd most popular name for girls born in that decade in the United States. It was ranked as the 367th most common name for girls and women in the United States in the 1990 census.

People with the name

Bridget Adams Bridget Shirley, Lady Bengough (née Adams; 4 May 1928 – 18 November 2019) was a British figure skater. She finished seventh at the 1948 Winter Olympics. Adams was coached by Jacques Gerschwiler. She married Sir Piers Bengough in 1952. ...

(1928–2019), English figure skater * Bridget Allchin (1927–2017), English archaeologist * Bridget Andrews (born 1993), English jockey * Bridget Archer (born 1975), Australian politician * Bridget Armstrong (born 1937), New Zealand actress * Bridget Atkinson (1732–1814), English farmer and shell collector * Bridget S. Bade (born 1965), American judge and lawyer *

Bridget Barrett Bridget Barrett (died 10 September 1845) was an Irish woman who was murdered in County Galway. Her murder attracted great notoriety at the time, and was "the subject of the first Coroner's inquest held in Connemara proper and led to two men bein ...

(died 1845), Irish murder victim *

Bridget Becker Bridget Becker (born April 23, 1980 in Ranfurly, Otago, New Zealand) is a New Zealand female curler from Patearoa. At the international level she is runner-up of 2010 World Mixed Doubles Curling Championship, runner-up () and four-time bron ...

(born 1981), New Zealand curler *

Bridget Bedard Bridget Bedard is a television writer and producer who has garnered four Peabody Awards, a Golden Globe, both Writers and Producers Guild awards, as well as multiple Emmy and Golden Globe nominations. Life and career Bridget Bedard grew up in ...

, American producer and screenwriter *

Bridget Bendish Bridget Bendish (née Ireton; 1650–1726), was a daughter of General Henry Ireton and Bridget Cromwell, Oliver Cromwell's eldest daughter. She was born in Attenborough, Nottinghamshire, England. She married Thomas Bendish, a distant relative o ...

(1650–1726), daughter of Bridget Cromwell *

Bridget Benenate Bridget Benenate is an American songwriter. She first found success in her song "Permission To Shine", which was performed by the band Bachelor Girl. The same year Bridget's song "Everything Changes" was featured on '' Dawson’s Creek''. In 20 ...

, American songwriter *

Bridget Bevan Bridget Bevan (née Vaughan; baptised 30 October 1698 – 11 December 1779), also known as Madam Bevan, was a Welsh educationalist and public benefactor. She was the chief supporter of Griffith Jones and his system of circulating schools. Lif ...

(1698–1779), Welsh educationalist and public benefactor *

Bridget Bishop Bridget Bishop (née Magnus; 1632 – 10 June 1692) was a midwife and the first person executed for witchcraft during the Salem witch trials in 1692. Nineteen were hanged, and one, Giles Corey, was pressed to death. Altogether, about 200 peop ...

(1692), first person executed for witchcraft during the

Salem witch trials The Salem witch trials were a series of hearings and prosecutions of people accused of witchcraft in Province of Massachusetts Bay, colonial Massachusetts between February 1692 and May 1693. More than 200 people were accused. Not everyone wh ...

* Bridget Boakye, Ghanaian data scientist, entrepreneur, and writer * Bridget Boland (1913–1988), Irish novelist, playwright, and screenwriter * Bridget Breiner (born 1974), American choreographer and dancer * Bridget M. Brennan (born 1974), American judge and lawyer * Bridget Brind, British diplomat * Bridget A. Brink, American diplomat * Bridget Buckley (born 1955), English rower * Bridget Burgess (born 2001), Australian stock car racing driver * Bridget Calitz (born 1997), South African lawn bowler * Bridget Callahan (born 1996), American soccer player * Bridget Carleton (born 1997), Canadian basketball player * Bridget Carey (born 1984), American technology journalist * Bridget Carpenter, American playwright and screenwriter * Bridget Carragher (born 1957), South African physicist *

Bridget Cherry Bridget Cherry (born 17 May 1941) is a British architectural historian who was series editor of the Pevsner Architectural Guides from 1971 until 2002, and is the author or co-author of several volumes in the series.Bridget Christie (born 1971), English actress, comedian, and writer * Bridget Cleary (1867–1895), Irish woman murdered by her husband * Bridget Connolly (1890–1981), Irish nationalist and republican * Bridget R. Cooks, American academic, curator, scholar, and writer * Bridget Cromwell (1624–1662), eldest daughter of

Oliver Cromwell Oliver Cromwell (25 April 15993 September 1658) was an English statesman, politician and soldier, widely regarded as one of the most important figures in British history. He came to prominence during the Wars of the Three Kingdoms, initially ...

