Cynthia is a feminine

given name A given name (also known as a forename or first name) is the part of a personal name quoted in that identifies a person, potentially with a middle name as well, and differentiates that person from the other members of a group (typically a f ...

Greek Greek may refer to: Anything of, from, or related to Greece, a country in Southern Europe: *Greeks, an ethnic group *Greek language, a branch of the Indo-European language family **Proto-Greek language, the assumed last common ancestor of all kno ...

origin: , , "from Mount Cynthus" on the island of

Delos Delos (; ; ''Dêlos'', ''Dâlos''), is a small Greek island near Mykonos, close to the centre of the Cyclades archipelago. Though only in area, it is one of the most important mythological, historical, and archaeological sites in Greece. ...

. The name has been in use in the

Anglosphere The Anglosphere, also known as the Anglo-American world, is a Western-led sphere of influence among the Anglophone countries. The core group of this sphere of influence comprises five developed countries that maintain close social, cultura ...

since the 17th century. There are various spellings for this name, and it can be abbreviated to

Cindy Cindy may refer to: People *Cindy (given name), a list of people named Cindy, Cindi, Cyndi or Cyndy *Tugiyati Cindy (born 1985), Indonesian footballer *Cindy (singer), Japanese singer Music * ''Cindy'' (musical), an off-Broadway production in 1 ...

, Cyndi, Cyndy, Cinny, or occasionally to Thea, Tia, or Thia. Cynthia was originally an

epithet An epithet (, ), also a byname, is a descriptive term (word or phrase) commonly accompanying or occurring in place of the name of a real or fictitious person, place, or thing. It is usually literally descriptive, as in Alfred the Great, Suleima ...

of the Greek goddess

Artemis In ancient Greek religion and Greek mythology, mythology, Artemis (; ) is the goddess of the hunting, hunt, the wilderness, wild animals, transitions, nature, vegetation, childbirth, Kourotrophos, care of children, and chastity. In later tim ...

, who according to legend was born on Mount Cynthus on Delos.

Selene In ancient Greek mythology and Ancient Greek religion, religion, Selene (; , meaning "Moon")''A Greek–English Lexicon's.v. σελήνη is the goddess and personification of the Moon. Also known as Mene (), she is traditionally the daughter ...

, the Greek personification of the moon, and the Roman

Diana Diana most commonly refers to: * Diana (name), given name (including a list of people with the name) * Diana (mythology), ancient Roman goddess of the hunt and wild animals; later associated with the Moon * Diana, Princess of Wales (1961–1997), ...

were also sometimes called "Cynthia". In Ancient Roman literature 'Cynthia' is the name of

Propertius Sextus Propertius was a Latin elegiac poet of the Augustan age. He was born around 50–45 BC in Assisium (now Assisi) and died shortly after 15 BC. Propertius' surviving work comprises four books of '' Elegies'' ('). He was a friend of the ...

' love.

Usage

It has ranked among the 1,000 most used names for girls in the United States since 1880 and among the top 100 names between 1945 and 1993. It peaked in usage between 1956 and 1963, when it was among the 10 most popular names for American girls. It has since declined in use in the United States and ranked in 806th position on the popularity chart there in 2021. It was also among the top 100 names in use for girls in Canada between 1949 and 1978, among the top 100 names in use for girls in the United Kingdom between 1934 and 1944 among the top 500 names in France for girls between 1970 and 2008, and among the top 500 names in Spain between 1980 and 2010.

People

* Cynthia Bailey (born 1967), American model, actress, and TV personality *Cynthia or Cindy Bishop (born 1978), Thai model, actress, TV personality, and entrepreneur *Cynthia or Cindy Bremser (born 1953), American runner *

Cynthia Clark Cynthia Zang Facer Clark (born April 1, 1942) is an American statistician known for her work improving the quality of data in the federal statistical system, and especially in the National Agricultural Statistics Service. She has also served ...

(born 1942), American statistician * Cynthia Coffman (born 1962), American murderer * Cynthia Ann Crawford (born 1966), American model, actress, and businesswoman known professionally as

Cindy Crawford Cynthia Ann Crawford (born February 20, 1966) is an American model. During the 1980s and 1990s, she was among the most popular supermodels and a ubiquitous presence on magazine covers and runways, as well as fashion campaigns. She subsequently ...

