Etymology & Historical Origin of the Baby Name Althea

Althea is the Latinized form of the ancient Greek female name Althaía (Αλθαια) from the element “althos” meaning “healing”. Althea is borne from Greek mythology, mainly remembered as the mother of Meleager. Althea and her son Meleager’s fates are forever intertwined in Greek mythological tradition because they are the cause of each other’s demise. When Meleager was born, the three Fates appeared before his mother Althea with their predictions: one said he would be noble, the next said he would be brave, but the final Fate (Atropos) had a grimmer view on things. She foretold that Meleager would “live only as long as this brand [in Althea’s fire pit] remains unconsumed.” Fearful for her son’s life, Althea quickly withdrew the brand from the fire, extinguished it, and sealed it safely away. In the ensuing years Meleager grew-up to be a noble and brave prince of Calydon. One season when Meleager was a young man, his father, the King of Calydon, accidentally neglected to mention the goddess Artemis in his fruit offerings to the gods. Incensed by his faux pas, Artemis let loose a giant wild boar on the land to destroy all the crops. Meleager, along with his mother’s brother and one of his own brothers, as well as Atlanta (the skilled huntress) were sent to capture the wild boar. Atlanta successfully wounded the animal with her arrow, and Meleager’s subsequent arrow finished the job. As a prize for drawing the first blood (and because he had fallen in love with her), Meleager gave Atlanta the boar’s skin. Offended that a woman should receive the animal skin, Meleager’s uncle and brother took the prize for themselves. So Meleager killed them. When Althea heard of this, in a fit of passionate rage she fetched the brand from its secret hiding place and immediately threw it into the fire (thus putting an end to her son’s life). When she had realized what she had done, the grief-stricken Althea killed herself with a dagger. In terms of the English speaking world, the female name Althea was used in a romantic poem written by Richard Lovelace (To Althea, from Prison”, 1642). In the short four-stanza poem, the speaker refers to the “divine Althea” whose love supplies all the freedom the imprisoned narrator needs: “Stone walls do not a prison make, / Nor iron bars a cage”. It is believed that Lovelace chose the name Althea carefully – as the Greek word for “healer”, Althea essentially heals him from his confinement – her love provides all the freedom he needs.

All About the Baby Name – Althea

Personality

OF THE GIRL NAME ALTHEA

The Number 2 personality in numerology is all about cooperation and balance. It's the number of diplomats and mediators. They are not leaders, but strive rather for harmony in partnerships. These are the peacemakers. Equality and fairness are important in their dealings, and they are willing to share power and responsibility to achieve a harmonious outcome. This personality is calm and patient, waiting for things to evolve instead of pushing aggressively for an outcome. They are good-natured and easy-going, and care deeply on an emotional and spiritual plane. Twos appreciate beauty and nature and are intent on making the world a better place.

Popularity

OF THE GIRL NAME ALTHEA

Althea has never been a particularly favorite name for American children. While usages of this name does date back to the 19th century (as far back as we have available trend data), Althea has never reached anything higher than position #363 out of 1000 on the charts (1918). In fact, this name fell off the U.S. female naming charts altogether in 1973 and has not yet returned after a 40 year hibernation. In other words, less than 75 babies per year are given the moniker Althea (out of about 2,000,000 baby girls). You won’t find many Altheas running around preschool playgrounds right now. Still we think this one is a hidden gem. It’s unique and different, yet ancient with the power to heal. It’s also a great choice for African-Americans. Althea Gibson was the first woman of color to win a Grand Slam title in tennis (the 1956 French Open) and later went on to win Wimbledon. She paved the way for tennis stars like the Williams sisters. A true hero of the African-American community; the female equivalent of Jackie Robinson.

Quick Facts

ON ALTHEA

GENDER:

Girl

ORIGIN:

Greek

NUMBER OF SYLLABLES:

3

RANKING POPULARITY:

N/A

PRONUNCIATION:

al-TAY-ah

SIMPLE MEANING:

Healer

Characteristics

OF ALTHEA

Cooperative

Considerate

Compassionate

Nurturing

Sensitive

Patient

Loving

Kind

Gracious

Balanced

Cultural References to the Baby Name – Althea

Literary Characters

OF THE BABY NAME ALTHEA

Althea is the subject of Richard Lovelace’s 1642 romantic poem, “To Althea, from Prison”. Lovelace was in prison for trying to have the Clergy Act of 1640 annulled – well, that’s another story, but it was a white-collar crime. Althea is thought to be a woman by the name of Lucy Sacheverell, but there is just as much evidence that she was a figment of Lovelace’s imagination. At any rate, in the poem, the writer imagines that his lover, Althea, visits him in his prison cell, and the powers of his imagination overcome the harsh realities of the dank prison. The poet is able to transport himself to a freedom of sorts by thinking of the lovely Althea. Whoever she was, she must have been quite a vision to have inspired the oft-quoted words: “Stone walls do not a prison make./Nor iron bars a cage”, when the lover lies “tangled in her hair”.

Childrens Books

ON THE BABY NAME ALTHEA

We cannot find any childrens books with the first name Althea


Popular Songs

ON ALTHEA

Althea
a song by the Grateful Dead

Famous People

NAMED ALTHEA

Althea Gibson (tennis player)
Althea Flynt (former wife of Larry Flynt)
Althea Rose Forrest (reggae musician)

Children of Famous People

NAMED ALTHEA

We cannot find any children of famous people with the first name Althea

Historic Figures

WITH THE NAME ALTHEA

Althea Gibson was an American tennis player and professional golfer, who was, incidentally, the first African-American to cross the color line in international tennis as well as being the first African-American woman to play on women’s professional golf tours. Often called the Jackie Robinson for her gender and sport(s), Althea Gibson, in spite of her tremendous accomplishments, always remained a gracious and modest woman. Born in South Carolina and raised in Harlem, Althea showed an affinity for sports early on, and with the help of mentors, forged her way into any number of “firsts” for her race and her sex. She was the first black Wimbledon champion, the first African-American athlete to win a Grand Slam event, and the first black woman to appear on the covers of Sports Illustrated and Time. At the age of thirty-seven, she became the first black woman to join the LPGA. In addition to her prowess in sports, Althea also sang professionally, appeared in a movie, wrote her memoirs, taught, ran for public office and spoke on innumerable occasions. All of this fame brought little fortune, however, and Althea Gibson was actually considering suicide in her later years, when she was sick and living on welfare (a former tennis partner came to her rescue). No less a luminary than Venus Williams says it all: “I am honored to have followed in such great footsteps…her legacy will live on”.