Felicity (given name)

Felicity is an English feminine given name meaning "happiness". It is derived from the Latin word felicitas meaning "luck, good fortune".^[1] It is also used as a form of the Latin name Felicitas, taken from the name of the Ancient Roman goddess Fortuna.^[2] It was also the name of Saint Felicity of Rome, a 2nd-century saint venerated by the Roman Catholic Church. Felicia, a related name, is a feminine form of the name Felix, which is derived from an Ancient Roman cognomen meaning "lucky, successful."

Felicity was the 236th most popular name for girls born in England and Wales in 2007.^[3] The name was the 706th most popular name for girls born in the United States in 2007, down from 619th place in 2006. The name was most popular in the United States in 1999, the year after the television show Felicity debuted. It was the 390th most popular name for girls in 1999, rising from 818th place in 1998, the year it debuted on the list of 1,000 most popular names for girls in the United States.^[4] Felicity Merriman is a red-headed 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 and discontinued in 2011.^[5]

Foreign forms

• Felicyta (Polish)
• Felicidad, Felicitas, (Spanish)
• Felistas (Spanish)
• Felicidade (Portuguese)
• Felìcita (Italian)
• Felicitász (Hungarian)
• Felicitas (German)
• Felicitat (Catalan)
• Félicité (French)
• Flossy (Norwegian)
• Zita(?) (Hungarian)
• Zyta(?) (Polish)

People

• Felicity of Rome, 2nd-century Christian martyr and saint
• Felicity (martyr), early 3rd-century co-martyr of Saint Perpetua
• Felicity Abram (born 1986), Australian triathlete
• Felicity Aston, British adventurer and climate scientist, first person to ski across Antarctica on her own power
• Felicity Dowker (born 1980), Australian fiction writer, primarily in the horror genre
• Felicity Galvez (born 1985), Australian swimmer and two-time Olympic champion
• Felicity Huffman (born 1962), American actress
• Felicity Johnson (born 1971), Australian Paralympic tandem cyclist
• Felicity Jones (born 1983), English actress
• Felicity Kendal (born 1946), English actress
• Felicity LaFortune (born 1954), American actress
• Felicity Leydon-Davis (born 1994), New Zealand cricketer
• Felicity Lott (born 1947), English soprano
• Felicity Montagu (born 1960), English actress
• Felicity Okpete Ovai (born 1961), commissioner of the Rivers State Ministry of Works
• Felicity Palmer (born 1944), English mezzo-soprano and music professor
• Felicity Peake (1913-2002), founding director of the UK's Women's Royal Air Force
• Felicity Sheedy-Ryan (born 1985), Australian triathlete
• Felicity Urquhart (born 1976), Australian country music singer-songwriter
• Felicity Ward (born 1980), Australian comedian
• Felicity Wardlaw (born 1977), Australian road cyclist

Fictional characters

• Felicity Hardy, a Marvel Comics character, also known as the third Scarlet Spider
• Felicity King, in the television series Road to Avonlea, played by Gema Zamprogna
• Felicity Merriman, from the American Girl series of dolls and books
• Felicity Porter, the main character in the television series Felicity, played by Keri Russell
• Felicity Scully, in the Australian soap opera Neighbours
• Felicity Shagwell, from the movie Austin Powers: The Spy Who Shagged Me, played by Heather Graham
• Felicity Smoak, in the Arrow television series, played by Emily Bett Rickards
• Felicity Worthington, in Libba Bray's novel A Great and Terrible Beauty, as well as its two sequels
• Felicity (comics), a member of DC Comics' Omega Men, now known as Nebula
• Felicity, in the The Dreamland Chronicles fantasy webcomic and comic book series
• Felicity, in 2009 comedy film The Boat That Rocked
• Felicity, in the novel Felidae
• Felicity Rivers, in Enid Blyton's book series Malory Towers

References