Etta

Etta originated as a pet name for Henrietta (the English equivalent of the French Henriette), which are the female versions of Henry and Henri, respectively, coined in the 17th century (although the English typically preferred Harriet over Henrietta). The name Henry (and thus Henrietta) comes from the Germanic elements “haim” (home) and “rīc” (ruler), literally translating to “ruler of the house”. The name was original rendered as Heimerich in Old High German which the French eventually borrowed as Henri. The Norman-French spread the name throughout England after the Conquest of 1066 (although the Anglo-Saxons originally adopted the name as “Harry”). It wasn’t until after the Middle Ages when the female forms of Harry/Henry came into popular usage (Harriet, Henrietta). By the 19th century, Etta was an independently given name in her own right (just as Hattie developed from Harriet). Aside from Etta’s original association with Henrietta, it is also widely considered a pet form of any name ending with the “-etta” suffix (Loretta, Rosetta) as was the case with African-American R&B singer Etta James (b. Jamesetta Hawkins in 1938).