Felicity is a feminine given name of English origin meaning "

happiness Happiness is a complex and multifaceted emotion that encompasses a range of positive feelings, from contentment to intense joy. It is often associated with positive life experiences, such as achieving goals, spending time with loved ones, ...

". It is derived from the Latin word ''felicitas'' meaning "

luck Luck is the phenomenon and belief that defines the experience of improbable events, especially improbably positive or negative ones. The Naturalism (philosophy), naturalistic interpretation is that positive and negative events may happen at a ...

, good fortune". It is also used as a form of the Latin name Felicitas, taken from the name of the

Ancient Roman In modern historiography, ancient Rome is the Roman people, Roman civilisation from the founding of Rome, founding of the Italian city of Rome in the 8th century BC to the Fall of the Western Roman Empire, collapse of the Western Roman Em ...

goddess

Fortuna Fortuna (, equivalent to the Greek mythology, Greek goddess Tyche) is the goddess of fortune and the personification of luck in Religion in ancient Rome, Roman religion who, largely thanks to the Late Antique author Boethius, remained popular thr ...

. It was also the name of Saint Felicity of Rome, a 2nd-century saint venerated by the

Roman Catholic Church The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwid ...

. The Latin Felicia, a related name, is a feminine form of the name Felix, which is derived from an

cognomen meaning "lucky," or "successful." Traditional English diminutives include Fee, Flick,

Flicka ''Flicka'' is a 2006 American family adventure drama film loosely based on the 1941 children's novel '' My Friend Flicka'' by Mary O'Hara. The film is directed by Michael Mayer and written by Mark Rosenthal and Lawrence Konner. The novel had ...

, Fliss, Flissy, Flossie, Flossy, Liccy, Liss, Lissa, Lissie, and Lissy, among others.

Usage

Prior to the

Victorian era In the history of the United Kingdom and the British Empire, the Victorian era was the reign of Queen Victoria, from 20 June 1837 until her death on 22 January 1901. Slightly different definitions are sometimes used. The era followed the ...

, Felicia and its

vernacular Vernacular is the ordinary, informal, spoken language, spoken form of language, particularly when perceptual dialectology, perceived as having lower social status or less Prestige (sociolinguistics), prestige than standard language, which is mor ...

form Felice were the most commonly used forms of the name in

English-speaking countries The English-speaking world comprises the 88 countries and territories in which English is an official, administrative, or cultural language. In the early 2000s, between one and two billion people spoke English, making it the largest language ...

. Some forms of the name such as Philicia became associated with the etymologically unrelated name Phyllis. The name Felicity was used by English

Puritans The Puritans were English Protestants in the 16th and 17th centuries who sought to rid the Church of England of what they considered to be Roman Catholic practices, maintaining that the Church of England had not been fully reformed and should b ...

from the late

16th century The 16th century began with the Julian calendar, Julian year 1501 (represented by the Roman numerals MDI) and ended with either the Julian or the Gregorian calendar, Gregorian year 1600 (MDC), depending on the reckoning used (the Gregorian calend ...

but was less commonly used by them than other

virtue name Virtue names, also known as grace names, are used as personal names in a number of cultures. They express virtues that the parents wish their child to embody or be associated with. In the English-speaking world, beginning in the 16th century, the P ...

s. The name Felicity has been in regular use in the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Northwestern Europe, off the coast of European mainland, the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...

since the late 19th century and, as of the 2020s, remained among the top 200 names in use for British girls. The name was also among the top 100 names for girls born in

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country comprising mainland Australia, the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and list of islands of Australia, numerous smaller isl ...

at different times from the mid 1970s to early 1980s. Felicity has also been in regular use in

New Zealand New Zealand () is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and List of islands of New Zealand, over 600 smaller islands. It is the List of isla ...

. Felicity also has been in occasional use in

North America North America is a continent in the Northern Hemisphere, Northern and Western Hemisphere, Western hemispheres. North America is bordered to the north by the Arctic Ocean, to the east by the Atlantic Ocean, to the southeast by South Ameri ...

since the Colonial era, though Felice and Felicia and variations of the name in other languages were much more common. Felicity first ranked among the top 1,000 names for newborn girls in the United States in 1998, the year the American television show '' Felicity'' debuted. Felicity was the 390th most popular name for American girls in 1999, rising from 818th place the previous year. The name has also been among the 1,000 most popular names in use for girls in

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its Provinces and territories of Canada, ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, making it the world's List of coun ...

