Innogen

INN-uh-jen

Celtic

"daughter, maiden"

Innogen Origin and Meaning

The name Innogen is a girl's name meaning "daughter, maiden".

Innogen is the Shakespearean name that never was. Most sources will tell you that Shakespeare intended to use Innogen for a character in Cymbeline, but his printer mistook the twos Ns for an M, thus inventing Imogen. This may or may not be true — Imogen seems to have existed before his time, and Shakespeare may have changed the spelling on purpose — but nevertheless, it makes for a great name story.

The evidence is mixed on whether or not Shakespeare deliberately altered Innogen for his play, but he undoubtedly took it from Holinshed's Chronicles, comprehensive volumes of British history. Innogen was the wife of the first king of Britain, Brutus of Troy, who ruled in the 12th century. Prior to that, the name existed in various forms in Brittany, including Ennoguent, Innoguend, and Innoguent.

Popular consensus is that Innogen was ultimately was derived from the Gaelic word for "daughter," inghean, but the -guen(t/d) ending implies a relation to windos, the Proto-Celtic root meaning "white," from which we get -gwyn and -gwen today.

In modern times, Imogen has totally eclipsed Innogen in use (blame it on Shakespeare). It has never been recorded as a name in the US, making it a one-of-a-kind option for a daughter.