Pamela

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Girl · English literary coinage

Pamela

Say it: PAM-eh-luh

Try it with your surname

Meaning

Coined by Philip Sidney for his Arcadia; often explained as Greek pan 'all' and meli 'honey', but that is a guess.

Uncertainseveral explanations, none settled.

Richardson's novel Pamela (1740) made it a real name; it peaked in the mid-20th century.

Its wave through time

A fashion of the 1950s

In the United States

595,969 babies given this name since 1895
At its height in 1954, about 1 in 71 girls
121 babies in 2020

Through the ages

Used by

English American

The family of the name

Other spellings: Pamella

French	Paméla
Italian	Pamela

Famous bearers

Pamela Andrews, heroine of Richardson's Pamela
Pamela Anderson, actress

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PamalaGirlA fashion of the 1950speak 1954

Where this comes from

Well-known works of literature
United States Social Security birth records, 1880 to today source
United States Social Security birth records, 1880 to today source

Meanings and histories are compiled from the study of names and their languages and checked by a second review.

Meanings and histories are drawn from the study of names and their languages, each with a confidence rating; popularity figures come from official birth records. Name histories are a living field: if you know of a correction, we would be glad to hear it.