since the late 1990s. Usage of the name has also been influenced by other media. Felicity Merriman is a red-headed American Colonial doll produced by the American Girl company. The doll, which has a tie-in book series, movies, and a number of accessories, was introduced in the United States in 1991. American actress

Felicity Huffman Felicity Kendall Huffman (born December 9, 1962) is an American actress. She is known for her role as Lynette Scavo in the ABC comedy-drama ''Desperate Housewives'' and her role as Sabrina "Bree" Osbourne, a transgender woman, in the film ''Trans ...

has also increased awareness of the name. The character

Felicity Smoak Felicity Smoak is a fictional character appearing in comics published by DC Comics. Her first appearance was in ''The Fury of Firestorm'' #23 (May 1984), created by writer Gerry Conway and artist Rafael Kayanan. She was originally the manager of ...

was introduced on the American television series ''

Arrow An arrow is a fin-stabilized projectile launched by a bow. A typical arrow usually consists of a long, stiff, straight shaft with a weighty (and usually sharp and pointed) arrowhead attached to the front end, multiple fin-like stabilizers c ...

'' in 2012.

In other languages

*Felicitat ( Catalan) * Felicia, Feliciënne ( Dutch) *Félicie, Félicienne, Félicité, Félicitée ( French) *Felicie,

Felicitas In ancient Roman culture, ''felicitas'' (from the Latin adjective ''felix'', "fruitful, blessed, happy, lucky") is a condition of divinely inspired productivity, blessedness, or happiness. ''Felicitas'' could encompass both a woman's fertility ...

, Felize, Felizitas,

Zita Zita (27 April 1272), also known as Sitha or Citha, is an Italian saint, the patron saint of maids and Domestic worker, domestic servants. She is often appealed to in order to help find lost Key (lock), keys. Zita entered domestic service a ...

(

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 ...

) *Felícia, Feliciána, Felicitász,

( Hungarian) * Felicia, Felisha, Felisya, Felisa, Felice, Felisia, Felishia ( Indonesian) * Felicia, Feliciana, Felicita (

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 ...

) *Felicja, Felicyta, Zyta ( Polish) *Felícia, Felicidade ( Portuguese) * Felicia (

Romanian Romanian may refer to: *anything of, from, or related to the country and nation of Romania **Romanians, an ethnic group **Romanian language, a Romance language ***Romanian dialects, variants of the Romanian language **Romanian cuisine, traditional ...

) * Felicia, Feliciana, Felicidad, Felicitas, Felistas, Felixa, Felixia, Felixita (

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 ...

) * Felicia ( Swedish)

Women

* Felicity of Rome, 2nd-century Christian martyr and saint * Saint Felicity, early 3rd-century co-martyr of Saint Perpetua * Felicity Abram (born 1986), Australian triathlete * Felicity Ama Agyemang (born 1977), Ghanaian actress, TV show hostess, and music composer also known as Nana Ama McBrown * Felicity Askew (1894-?), British artist * Felicity Aston (born 1977), British adventurer and climate scientist, first person to ski across Antarctica on her own power *

Felicity Barr Felicity Barr (born 6 September 1970) is an English broadcast journalist, and former Al Jazeera English news presenter. Radio career Barr trained as a journalist at 2-Ten FM, before she specialised in sports reporting, covering events in sport ...

(born 1970), English broadcast journalist * Felicity Brown (born 1977), English artist and designer * Felicity Bryan (1945-2020), British literary agent * Felicity Buchan (born 1970), British politician and former banker * Felicity Campbell (1909-?), British painter and illustrator * Felicity Campbell (born 1974), Australian short track speed skater and Olympian * Felicity Charlton (1913-2009), British artist * Felicity Cockram, Australian film producer * Felicity "Flick" Colby (1946–2011), American dancer * Felicity Colman, British academic * Felicity Dahl (born 1938), British film producer *

Felicity Dean Felicity Jane Dean (born 24 January 1959) is a British actress, who is critically acclaimed for her extensive work in film and on stage, including works with, The Royal Shakespeare Company, Al Pacino, HBO, Sir Jonathan Miller and Joseph Losey. ...