* Bridget Dirrane (1894–2003), Irish memoirist and nurse * Bridget Donahue, American art dealer * Bridget Dowling (1891–1969), sister-in-law of

Adolf Hitler Adolf Hitler (20 April 1889 – 30 April 1945) was an Austrian-born German politician who was the dictator of Nazi Germany from 1933 until Death of Adolf Hitler, his suicide in 1945. Adolf Hitler's rise to power, He rose to power as the lea ...

* Bridget Doyle, Irish camogie player * Bridget Drinka (born 1951), American linguist * Bridget Durity (born 1951), Trinidadian cricketer * Bridget Dwyer (born 1980), American golfer * Bridget Egerton (1577–1648), English religious writer * Bridget Yamala Egwolosan (born 1970), Nigerian handball player * Bridget Everett (born 1972), American comedian * Bridget Flanery, American actress * Bridget Flannery (born 1959), Irish painter * Bridget Fonda (born 1964), American actress * Bridget Franek (born 1987), American middle distance runner * Bridget Gainer (born 1968/1969), American politician * Bridget Galloway (born 1999), English football player * Bridget Gilling (1922–2009), English–Australian activist and feminist * Bridget Goodwin (1899), Irish–New Zealand goldminer * Bridget Hall (born 1977), American model * Bridget Hanley (1941–2021), American actress * Bridget Haraldsdotter (1208), Queen consort of Sweden * Bridget Harrison (born 1971), English freelance journalist * Bridget Hodson, English actress * Bridget Hoffman (born 1961/1962), American voice actress * Bridget Holmes (1591–1691), English domestic servant * Bridget Hustwaite (born 1991), Australian journalist and radio presenter * Bridget Hutter, English sociologist * Bridget Hyem (1933–2014), Australian equestrian * Bridget Ikin, New Zealand producer * Bridget Jackson (born 1936), English golfer * Bridget Jones Nelson (born 1964), American actress and screenwriter * Bridget Kahele (born 1996), American rugby player * Bridget Karlin, American entrepreneur * Bridget Katsriku, Ghanaian public servant * Bridget Kearney (born 1985), American musician and songwriter * Bridget Anne Kelly (born 1972), American political consultant * Bridget Kelly (born 1986), American singer and songwriter * Bridget Kendall (born 1956), English journalist * Bridget Kumwenda (born 1991), Malawi netball player * Bridget Terry Long (born 1973), American economics professor * Bridget Lowe, American poet * Bridget Maasland (born 1974), Dutch television presenter * Bridget G. MacCarthy (1904–1993), Irish academic and writer * Bridget Malcolm, Australian model * Bridget Markham (1579–1609), English courtier * Bridget Martyn (1935–2020), Egyptian–born English encyclopedist * Bridget Masango (born 1962), South African politician * Bridget Masinga (born 1981), South African actress, model, radio and television personality * Bridget Marquardt (born 1973), American television personality * Bridget McConnell (born 1958), Scottish cultural administrator * Bridget Mary McCormack (born 1966), American judge, lawyer, and professor * Bridget McDonough, American theatre director * Bridget McEvilly (born 1946), English nursing administrator * Bridget McKeever (born 1983), Irish field hockey player * Bridget McKenzie (born 1969), Australian politician * Bridget Minamore (born 1991). British critic, essayist, journalist and poet * Bridget Moran (1923–1999), Canadian activist and author * Bridget Motha (born 1986), South African soccer player * Bridget Moynahan (born 1971), American actress and model * Bridget Mutuma, Kenyan–South African nanotechnologist * Bridget Namiotka (born 1990), American pair skater * Bridget Neval (born 1985), Indian–born Australian–Canadian actress * Bridget Newell (1911–1937), English barrister and golfer * Bridget O'Connor (1961–2010), English author * Bridget Parsons (1907–1972), English socialite * Bridget Partridge (1890–1966), Irish–born Australian Catholic religious sister * Bridget Pastoor (born 1940), Canadian politician * Bridget Patterson (born 1994), Australian cricketer * Bridget Perrier (born 1977), Canadian anti-prostitution activist * Bridget Pettis (born 1971), American basketball player and coach *

Bridget Phillipson Bridget Maeve Phillipson (born 19 December 1983) is a British politician who has served as Secretary of State for Education and Minister for Women and Equalities since July 2024. A member of the Labour Party, she has been the Member of Parli ...

