Delia 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 fa ...

, either taken from an

epithet An epithet (, ), also byname, is a descriptive term (word or phrase) known for accompanying or occurring in place of a name and having entered common usage. It has various shades of meaning when applied to seemingly real or fictitious people, di ...

of the Greek moon goddess Artemis, or else representing a short form of ''

Adelia ''Adelia'' is a genus of flowering plants in the Euphorbia, spurge family (biology), family, Euphorbiaceae, Family (biology), subfamily Acalyphoideae. It is native to Latin America and the Caribbean, with one species extending northward into the ...

'', '' Bedelia'', '' Cordelia'' or '' Odelia''.

Meanings and origins

According to records for the 1901 Irish census, 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 into thirty-two units. They began as 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 ''Brighid'' (or ''Bríd'') meaning "exalted one", which originally belonged to a pagan fertility goddess (later, to an important medieval saint). In most cases, however, the name Delia refers to the tiny Greek island of

Delos The island of Delos (; el, Δήλος ; Attic: , Doric: ), near Mykonos, near the centre of the Cyclades archipelago, is one of the most important mythological, historical, and archaeological sites in Greece. The excavations in the island are ...

( grc, Δῆλος), the birthplace of Artemis and her twin brother Apollo.

People

* Delia Akeley (1869–1970), American explorer *

Delia Arnold Delia Arnold (born 26 January 1986, in Kuala Lumpur) is a former professional squash player who represented Malaysia. She reached a career-high world ranking of World No. 12. Career Arnold, coached by Ahmed Malik and Peter Genever began play ...

(born 1986), Malaysian professional squash player * Delia Bacon (1811–1859), American author and Shakespearean scholar * Delia Boccardo (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 Opekokew, Cree lawyer and writer * Delia Lawrie (born 1966), Australian politician * Delia Matache (born 1982), Romanian pop singer *

Delia Mathews Delia Mathews (born 1990) is a New Zealand ballet dancer. She was a principal dancer at the Birmingham Royal Ballet. Life Mathews was born in Rotorua, New Zealand, and began ballet lessons with her sister in Tauranga at the age of 5. When she ...

(born 1990), New Zealand-born ballet dancer * Delia Mayer (born 1967), Swiss actress and singer * Deliana

Delia Meulenkamp Deliana Meulenkamp (Rotterdam, Netherlands, July 3, 1933 – San Francisco, California, March 13, 2013), also known by her married name Delia Dooling, was a Dutch-born American competition swimmer who represented the United States at the 1952 Sum ...

(1933–2013), also known by her married name Delia Dooling, Dutch-born American swimmer *

Delia Parodi Delia Delfina Degliuomini de Parodi (1913 – 1991) was an Argentine politician and the first Argentine woman to hold a prominent elected post. Early life Parodi was born to Italian Argentine parents in Ingeniero Luiggi, a small La Pampa ...

(1913–1991), Argentine politician * Delia Scala (1929–2004), Italian ballerina and actress * Cordelia Delia Sherman (born 1951), American fantasy writer and editor * Delia Smith (born 1941), English celebrity chef and cookery writer *

Delia Vaudan Delia Vaudan was an Italian luger who competed from the late 1970s to the early 1990s. A natural track luger, she won four medals in the women's singles at the FIL World Luge Natural Track Championships with one three golds (1979, ...

, 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

Fictional characters

* Delia Brown, on the American TV show '' Everwood'' (2002–2006; played by Vivien Cardone) * 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 with ...

'' (2005–2010; played by Camryn Manheim) * Delia Busby, from the television show '' Call the Midwife'' * Delia Cahel, from the William Butler Yeats play ''

Cathleen ni Houlihan ''Cathleen ni Houlihan'' is a one-act play written by William Butler Yeats and Augusta, Lady Gregory, Lady Gregory in 1902 in literature#New drama, 1902. It was first performed on 2 April of that year and first published in the October number of ...

'' * Delia Deetz, from the 1988 movie '' Beetlejuice'', played by

Catherine O'Hara Catherine Anne O'Hara (born March 4, 1954) is a Canadian-American actress. She is known for her comedy work on ''Second City Television'' (1976–84) and ''Schitt's Creek'' (2015–2020) and in films such as '' After Hours'' (1985), ''Beetleju ...

* Delia Delfano, from the

Disney Channel Disney Channel, sometimes known as simply Disney, is an American pay television channel that serves as the flagship property of Disney Branded Television, a unit of the Disney General Entertainment Content division of The Walt Disney Compan ...

sitcom '' I Didn't Do It''. * Delia Ketchum from ''

Pokémon (an abbreviation for in Japan) is a Japanese media franchise managed by The Pokémon Company, founded by Nintendo, Game Freak, and Creatures (company), Creatures, the owners of the trademark and copyright of the franchise. In terms of ...

'', the mother of Ash Ketchum * Delia Dantes, in Tui T. Sutherland and Kari Sutherland's ''Menagerie'' book trilogy * Delia York, in the made-for-TV movie '' Omen IV: The Awakening'' (1991; played by Asia Vieira) * Delia Jones, the main character in Zora Neal Hurston's short story '' Sweat'' * Delia, a player character in the Korean MMO '' Vindictus''. * Delia DeLions, protagonist in Grateful Dead song "Stagger Lee" * Delia Abott, on the TV Soap Opera ''

The Young & The Restless ''The Young and the Restless'' (often abbreviated as ''Y&R'') is an American television soap opera created by William J. Bell and Lee Phillip Bell for CBS. The show is set in fictional Genoa City (not the real-life similarly-named Genoa City, Wi ...

'' * Delia, the romantic interest of the Roman love poet Tibullus's first book.

References

{{given name English feminine given names Spanish feminine given names Romanian feminine given names Epithets of Artemis Hypocorisms