(born 1959), British actress * Felicity Dowker (born 1980), Australian fiction writer, primarily in the horror genre * Felicity Evans, Welsh journalist and broadcaster * Felicity Finch (born 1955), British actress * Felicity Gallup (born 1969), British badminton player *

Felicity Galvez Felicity Madeline Galvez, OAM (born 4 March 1985) is an Australian swimmer and two-time Olympic gold medalist. She was an Australian Institute of Sport scholarship holder.Felicity Gerry, Australian barrister, academic, and media commentator * Felicity “Fliss” Gibbons (born 1994), English footballer * Felicity Goodey (born 1949), British journalist * Felicity Green (born 1926), British fashion journalist and former newspaper executive * Felicity Goodyear-Smith (born 1952), a medical doctor, academic, and public health advocate from New Zealand * Felicity Hampel (born 1955), Australian human rights lawyer and judge *

Felicity Heal Felicity Margaret Heal, (born 24 September 1945) is a British historian and academic, specialising in early modern Britain. From 1980 to 2011, she was a lecturer at the University of Oxford and a Fellow of Jesus College, Oxford. She had previou ...

(born 1945), British historian and academic *

Felicity Hill Air Commodore Dame Felicity Barbara Hill, (12 December 1915 – 30 January 2019) was a British Royal Air Force officer. From 1966 to 1969, she served as Director of the Women's Royal Air Force. She died in January 2019 at the age of 103. Mili ...

(1915-2019), British Royal Air Force officer * Felicity Hunter (born c. 1983), Australian singer-songwriter *

(born 1962), American actress * Felicity Johnson (born 1971), Australian Paralympic tandem cyclist * Felicity Johnson (born 1987), English professional golfer *

Felicity Jones Felicity Rose Hadley Jones (born 17 October 1983) is an English actress. She began her professional acting career as a child, appearing in '' The Treasure Seekers'' (1996) at age 12. She went on to play Ethel Hallow for one series of the tele ...

(born 1983), English actress *

Felicity Kendal Felicity Ann Kendal (born 25 September 1946) is an English actress, working principally in television and theatre. She has appeared in numerous stage and screen roles over a more than 70-year career, including as Barbara Good in the television ...

(born 1946), English actress * Felicity LaFortune (born 1954), American actress * Felicity Landon, British freelance journalist * Felicity Lane-Fox, Baroness Lane-Fox (1918-1988), British politician and champion of disability issues * Felicity Leydon-Davis (born 1994), New Zealand cricketer *

Felicity Lott Dame Felicity Ann Emwhyla Lott, (born 8 May 1947) is an English soprano. Education Lott was born in Cheltenham, Gloucestershire. From her earliest years she was musical, having started studying piano at age 5. She also played violin and bega ...

(born 1947), English soprano * Felicity Mason (born 1976), Australian actress, writer, and visual artist * Felicity McCall, Irish journalist, writer and broadcaster * Felicity Milovanovich (born 1992), New Zealand actress *

Felicity Montagu Felicity Jane Montagu (born 12 September 1960) is an English actress. She is best known for playing Lynn Benfield, the long-suffering assistant of Alan Partridge. Early life Montagu was born in Leeds, West Riding of Yorkshire. She attended Lou ...

(born 1960), English actress * Felicity Nussbaum (born 1944), American academic * Felicity Okpete Ovai (born 1961), commissioner of the Rivers State Ministry of Works * Felicity Palmer (born 1944), English mezzo-soprano and music professor * Felicity Passon (born 1999), Seychellois swimmer and Olympian *

Felicity Peake Air Commandant Dame Felicity Hyde, Lady Peake ( Watts; 1 May 1913 – 2 November 2002) was the founding director of the Women's Royal Air Force (WRAF) She started flying when her first husband took up the hobby in 1935, but in 1946 became the f ...

(1913-2002), founding director of the UK's Women's Royal Air Force * Felicity Pickard (born 1994), British para table tennis player * Felicity Plunkett, Australian poet, literary critic, editor and academic * Felicity Price, Australian actress and screenwriter * Felicity Pulman (born 1945), Rhodesian born Australian author * Felicity "Flick" Rea (born c. 1937), English politician * Felicity Riddy (born 1940), New Zealand born academic, author and specialist in late-medieval English and Scottish literature. * Felicity Shaw (1916-1989), British writer * Felicity Sheedy-Ryan (born 1985), Australian triathlete * Felicity Tree (1894-1978), English baronetess and high society figure * Felicity Underhill, New Zealand energy specialist * Felicity Urquhart (born 1976), Australian country music singer-songwriter * Felicity Wallace, New Zealand architect * Felicity Ward (born 1980), Australian comedian * Felicity Wardlaw (born 1977), Australian road cyclist * Felicity Waterman (born 1964), English actress * Felicity White (born 2000), Australian group rhythmic gymnast and Olympian * Felecity Willis (born 1978), American basketball referee and former player * Felicity Wren, British actress