(born 1983), English politician * Bridget Pickering, Namibian producer * Bridget Pitt, Zimbabwean–born South African environmental activist and writer * Bridget Plantagenet (1480–1507), English princess, seventh daughter of

Edward IV Edward IV (28 April 1442 – 9 April 1483) was King of England from 4 March 1461 to 3 October 1470, then again from 11 April 1471 until his death in 1483. He was a central figure in the Wars of the Roses, a series of civil wars in England ...

and

Elizabeth Woodville Elizabeth Woodville (also spelt Wydville, Wydeville, or Widvile; c. 1437Karen Lindsey, ''Divorced, Beheaded, Survived'', p. xviii, Perseus Books, 1995. – 8 June 1492), known as Dame Elizabeth Grey during her first marriage, was Queen of Engla ...

and religious. * Lady Bridget Poulett (1912–1975), English socialite * Bridget Powers (born 1980), American pornographic actress with dwarfism * Bridget Prentice, (born 1952), Scottish politician * Bridget Redmond (1904–1952), Irish politician * Bridget Regan (born 1982), American actress * Bridget Reweti, New Zealand photographer and moving image artist * Bridget Rice (1885–1967), Irish politician * Bridget Riley (born 1931), English painter * Bridget Robinson, New Zealand oncology academic * Bridget Rosewell (born 1951), English economist * Bridget Rowe (1950–2021), English newspaper editor * Bridget Scanlon (born 1959), American hydrogeologist * Bridget Sequeira (1905–1987), Pakistani religious sister * Bridget Shield, researcher * Bridget Sloan (born 1992), American artistic gymnast *

Bridget St John Bridget St John (born Bridget Anne Hobbs; 4 October 1946 in East Molesey, Surrey, England) is an English singer-songwriter and guitarist, best known for the three albums she recorded between 1969 and 1972 for John Peel's Dandelion record label ...

(born 1946), English singer and songwriter * Bridget Stutchbury, Canadian biologist * Bridget Tan (1948–2022), Singaporean activist * Bridget Tolley (born 1960), Canadian Algonquin community worker * Bridget Turner (1939–2014), English actress * Bridget Vallence, Australian politician * Bridget Valverde (born 1982), American politician * Bridget Wade, English micropalaeontologist * Bridget Walters, Australian actress * Bridget Williams (born 1948), New Zealand publisher and founder of

Bridget Williams Books Bridget Williams Books is a New Zealand book publisher, established in 1990 by Bridget Williams. Establishment Williams established the company in 1990 when the company she was working for, Allen & Unwin George Allen & Unwin was a Brit ...

* Bridget Wishart (born 1962), English musician, singer, and performance artist

Fictional characters

* Bridget (''Guilty Gear''), in the fighting game series ''Guilty Gear'' * Bridget, supporting character in the film ''

An American Tail ''An American Tail'' is a 1986 American animated musical adventure comedy-drama film directed by Don Bluth and written by Judy Freudberg and Tony Geiss from a story by David Kirschner, Freudberg and Geiss. The film stars the voices of Phi ...

'' * Bridget Forrester, in the series ''The Bold and the Beautiful'' * Bridget Hennessey, the eldest child on the sitcom '' 8 Simple Rules'' * Bridget Jones, protagonist of the eponymous book series * Bridget O'Sullivan, a Season 2 contestant in '' Fetch! with Ruff Ruffman'' * Bridget Tice, supporting character in the web series '' The Most Popular Girls in School'' * Bridget Verdant/Mew Bridget, English dub name of Retasu Midorikawa/Mew Lettuce from '' Tokyo Mew Mew'' * Bridget von Hammersmark, played by Diane Kruger in the film ''

Inglourious Basterds ''Inglourious Basterds'' is a 2009 epic film, epic war film written and directed by Quentin Tarantino. It stars an ensemble cast including Brad Pitt, Christoph Waltz, Michael Fassbender, Eli Roth, Diane Kruger, Daniel Brühl, Til Schweiger ...

'' * Bridget "Bee" Vreeland, in the book and movie (played by

Blake Lively Blake Ellender Brown (born August 25, 1987), known professionally as Blake Lively, is an American actress. A daughter of actor Ernie Lively, she made her professional debut in his directorial project ''Sandman'' (1998). She had her breakthrou ...

