Imogen (given name)
 | |
| Pronunciation | /ˈɪmədʒən/ |
|---|---|
| Gender | Female |
| Origin | |
| Word/name | Unknown, possibly Celtic or Germanic |
| Meaning | Unknown, possibly "maiden" or “girl” |
| Region of origin | England |
| Other names | |
| Related names | Imogene, Innogen (Ignoge, Inogene), Immy or Imi (nickname) |
Imogen (/ˈɪmədʒən/), or Imogene (/ˈɪmədʒiːn/), is an English-language female given name of uncertain etymology. It is chiefly used as a given name in the United Kingdom, Ireland, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, South Africa, Germany, Austria, Belgium, and Switzerland. The spelling Imogene predominates in the English-speaking West Indies.
Origin
It is possible that the name Imogen may have originated as an accidental or purposeful misspelling of the name Innogen, itself a possible common Celtic name meaning "maiden" or "girl".[1] Innogen is known as the name of a legendary British queen and was supposedly wife to King Brutus and mother of Locrinus, Albanactus and Camber. The form Innogen is rare.[2]
However, Imogen was the name of a politically influential sister[3] of Rivallon I of Dol, a contemporary and ally of William the Conqueror during the Breton-Norman War.
Popularity
In Australia, Imogen was the 35th most popular girls name from 2011 to 2013,[4] while in England and Wales it was the 34th most popular baby girl name in 2014.[5] As of July 2014, Imogen had never been in the top 1000 most popular baby names in the United States, with only 131 baby girls named Imogen in the US in 2013.[6] It was ranked 86th in popularity for baby girls in Scotland in 2007.[7]
List of known Imogens
- Imogen Annesley (born 1970), Australian actress
- Imogen Bailey (born 1977), Australian model, actress and singer
- Imogen Bankier (born 1987), Scottish badminton player
- Imogen Boorman (born 1971), British actress from Hellbound: Hellraiser II
- Imogen Cairns (born 1989), British gymnast
- Imogene Coca (born 1908), American comic actress
- Imogen Cooper (born 1949), English pianist
- Imogen Cunningham (born 1883), American photographer
- Imogen Edwards-Jones (born 1968), British author
- Imogen Hassall (born 1942), British actress
- Imogen Heap (born 1977), English singer-songwriter
- Imogen Holst (born 1907), British composer and conductor
- Imogen Kogge (born 1957), German actress
- Imogen Lloyd Webber (born 1977), British writer and theatre manager
- Imogen Murphy, Irish film and television director
- Imogen Poots (born 1989), British actress
- Imogen Stuart (born 1927), German sculptor
- Imogen Stubbs (born 1961), English actress
- Imogen Thomas (born 1982), Welsh model and contestant on Big Brother UK
- Imogen Purdy (born 1994), Cornish model from England
Fictional characters
- Imogen (Shakespeare) from William Shakespeare's play Cymbeline
- Imogene, from Vincenzo Bellini's 1827 opera Il pirata
- Imogen, a character from Psyopus' 3-part song "Imogen's Puzzle"
- Imogen, portrayed by Julia Stiles in the comedy Down to You
- Imogen, from the book Bad Dreams by Anne Fine
- Imogen, from the book Imogen by Jilly Cooper
- Imogen, Angus' younger sister in the Australian children's novel Bumface written by Morris Gleitzman
- Imogene, from Barbara Robinson's children's story The Best Christmas Pageant Ever
- Imogen, daughter of Winifred Dartie (née Forsyte), from The Forsyte Saga
- Imogene, from Charles De Lint's The Blue Girl and In This Soul Of A Woman
- Imogene "Idgie" Threadgoode, from Fried Green Tomatoes at the Whistle Stop Cafe
- Imogen, from Jonathan Coe's novel The Rain Before It Falls
- Imogen, from BBC's British children's television comedy-drama series Sadie J
- Imogen Book, from Eoin Colfer's Artemis Fowl: The Time Paradox
- Imogene O'Neil, heroine of Meteor (TV miniseries) (2009), played by Marla Sokoloff
- Imogen Melford, one of the four Melford sisters in Diana Wynne Jones's The Time of the Ghost
- Imogen Moreno, in the Canadian drama Degrassi
- Imogen Hazard, one of many twin girls in Angela Carter's 1991 book Wise Children
- Imogen, a character played by Louisa Lytton in the 2009 teen comedy American Pie Presents: The Book of Love
- Imogen Herondale, a character in The Mortal Instruments by Cassandra Clare
- Imogène, from Charles Exbrayat's series of humorous novels
- Aunt Imogene, from the 2010 film Alice in Wonderland portrayed by Frances de la Tour
- Imogene, Trixie Delight's maid in Addie Pray by Joe David Brown, also appearing in the film Paper Moon based on the novel
- Imogene Graham, a major character in Indian Summer (novel) (1886) by William Dean Howells
- Imogen, the principal female character in the Ascendance Trilogy by Jennifer A. Nielsen
- Imogen, from Shades of Grey by Jasper Fforde
- Imogen Clark, a minor character in What Katy Did by Susan Coolidge.
- Imogen Reed, from the video game SOMA
- Imogene secondary character from "Marjorie Morningstar" by Herman Wouk (Chapter 28)
- Imogen, from Imogen Says Nothing, a play by Aditi Kapil
- Imogene Cleary, from The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel, an Amazon original TV series. Played by Bailey De Young
- Imogen Staxton-Billing, from the Revengers' Comedies plays and Malcolm Mowbray's 1998 film "Sweet Revenge" played by Kristin Scott Thomas.
- Imogene Duncan, from the 2012 film Girl Most Likely, played by Kristen Wiig
- Imogen Spurnrose, from the Amazon original series Carnival Row, played by Tamzin Merchant
References
- ^ Norman, Teresa (2003). A World of Baby Names. Penguin. p. 131.
- ^ John Pitcher, 'Names in Cymbeline', Essays in Criticism, v. 43(1), 1993, specifically pp. 3-8; subscription required.
- ^ Marjorie Chibnall, ed. (1990). Anglo-Norman Studies XIII: Proceedings of the Battle Conference. p. 168.
- ^ Sullivan, Rebecca (5 May 2015). "Australia's top 10 baby names". News.com.au. News Corp Australia. Archived from the original on 6 December 2015.
- ^ "The 100 most popular baby names in England and Wales in 2014 – the full list". The Guardian. 17 August 2015. Archived from the original on 23 September 2016.
- ^ Redmond Satran, Pamela (9 July 2014). "The most popular baby names of 2014 so far are..." Today Parents. Archived from the original on 1 April 2016.
- ^ Behind the Name
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