Fictional characters

* Felicity (comics), a member of DC Comics' Omega Men, now known as Nebula * Felicity, a magical cat and the main character in '' Rainbow Butterfly Unicorn Kitty''. * Felicity, in '' The Dreamland Chronicles'' fantasy webcomic and comic book series * Felicity, in 2009 comedy film ''

The Boat That Rocked ''The Boat That Rocked'' (titled ''Pirate Radio'' in North America) is a 2009 comedy-drama written and directed by Richard Curtis about pirate radio in the United Kingdom during the 1960s. The film has an ensemble cast consisting of Philip Se ...

'' * Felicity, in the novel ''

Felidae Felidae ( ) is the Family (biology), family of mammals in the Order (biology), order Carnivora colloquially referred to as cats. A member of this family is also called a felid ( ). The 41 extant taxon, extant Felidae species exhibit the gre ...

'' * Felicity Fieldmouse, the older sister of

Mickey Mouse Mickey Mouse is an American cartoon character co-created in 1928 by Walt Disney and Ub Iwerks. The longtime icon and mascot of the Walt Disney Company, Mickey is an anthropomorphic mouse who typically wears red shorts, large shoes, and white ...

Felicity Hardy The Scarlet Spider is an alias used by several fictional characters appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics, most notably Ben Reilly and Kaine Parker, both of whom are genetic clones of Peter Parker, the superhero Spider-Man ...

, a Marvel Comics character, also known as the third Scarlet Spider * Felicity King, in the television series ''

Road to Avonlea ''Road to Avonlea'' is a Canadian television series first broadcast in Canada between January 7, 1990, and March 31, 1996, as part of the '' CBC Family Hour'' anthology series, and in the United States starting on March 5, 1990. It was created ...

'', played by Gema Zamprogna * Felicity Lemon, secretary to

Hercule Poirot Hercule Poirot (, ) is a fictional Belgian detective created by the English writer Agatha Christie. Poirot is Christie's most famous and longest-running character, appearing in 33 novels, two plays (''Black Coffee (play), Black Coffee'' and '' ...

, fictional Belgian detective created by Dame Agatha Christie * Felicity Merriman, from the ''American Girl'' series of dolls and books * Felicity Montague, the main character in the novel ''The Lady's Guide to Petticoats and Piracy'' by Mackenzi Lee * Felicity Parham, a background character in ''

The Amazing World of Gumball ''The Amazing World of Gumball'' (also known simply as ''Gumball'' or by its abbreviation ''TAWOG''; retitled ''The Wonderfully Weird World of Gumball'' beginning with its The Wonderfully Weird World of Gumball, seventh season) is an animated si ...

''. * Felicity Porter, the main character in the television series ''Felicity'', played by Keri Russell * Felicity Rivers, in Enid Blyton's book series ''

Malory Towers ''Malory Towers'' is a series of six novels by English author Enid Blyton. The series is based on a girls' boarding school that Blyton's daughter attended, Benenden School, which relocated during World War II to the Hotel Bristol in Newquay, ...

'' * Felicity "Flick" Scully, in the Australian soap opera ''

Neighbours ''Neighbours'' is an Australian television soap opera that has aired since 18 March 1985. It was created by television executive Reg Watson. The Seven Network commissioned the show following the success of Watson's earlier soap '' Sons and ...

'' * Felicity Shagwell, from the movie ''Austin Powers: The Spy Who Shagged Me'', played by Heather Graham *

, a DC Comics character **

, a character from the television series ''Arrow'', based on DC Comics, played by Emily Bett Rickards * Felicity Wishes, the main character in the book series Felicity Wishes * Felicity Worthington, in Libba Bray's novel ''A Great and Terrible Beauty'', as well as its two sequels * Mrs. Felicity Fox from

Roald Dahl Roald Dahl (13 September 1916 – 23 November 1990) was a British author of popular children's literature and short stories, a poet, screenwriter and a wartime Flying ace, fighter ace. His books have sold more than 300 million copies ...

's novel '' Fantastic Mr Fox'' and its film adaptation of the same name by

Wes Anderson Wesley Wales Anderson (born May 1, 1969) is an American filmmaker. Wes Anderson filmography, His films are known for themes of grief, loss of innocence, and dysfunctional families. Due to his films' eccentricity, distinctive visual and narrative ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Felicity (Given Name) English feminine given names Feminine given names Virtue names