Spy Girl Names: Real life femmes fatales

Night Names are Heavenly

S-Names for Girls: Popularity of “S” vs. “Sh” sounds

The REAL Top Baby Names of All Time!

Doll Names: The History of Doll Names Through the Decades

Cynthia

Nameberry

The name Cynthia peaked for boys at #864 in 1957. Cynthia is also used for girls, ranking #826 in 2024.

The name Cynthia is a girl's name of Greek origin meaning "moon goddess; woman from Kynthos".

Greek Names

Names Ending in -ia for Girls

Greek Names for Girls

7 Letter Girl Names

Names Ending in A for Girls

Names That Mean Goddess

Names That Mean Woman

Names That Mean Moon

Names That Mean Kynthos

Two Syllable Names for Girls

Names that Peaked in 1957

Girl Dog Names That Start With C

Dog Names That Start With C

Animal Names for Girls

Names ending in ia

Names ending in a

Greek Names that Start With C

Sleek and serious, yet bright and energetic at the same time, Cynthia appears in classic mythology as an epithet for Artemis or Diana. While it is now a more neglected choice, it was once hugely popular in the middle of the 20th-century, peaking at #7 in the US, and in the Top 20 by diminutive Cindy.
 
The more literal meaning of the name is "woman from Kynthos", though a figurative interpretation is "moon goddess" due to its link to Artemis, the Greek goddess of the moon and the hunt, who was born on the mountain of Cynthus. Diana is her Roman equivalent. 
 
A favorite of Elizabethan poets, Cynthia was first used in the English-speaking world during the Renaissance period, but didn't become a common given name until the 19th-century. Some English writers used the name to denote Queen Elizabeth I as a virgin moon goddess, such as in Ben Jonson's allegorical comedy Cynthia's Revels.
 Cynthia also qualifies as a nature name: the two-flowered cynthia is a yellow wildflower in the aster family. 
 The name appears in Elizabeth Gaskell's final novel, Wives and Daughters, along with the film Cynthia, in which Elizabeth Taylor had one of her first grown up roles. There are also Cynthias in the popular show Call the Midwife and the game franchise, Pokemon.
 Notable namesakes include ballerina Cynthia Gregory, writer Cynthia Ozick, actress Cynthia Nixon, and designer Cynthia Rowley. Both Cyndi Lauper and Cindy Crawford were born Cynthia. A contemporary bearer is Cynthia Eviro, the actress and singer who plays Elphaba in the Wicked movies. 
 A more modern, Cindy-avoiding nickname is Thea, and an attractive Italian form is Cinzia (CHIN-zia).

Goddess Names

Witchy Names

Classic Girl Names 

Mexican Baby Names

Midcentury Baby Names

Top 1970s Baby Names

Top 1960s Baby Names 

Nature Names for Girls

Top 1950s Baby Names 

Chicken Names

Colonial Names for Girls

335+ Colonial Names from the 1700s

Mythological Names for Girls

Cat Names That Mean Moon

Butterfly Names

Fastest-Rising Names on Nameberry

Dog Names

Most Common Names for Girls

Feminine Girl Names

Nature Names for Babies

Mystical Cat Names

Girl Names Always in the Top 1000

Botanical Baby Names

Mythological Names

Nature Cat Names

Fastest-Rising Girl Names 2024

Flower Names for Girls (with Meanings)

Greek

The name Cynthia is currently ranked #826 in U.S. births. and peaked for girls at #7 in 1957. The name is most popular in CYNTHIA, CYNTHIA, and CYNTHIA. Cynthia is occasionally used for boys in 2003.

Cindy

Cynthia

Popularity of the name Cynthia

The name Cynthia in Nameberry Blog Posts

More Lists containing Cynthia

Advanced Search

Find your type.