) ''The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants'' * Bridget, the half-human/half-alien child of Harry Vanderspeigle in the sci-fi/comedy series ''

Resident Alien In law, an alien is generally any person (including an organization) who is not a citizen or a national of a specific country, although definitions and terminology differ across legal systems. Lexicology The term "alien" is derived from the L ...

'' * Bridget “Jet” Owens, one of the witchy aunts in the book and movie ''Practical Magic'' * Bridget “Bibi” Garvey, in the Apple TV+ series ''Bad Sisters'' * Bridget, aka Lady Glitter Sparkles, a Bergen who works as a scullery maid in the animated film ''Trolls'' * Bridget, the past version of Queen of Hearts in ''Descendants: The Rise of Red''

Variations

* Birgit (

Estonian Estonian may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to Estonia, a country in the Baltic region in northern Europe * Estonians, people from Estonia, or of Estonian descent * Estonian language * Estonian cuisine * Estonian culture See also

...

), ( Norwegian) *

Birgitta Birgitta is the Swedish and Icelandic form of the Irish Gaelic female name ''Brighid''. Brighid or Brigid was the name of an ancient Celtic goddess, and its English form is Bridget (given name), Bridget. Birgitta and its alternate forms Birgit (dis ...

( Danish), ( Finnish), ( Icelandic), ( Indonesian), ( Norwegian), ( Swedish) *Birgitte ( Danish), ( Norwegian) *Breeshey ( Manx) *Bridget ( English) *Bridgette ( English) *Bridgid ( English) *Bríd ( Irish) *Brídín ( Irish) *Bridzhit ( Bulgarian), (

Russian Russian(s) may refer to: *Russians (), an ethnic group of the East Slavic peoples, primarily living in Russia and neighboring countries *A citizen of Russia *Russian language, the most widely spoken of the Slavic languages *''The Russians'', a b ...

) *Bridzhyt ( Ukrainian) *Brigitte ( French) *Brìghde (

) *Brighid ( Irish) *Brighidín ( Irish) *Brigid (

Old Irish Old Irish, also called Old Gaelic (, Ogham, Ogham script: ᚌᚑᚔᚇᚓᚂᚉ; ; ; or ), is the oldest form of the Goidelic languages, Goidelic/Gaelic language for which there are extensive written texts. It was used from 600 to 900. The ...

) *Brígida ( Catalan), ( Portuguese), (

Spanish Spanish might refer to: * Items from or related to Spain: **Spaniards are a nation and ethnic group indigenous to Spain **Spanish language, spoken in Spain and many countries in the Americas **Spanish cuisine **Spanish history **Spanish culture ...

) *Brigida (

Italian Italian(s) may refer to: * Anything of, from, or related to the people of Italy over the centuries ** Italians, a Romance ethnic group related to or simply a citizen of the Italian Republic or Italian Kingdom ** Italian language, a Romance languag ...

), (

) *Brigit (

) * Brigita ( Croatian), (

Czech Czech may refer to: * Anything from or related to the Czech Republic, a country in Europe ** Czech language ** Czechs, the people of the area ** Czech culture ** Czech cuisine * One of three mythical brothers, Lech, Czech, and Rus *Czech (surnam ...

), ( Indonesian), ( Latvian), ( Lithuanian), ( Slovenian) *Brigitta ( Dutch), (

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany, the country of the Germans and German things **Germania (Roman era) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizenship in Germany, see also Ge ...

), ( Hungarian), ( Indonesian) * Brigitte ( French), (

) *Brita ( Finnish) * Britta ( Danish), ( Norwegian), ( Swedish) *Brygida ( Polish) *Ffraid ( Welsh) *Gitta (

) *Gittan ( Swedish) * Gitte ( Danish) *Piret (

...

) *Piritta ( Finnish) *Pirjo ( Finnish) *Pirkko ( Finnish) *Priita ( Finnish) *Riitta ( Finnish)Rosenkrantz and Satran (2007), p. 40

References

Bibliography

*Rosenkrantz, Linda, and Satran, Pamela Redmond (2008). ''Cool Names for Babies''. St. Martin's Griffin. *Todd, Loreto (1998). ''Celtic Names for Children''. Irish American Book Company. . {{DEFAULTSORT:Bridget (Given Name) Irish feminine given names English feminine given names Feminine given names English-language feminine given names