Cynthia de las Fuentes Cynthia de las Fuentes (born 1964) is an American counseling psychologist serving as the 2024 president of the American Psychological Association (APA). Her career has focused on ethics in psychology, feminist and multicultural therapy, and advo ...

(born 1964), American counseling psychologist *

Cintia Dicker Cintia Schneider Dick (born 6 December 1986), known as Cintia Dicker, is a Brazilian model and actress. Career She has appeared in advertisements for Ann Taylor, Macy's, L'Oréal, American Eagle Outfitters, Tom Ford, Wildfox Couture, and ...

(born 1986), Brazilian model *

Cynthia Dobrinski Cynthia Dobrinski (1950 – October 12, 2021) was an American composer and arranger of handbell music. She has more than 175 works in print. She also worked as an instructor and conducted about 350 handbell workshops and festivals internationall ...

(1950–2021), handbell composer *

Cynthia Erivo Cynthia Chinasaokwu Onyedinmanasu Amarachukwu Owezuke Echimino Erivo ( ; born 8 January 1987) is a British actress and singer. Known for her work on both stage and screen, she is the recipient of List of awards and nominations received by Cynt ...

(born 1987), British actress and singer * Cynthia Joan Gastelle (1961–1980), formerly unidentified American murder victim *

Cynthia Gardner Cynthia A. Gardner is an American geologist and volcanologist noted for her work on Mount St. Helens. She was the acting Scientist-in-Charge (SIC) of the Cascades Volcano Observatory during the 2004 volcanic reawakening at Mount St. Helens, ...

, geologist and volcanologist *

Cynthia Germanotta Cynthia Louise Germanotta (née Bissett; born August 30, 1954) is an American philanthropist, activist and entrepreneur. She is the president of the Born This Way Foundation, which she co-founded with her daughter, singer Lady Gaga, in 2012. ...

(born 1954), American philanthropist *

Cynthia Gibb Cynthia Gibb (born December 14, 1963) is an American actress and former model who has starred in film and on television. She began her career as a cast member on the musical television drama '' Fame'', based on the movie of the same name. She ...

(born 1963), American actress *

Cynthia Glassman Dr. Cynthia Aaron Glassman of Alexandria, Virginia was a commissioner of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) as well as the Under Secretary for Economic Affairs. She served as acting chair from July 1, 2005 to August 3, 2005. She ...

, American economist *

Cynthia Gregory Cynthia Kathleen Gregory (born July 8, 1946) is an American former prima ballerina. Career Born in Los Angeles, Gregory took up dancing when she was five, with the encouragement of her parents, who hoped exercise would stem her history of childho ...

(born 1946), American ballet dancer *Cynthia or

Cindy Greiner Cynthia Greiner (née Suggs; born February 15, 1957, in San Diego, California) is a retired female heptathlete and long jumper from the United States, who won the gold medal at the 1987 Pan American Games in Indianapolis, United States. She is a ...

(born 1957), American heptathlete and long jumper * Cynthia Griffin Wolff (born 1936), American literary historian * Cynthia Harvey, American ballet dancer and educator * Cynthia Herrup, American law historian * Cynthia Hotton (born 1969), Argentine politician * Cynthia Kenyon, American molecular biologist * Cynthia Tse Kimberlin, American ethnomusicologist * Cynthia Klitbo (born 1967), Mexican actress * Cynthia Lamptey, Ghanaian lawyer *

Cyndi Lauper Cynthia Ann Stephanie Lauper ( ; born June 22, 1953) is an American singer, songwriter and actress. Known for her distinctive image, featuring a variety of hair colors and eccentric clothing, and for her powerful four-octave vocal range;Jerome, ...

(born 1953), American singer, songwriter and actress * Cynthia Ling Lee, American dancer and choreographer *

Cynthia Lennon Cynthia Lennon (' Powell; 10 September 1939 – 1 April 2015) was a British artist and author, and the first wife of John Lennon. Born in Blackpool and raised in Hoylake on the Wirral Peninsula, Powell attended the Liverpool College of Art, whe ...

