Ursula (name)
| Pronunciation | /ˈɜːrsjʊlə/ German: [ˈʊʁzula] |
|---|---|
| Gender | Feminine |
| Language(s) | German, English, Irish |
| Origin | |
| Language(s) | Latin |
| Word/name | ursa |
| Meaning | "little bear" |
| Other names | |
| Variant form(s) | Uschi, Usch, Urs |
Ursula is a feminine given name in several different languages. The name is derived from a diminutive of the Latin ursa, which means "bear". The name has been rather uncommon in the English-speaking world, although its use has been influenced since the twentieth century by the Swiss-born actress Ursula Andress (born 1936).[1]
Other forms of the name include:
- Úrsula is the variant form in Spanish (notice the acute accent)
- Ursule is the variant form in French
- Urszula is the variant form in Polish
- Uršulė is the variant form Lithuanian
- Orsolya is the variant form in Hungarian
- Urška is the variant form in Slovenian
- Uršula is the variant form in Bosnian
People
- Saint Ursula (died 383)
- Ursula, theoretical founding ancestor of Haplogroup U (mtDNA)
- Ursula of Brandenburg, Duchess of Münsterberg-Oels (1450–1508), a princess of Brandenburg by birth
- Ursula of Brandenburg (1488–1510), German noblewoman
- Ursula Andress (born 1936), Swiss actress
- Ursula Appolloni (1929–1994), Canadian politician
- Ursula Bagdasarjanz (born 1934), Swiss violinist
- Ursula Bloom (1892–1984), British novelist
- Ursula Buckel (1925–2005), German soprano singer
- Ursula Burns (born 1958), American businesswoman
- Ursula Caberta, (born 1950), German politician, critic of the Church of Scientology
- Úrsula Corberó, (born 1989), Spanish actress
- Lady Ursula d'Abo (1917–2017); English socialite
- Ursula Dubosarsky (born 1961), Australian writer
- Ursula Engelen-Kefer (born 1943), German labor leader
- Ursula Eriksson (born 1967), Swedish murderer accused of manslaughter in Britain
- Ursula Fanthorpe (1929–2009), British poet
- Ursula Franklin (1921–2016), Canadian metallurgist
- Ursula Gauthier, French journalist
- Ursula Gibson, American physicist
- Uschi Glas (born 1944), German actress
- Ursula Goodenough (born 1943), American biologist and writer
- Ursula Hayden (born 1966), American professional wrestler, actress, and business woman
- Ursula Haubner (born 1945), Austrian politician
- Ursula Hegi (born 1946), American author
- Ursula Herrmann (died 1981), German female murder victim
- Ursula Holden-Gill (born 1974), British actress
- Ursula Howells (1922–2005), British actress
- Ursula Henderson, South Australian politician
- Ursula Jeans (1906–1973), British actress
- Ursula Karven (born 1964), German actress
- Uschi Keszler (born 1948), German figure skater
- Ursula King (born 1938), German scholar of religion
- Ursula Koch (born 1941), Swiss politician
- Ursula Kübler (1928–2010), Swiss ballerina and actress
- Ursula Ledóchowska (1865–1939), Austrian-born Polish religious leader
- Ursula Lehr (1930–2022), German academic and politician
- Ursula K. Le Guin (1929–2018), American author
- Ursula von der Leyen (born 1958), German politician and current President of the European Commission
- Ursula Martinez (born 1966), British writer and performer
- Úrsula Micaela Morata (1628–1703), Spanish nun
- Ursula Mommens (1908–2010), British potter
- Úrsula Murayama, (born 1972) Mexican actress
- Ursula Niebuhr (1908–1997), American theologian
- Uschi Obermaier (born 1946), German model and actress
- Ursula O'Leary (1926-1993), English actress
- Ursula Plassnik (born 1956), Austrian politician
- Ursula Pole, Baroness Stafford (c. 1504 – 1570), English noblewoman
- Ursula Ratasepp (born 1982), Estonian actress
- Ursula Reit (1914–1998), German actress
- Ursula Rucker, American recording artist
- Ursula von Rydingsvard (born 1942), American sculptor
- Ursula Schäppi (born 1941), Swiss actress, playwright and comedian
- Ursula Schleicher (born 1933), German politician and harpist
- Ursula Southeil (1488–1561), English soothsayer
- Ursula Stephens (born 1954), Australian politician
- Ursula Vernon (born 1977), American artist and writer
- Ursula Vaughan Williams (1911–2007), British poet
- Ursula Moray Williams (1911–2006), British author
- Ursula Wyss (born 1973), Swiss economist and politician
- Urszula Zamoyska (1750–1808), Polish noblewoman and socialite
Fictional characters
- Ursula, in the play Much Ado About Nothing by William Shakespeare
- Ursula the Pig Woman, proprietor of a hot food stall and public lavatory, in the 1614 play Bartholomew Fayre: A Comedy by Ben Jonson
- Ursula Brangwen, in the 1915 novel The Rainbow and the 1920 novel Women in Love by D. H. Lawrence
- Úrsula Iguarán, in the 1967 novel One Hundred Years of Solitude by Gabriel García Márquez
- Ursula Merkle, in the 1960 musical Bye Bye Birdie
- Ursula, on the 1967 animated television series George of the Jungle and the 1997 live-action film adaptation of the same name
- Ursula, in the 1989 Studio Ghibli film Kiki's Delivery Service
- Ursula, from the 1989 Disney film The Little Mermaid
- Ursula Buffay, in the 1990s television sitcoms Mad About You and Friends
- Ursula, in the 1996 film Set It Off
- Ursula, in the 1997 animated television series Pokémon
- Ursula Hanson, a police dispatcher in the 2001 film Super Troopers
- Ursula, in the 2003 video game Fire Emblem
- Ursula, in the 2004 comic strip Brewster Rockit
- Ursula Hartmann, from the 2006 anime/manga series Strike Witches
- Ursula, in the 2006 video game Metal Gear Solid: Portable Ops
- Úrsula, in the 2006 television series Skimo
- Ursula Beresford Todd, in the 2013 novel Life After Life by Kate Atkinson
- Ursula, name given to Elizabeth and George Warleggan's daughter in the season 4 finale and fifth season of Poldark
- Ursula Callistis, in the 2017 animated television series Little Witch Academia
- Ursula, from Xenoblade Chronicles 2
References
- ^ Hanks, Patrick; Hardcastle, Kate; Hodges, Flavia (2006), A Dictionary of First Names, Oxford Paperback Reference (2nd ed.), Oxford: Oxford University Press, p. 268, ISBN 978-0-19-861060-1
External links
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