Delia
Della as a diminutive
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 ...

either taken from 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 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 ...

moon 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 ...

, or else representing a short form of '' Adelia'', '' Bedelia'', '' Cordelia'' or '' Odelia''.

Meanings and origins

According to records for the 1901 Irish

census A census (from Latin ''censere'', 'to assess') is the procedure of systematically acquiring, recording, and calculating population information about the members of a given Statistical population, population, usually displayed in the form of stati ...

, there were 6,260 persons named Delia living that year in all 32

counties of Ireland The counties of Ireland (Irish language, Irish: ) are historic administrative divisions of the island. They began as Normans in Ireland, Norman structures, and as the powers exercised by the Cambro-Norman barons and the Old English (Ireland), ...

, with 256 more bearing the full forename ''Bedelia'' (plus 59 other persons with the variant spelling ''Bidelia'', and 361 ''Biddy'', 529 ''Bride'' and 153984 ''Bridget''). These related names originated as English renderings of the

Irish name A formal Irish name consists of a given name and a surname. In the Irish language, most surnames are patronymic surnames (distinct from patronyms, which are seen in Icelandic names for example). The form of a surname varies according to whethe ...

''Brighid'' (or ''Bríd'') meaning "exalted one", which originally belonged to a pagan fertility goddess (later, to an important medieval saint). Tibullus

In most cases, however, the name Delia refers to the tiny Greek 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

birth Birth is the act or process of bearing or bringing forth offspring, also referred to in technical contexts as parturition. In mammals, the process is initiated by hormones which cause the muscular walls of the uterus to contract, expelling the f ...

place of

and her twin brother

Apollo Apollo is one of the Twelve Olympians, Olympian deities in Ancient Greek religion, ancient Greek and Ancient Roman religion, Roman religion and Greek mythology, Greek and Roman mythology. Apollo has been recognized as a god of archery, mu ...

, given because they were born on the island of Delos. The name was used by Roman poet Tibullus as the pseudonym of his lover Plania in very popular love poems and thanks to him "Delia" later appeared in several poems of the 16th and 17th centuries, and it has occasionally been used as a given name since that time.

People

* Delia Akeley (1869–1970), American explorer * Delia Arnold (born 1986), Malaysian professional squash player *

Delia Bacon Delia Salter Bacon (February 2, 1811 – September 2, 1859) was an American writer of plays and short stories and Shakespeare scholar. She is best known for her work on the authorship of Shakespeare's plays, which she attributed to social reforme ...

(1811–1859), American author and Shakespearean scholar *

Delia Boccardo Delia Boccardo (born 29 January 1948) is an Italian film, television and stage actress. Life and career Born in Genoa, Boccardo spent her childhood and adolescence in Nervi, then studied at a Swiss college, at the Poggio Imperiale girls' sc ...

(born 1948), Italian actress * Didi Contractor (1929–2021, née Delia Kinzinger), German-American architect * Delia Derbyshire (1937–2001), British musician and composer of electronic music * Delia Ephron (born 1944), American author, screenwriter and playwright * Delia Fiallo (1924–2021), Cuban romance novelist and screenwriter * Delia Garcés (1919–2001), Argentine film actress * Delia Gonzalez (born 1970), American boxer * Delia Green (1886–1900), teenage African-American murder victim, reported inspiration for several traditional blues songs * Delia Grigore (born 1972), Romanian Romani writer, philologist, academic and Romani rights activist
Delia Knox
(born 1962), Pastor, Gospel singer/recording artist * Delia de Leon (1901–1993), British actress and disciple of Meher Baba * Delia Opekokew, Cree lawyer and writer * Delia Lawrie (born 1966), Australian politician *

Delia Matache Delia Matache (born 7 February 1982), commonly referred to as simply Delia, is a Romanian singer and television personality. She was part of the pop group N&D (1999–2003). As a solo artist, she has established herself as one of the most success ...