(1939–2015), first wife of musician John Lennon *

Cynthia McKinney Cynthia Ann McKinney (born March 17, 1955) is a former American politician. As a member of the Democratic Party, she served six terms in the United States House of Representatives. She was the first African American woman elected to represent G ...

(born 1955), American politician *Cynthia, Christian name of

Saori Minami Akemi Shinoyama (篠山明美, née Uchima (内間明美); born July 2, 1954), known professionally as , is a Japanese retired J-pop singer-songwriter. In the 1970s, and for about 6 years in 19911997 she was active as a pop musical idol. Biogr ...

(born 1954), Japanese singer *

Lady Cynthia Mosley Lady Cynthia Blanche Mosley (née Curzon; 23 August 1898 – 16 May 1933), nicknamed "Cimmie", was a British aristocrat, politician and the first wife of the British Fascist politician Sir Oswald Mosley. Early life Born Cynthia Blanche Curzo ...

(1898–1933), British politician * Cynthia Nilson, Argentinian singer and songwriter *

Cynthia Nixon Cynthia Ellen Nixon (born April 9, 1966) is an American actress, activist, and theater director. For her portrayal of Miranda Hobbes in the HBO series ''Sex and the City'' (1998–2004), she won the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supportin ...

(born 1966), American actress *

Cynthia Olavarría Cynthia Enid Olavarría Rivera (born January 28, 1982 in Santurce) is a Puerto Rican actress, fashion model, TV host and beauty pageant titleholder who won Miss Puerto Rico Universe 2005 and placed 1st Runner-Up at Miss Universe 2005. Biograp ...

(born 1982), Puerto Rican model *

Cynthia Ortega Cynthia Apolonia Ortega-Martijn (born 9 February 1956 in Willemstad, Curaçao) is a former Netherlands, Dutch politician. As a member of the ChristianUnion (ChristenUnie) she was an MP from 30 November 2006 to 19 September 2012. She focused on ...

(born 1956), Dutch politician *

Cynthia Ozick Cynthia Ozick (born April 17, 1928) is an American short story writer, novelist, and essayist. Biography Cynthia Ozick was born in New York City. The second of two children, Ozick was raised in the Bronx by her parents, Celia (née Regelson) and ...

(born 1928), American writer * Cynthia Richards (born 1944), Jamaican singer * Cynthia Dawn Ritchie, an American origin, socialite and blogger involved in Pakistani affairs *

Cynthia Deyanira Rodríguez Ruiz Cynthia is a feminine given name of Greek origin: , , "from Mount Cynthus" on the island of Delos. The name has been in use in the Anglosphere since the 17th century. There are various spellings for this name, and it can be abbreviated to Cindy ...

(born 1984), Mexican reality TV personality *

Cynthia Rothrock Cynthia Rothrock (born March 8, 1957) is an American martial artist and actress best known for her martial arts films. She holds black belt rankings in seven styles of martial arts and was a high-level competitor in martial arts before becomin ...

(born 1957), American martial artist and actress * Cynthia Rowley, American fashion designer * Cynthia Rudin (born 1976), American computer scientist and statistician * Cynthia Ryder (born 1966), American rower * Cynthia Morgan St. John (1852–1919), American Wordsworthian, book collector, and author * Amy Elizabeth Thorpe (1910–1963), an American spy codenamed "Cynthia" * Cynthia (Torres), American freestyle singer * Cynthia Valdez (born 1987), Mexican rhythmic gymnast *

Cynthia Villar Cynthia Aguilar Villar (, born Cynthia Ampaya Aguilar on July 29, 1950) is a Filipina politician currently serving as a Senator of the Philippines. She was a member of the House of Representatives for the Lone District of Las Piñas from 2001 ...

(born 1950), Filipino politician *

Cynthia Watros Cynthia Michele Watros (born September 2, 1968) is an Americans, American actress recognized for her roles in both daytime and primetime television. In 1994, she was cast in the regular role of Annie Dutton on ''Guiding Light'', which earned her ...

(born 1968), American actress *

Cynthia Weil Cynthia Weil (October 18, 1940 – June 1, 2023) was an American songwriter who wrote many songs together with her husband Barry Mann. Weil and Mann were inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame in 1987, and in 2011, they jointly received the ...

