Cindy

Cindy is the English diminutive of Cynthia, a name that comes from the Greek “kynthia” meaning “woman from Mount Kynthos”. Cynthia was another name (a sort of surname) often used for their mythological goddess Artemis to signify her birthplace on Mount Kynthos on the Greek island of Delos. Artemis (or Cynthia) was a great deity to the Greeks. She was the daughter of Zeus and Leto (or debatably Demeter) and the twin sister of Apollo. She was venerated as the goddess of the hunt, wilderness, children and virginity (her Roman counterpart was Diana). She was often depicted holding a bow and quiver of arrows and could invigorate mortals, cure human sufferings, and protect the young. Artemis was also chaste and virginal who could never be conquered by love. In later tradition, Artemis is associated with Selene (an earlier Greek goddess of the moon). While the name dates back to Antiquity, Cynthia was not a name used in medieval times because of her pagan associations. It was revived during the late Renaissance period (17th century). Cindy developed as a pet form and later became an independently given name in its own right mainly in North America, sometimes in reference to Cinderella. Cindy is also sometimes considered a pet form of Lucinda.