(born 1982), Romanian pop singer * Delia Mathews (born 1990), New Zealand-born ballet dancer * Delia Mayer (born 1967), Swiss actress and singer * Deliana Delia Meulenkamp (1933–2013), also known by her married name Delia Dooling, Dutch-born American swimmer * Delia Parodi (1913–1991), Argentine politician * Delia Scala (1929–2004), Italian ballerina and actress * Cordelia Delia Sherman (born 1951), American fantasy writer and editor * Delia Silance (1907–1984), American educator * Delia Smith (born 1941), English celebrity chef and cookery writer * Delia Valeri (1870–1947), American vocal coach * Delia Vaudan, Italian luger who competed from the late 1970s to the early 1990s * Delia Villegas Vorhauer (1940–1992), American, Latina social worker * Delia Webster (1817–1904), American teacher, author, businesswoman and abolitionist * Delia Ramirez (born 1983), American politician and U.S. Representative from

Illinois Illinois ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern United States. It borders on Lake Michigan to its northeast, the Mississippi River to its west, and the Wabash River, Wabash and Ohio River, Ohio rivers to its ...

Fictional characters

* Delia Banks, on the TV show ''

Ghost Whisperer ''Ghost Whisperer'' is an American supernatural television series, which ran on CBS from September 23, 2005, to May 21, 2010. The series follows the life of Melinda Gordon ( Jennifer Love Hewitt), who has the ability to see and communicate w ...

'' (2005–2010), played by Camryn Manheim * Delia Brown, on the American TV show '' Everwood'' (2002–2006), played by Vivien Cardone * Delia Busby, from the television show ''

Call the Midwife ''Call the Midwife'' is a British period drama television series about a group of nurse midwives working in the East End of London in the late 1950s, 1960s and 1970s. The principal cast of the show has included Jessica Raine, Miranda Hart, ...

'' * Delia Cahel, from the

William Butler Yeats William Butler Yeats (, 13 June 186528 January 1939), popularly known as W. B. Yeats, was an Irish poet, dramatist, writer, and literary critic who was one of the foremost figures of 20th century in literature, 20th-century literature. He was ...

play '' Cathleen ni Houlihan'' * Delia Dantes, in Tui T. Sutherland and Kari Sutherland's ''Menagerie'' book trilogy * Delia Deetz, from the 1988 movie ''

Beetlejuice ''Beetlejuice'' is a 1988 American Gothic film, gothic dark fantasy comedy horror film directed by Tim Burton from a screenplay by Michael McDowell (author), Michael McDowell and Warren Skaaren based on a story by McDowell and Larry Wilson (sc ...

'', played by

Catherine O'Hara Catherine Anne O'Hara (born March 4, 1954) is a Canadian and American actress, comedian, and screenwriter. She started her career in sketch comedy, sketch and improvisational comedy in film and television before expanding her career taking dra ...

* Delia Delfano, from the

Disney Channel Disney Channel is an American pay television television channel, channel that serves as the flagship (broadcasting), flagship property of Disney Branded Television, a unit of the Disney Entertainment business segment of the Walt Disney Company ...

sitcom '' I Didn't Do It'' * Delia Jones, the main character in Zora Neal Hurston's short story "

Sweat Perspiration, also known as sweat, is the fluid secreted by sweat glands in the skin of mammals. Two types of sweat glands can be found in humans: eccrine glands and Apocrine sweat gland, apocrine glands. The eccrine sweat glands are distribu ...

" * Delia Ketchum, from ''

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 ...

'', the mother of Ash Ketchum * Delia York, in the made-for-TV movie '' Omen IV: The Awakening'' (1991; played by Asia Vieira) * Delia, the romantic interest of the Roman love poet Tibullus's first book * Delia, a player character in the Korean MMO '' Vindictus'' * Delia, the main character in

Elena Ferrante Elena Ferrante () is a pseudonymous Italian novelist. Ferrante's books, originally published in Italian, have been translated into many languages. Her four-book series of '' Neapolitan Novels'' are her most widely known works. ''Time'' magazine ...

's novel '' Troubling Love''

References

External links

* {{given name English feminine given names Feminine given names Spanish feminine given names Romanian feminine given names Epithets of Artemis Feminine hypocorisms