(1940–2023), American songwriter *Cynthia Wesley (1949–1963), a victim of the 1963

16th Street Baptist Church bombing The 16th Street Baptist Church bombing was a terrorist bombing of the 16th Street Baptist Church in Birmingham, Alabama on September 15, 1963. The bombing was committed by a white supremacist terrorist group. Four members of a local Ku Klux ...

*Cynthia Wong, spouse of Hong Kong businessman Victor Li Tzar-kuoi * Cynthia Woodhead (born 1964), American athlete * Cynthia Wu (born 1978), Taiwanese business executive and politician

Fictional characters

* ''Cynthia, with certain Sonnets, and the legend of Cassandra'', panegyric by

Richard Barnfield Richard Barnfield (baptized 29 June 1574 – 1620) was an English poet. His relationship with William Shakespeare has long made him interesting to scholars. It has been suggested that he was the " rival poet" mentioned in Shakespeare's sonnet ...

(1574–1620) * ''

Cynthia’s Revels ''Cynthia's Revels, or The Fountain of Self-Love'' is a late Elizabethan stage play, a satire written by Ben Jonson. The play was one element in the ''Poetomachia'' or War of the Theatres between Jonson and rival playwrights John Marston and ...

'', play by

Ben Jonson Benjamin Jonson ( 11 June 1572 – ) was an English playwright, poet and actor. Jonson's artistry exerted a lasting influence on English poetry and stage comedy. He popularised the comedy of humours; he is best known for the satire, satirical ...

(1572–1637) * Cynthia, Angelica's doll on the cartoon ''

Rugrats ''Rugrats'' is an American animated television series created by Arlene Klasky, Gábor Csupó, and Paul Germain for Nickelodeon. The series focuses on a group of toddlers, most prominently Tommy, Chuckie, Phil, and Lil, and their day-to-d ...

'' * Cynthia Benson, a character in the 1988 American fantasy comedy-drama movie ''

Big Big or BIG may refer to: * Big, of great size or degree Film and television * Big (film), ''Big'' (film), a 1988 fantasy-comedy film starring Tom Hanks * ''Big'', a 2023 Taiwanese children's film starring Van Fan and Chie Tanaka * ''Big!'', a ...

'' * Sinthia Schmidt, a.k.a.

Sin (Marvel Comics) Sin is a supervillain appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. The character, created by J. M. DeMatteis writer and artist Paul Neary, First appearance, first appeared in ''Captain America (comic book), Captain America'' #290 ...

, comic book supervillainess * Cynthia, a plaster mannequin of the 1930s created by Lester Gaba * Cynthia, a diclonius and one of four clones of Mariko in the manga "

Elfen Lied is a Japanese manga series written and illustrated by Lynn Okamoto. It was serialized in Shueisha's Seinen manga, manga magazine ''Weekly Young Jump'' from June 2002 to August 2005, with its 107 chapters collected into twelve volumes. ''El ...

" * Cynthia, the champion of the Sinnoh region in the ''

Pokémon is a Japanese media franchise consisting of List of Pokémon video games, video games, Pokémon (TV series), animated series and List of Pokémon films, films, Pokémon Trading Card Game, a trading card game, and other related media. The fran ...

'' video games * Cynthia, a character in ''

Fire Emblem Awakening ''Fire Emblem Awakening'' is a 2012 tactical role-playing game developed by Intelligent Systems and published by Nintendo for the Nintendo 3DS. It is an installment of the ''Fire Emblem'' series, and the first to be developed for the Nintendo 3 ...

'' * Cynthia Lamonde, a major character in the book "Praise" by Andrew McGahan * Cynthia Mitchell, antagonist in '' Lucky Stiff'' played by Donna Dixon * Cynthia, a central character in the poetry of

* Cynthia Kirkpatrick, a character in '' Wives and Daughters'' by Elizabeth Gaskell

Notes

References

*Pannen, Imke, ''When the Bad Bleeds: Mantic Elements in English Renaissance Revenge Tragedy''. Volume 3 of Representations & Reflections; V&R unipress GmbH, 2010.

External links