Etymology & Historical Origin of the Baby Name Lucinda

Lucinda is a literary name invention, first coined by Miguel de Cervantes in his early 17th century Spanish masterpiece “Don Quixote” (considered one of the greatest works of Western literature and the first novel ever written). It is believed Cervantes created the elaborate Lucinda as from Lucia, an Old Roman female name derived from the Latin “lux” meaning “light”. The famous playwright Molière used the French version, Lucinde, for a character in his 1666 comic play “Le Médecin malgré lui” (The Doctor, in spite of himself). So Lucinda is a name with some serious literary cachet. See literary references below for more information on these two lovely characters. Lucia comes from Lucius which was one of the most commonly used masculine names throughout Roman history. Given Lucius/Lucia’s etymology (light), these names were often bestowed upon babies born at dawn (which would explain the heavy usage). As a female given name, Lucia was made even more common throughout Europe during the Middle Ages thanks to St. Lucia of Syracuse, an early 4th century saint whose cult and legend grew in medieval times. Apropos, Lucia is the patron saint of blind people, as she was said to be the “way of light”. Born at the end of the 3rd century in Syracuse, Sicily, Lucia gave herself over to Christianity and refused her pagan bridegroom. Rejected and irate, her husband-to-be turned her over to the Roman authorities (at the time, the practice of Christianity was against Roman law). When the guards came to persecute her, they were unable to move her extraordinarily heavy body– apparently having been filled with the Holy Spirit (or so legend has it). Nor were they able to burn her. Finally, the frustrated guards gorged her eyes out with a fork. Moral of the story: you can take Lucia out of the light, but you can’t take the light out of Lucia. Lucinda is merely an elaboration on Lucia, compliments of Miguel de Cervantes in 1605.

All About the Baby Name – Lucinda

Personality

OF THE GIRL NAME LUCINDA

The number one personality is a leader - strong and competitive. They are willing to initiate action and take risks. One personalities work hard toward their endeavors and have the ability to apply their creative and innovative thinking skills with strong determination. They believe in their ability to succeed and are too stubborn to be hindered by obstacles. Ones meet obstacles head-on with such mental vigor and energy that you better step aside. They resent taking orders, so don't try telling them what to do either. This is an intensely active personality, but they are also known as starters rather than finishers. They have a propensity to become bored and will move quickly to the next project if not properly challenged.  They are the ones to think up and put into action new and brilliant ideas, but they are not the ones to stick around and manage them. This personality has an enthusiastic and pioneering spirit. They are distinctly original.

Popularity

OF THE GIRL NAME LUCINDA

Lucinda is a female given name that enjoyed most of its popularity in America in the late 19th century. She got as high as #153 on the charts in 1881. However, by the 20th century, the name was already on the decline. Aside from a brief reversal of fortune in the 1940s and 50s (when names like Belinda, Melinda and Glinda were on the rise), Lucinda once again fell from favor for the remainder of the century. 2002 marks the last year this name claimed Top 1000 standing in the country; less than 200 baby girls were called Lucinda in 2012. This is a bit perplexing. Lucinda is a perfectly lovely name loaded with the same antique charms that’s all the rage with baby girls today. Not to mention her meaning (“light”) is an uplifting one. Lucinda is being overlooked in favor of Lucia, Lucille and Lucy today.

Quick Facts

ON LUCINDA

GENDER:

Girl

ORIGIN:

English

NUMBER OF SYLLABLES:

3

RANKING POPULARITY:

N/A

PRONUNCIATION:

lew-SIN-dә

SIMPLE MEANING:

Light

Characteristics

OF LUCINDA

Independent

Individualistic

Ambitious

Strong-willed

Inventive

Successful

Cultural References to the Baby Name – Lucinda

Literary Characters

OF THE BABY NAME LUCINDA

Lucinda is a one half of the title characters in Australian writer Peter Carey’s 1988 novel, Oscar and Lucinda, which was also made into a 1997 film with Cate Blanchett as Lucinda. She is a young Australian heiress who is headstrong and independent, with a strange love for glass (she owns a glass works) and a penchant for gambling (not exactly the Victorian woman’s usual mode of entertainment). This alone puts her rather outside the normal boundaries of society, so she seems a perfect partner for the equally marginalized Oscar, the young Anglican aqua-phobic minister who is likewise a gambler. Indeed, their shared quirkiness brings them together, with glass and water both playing a huge part in their shared destiny. Lucinda takes the biggest gamble of her life on Oscar, and he on her, with consequences worthy of their larger-than-life individual natures.

Lucinda is a character in Miguel Cervantes’ 17th century masterpiece, Don Quixote, in which the hero strives to maintain and uphold virtue in a world gone mad (as is he, himself). Lucinda is a docile and obedient daughter, who spurns her true love, Cardenio, to marry the man of her parents’ choice, Don Fernando. Don Fernando has won her by betraying the friendship of Cardenio, which drives the young man mad with jealousy and thwarted love. The bad boy, Fernando, has already taken the virtue of another woman, ruining her reputation forever. On top of all this, he’s a bigamist. Lucinda’s mom and dad aren’t exactly models of parental protection for their daughter! All’s well that ends well, however, and Cardenio plays tit-for-tat, tricking Don Fernando and reclaiming Lucinda for himself. Lucinda seems happy with this outcome, but we wonder if she didn’t sometimes feel like a football…

Childrens Books

ON THE BABY NAME LUCINDA

We cannot find any childrens books with the first name Lucinda


Popular Songs

ON LUCINDA

Lucinda
a song by Randy Newman

Famous People

NAMED LUCINDA

Lucinda Williams (musician)
Lucinda Jenney (actress)

Children of Famous People

NAMED LUCINDA

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

Historic Figures

WITH THE NAME LUCINDA

We cannot find any historically significant people with the first name Lucinda