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Ursula

Heart
Latin
"little female bear"

Ursula Origin and Meaning

The name Ursula is a girl's name of Latin origin meaning "little female bear".

A saint's name with a noteworthy literary background, including uses by Shakespeare in Two Gentlemen of Verona and Much Ado About Nothing, by Ben Johnson, Walter Scott, Longfellow, D. H. Lawrence and Neil Gaiman. In real life, her two most well known representatives are writer Ursula Le Guin and actress Ursula Andress. In literature, there is also Ursula Iguaran, a key, long-lived character in Gabriel Garcia Marquez's major work, One Hundred Years of Solitude.

Caveat: Today's kids might associate this name with the campy, corpulent octopus in Disney's The Little Mermaid.

Ursula ranked in the Top 1000 through 1983. Time for a comeback?

# 989 in the US

Ursula Rank in US Top 1000

# 888 on Nameberry

Ursula Rank in Nameberry Top 1000

Ursula Popularity

20 Names Similar to Ursula

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Famous People Named Ursula

  • Saint UrsulaRoman,British virgin martyr; patron saint of female students
  • Ursula Kroeber Le GuinAmerican novelist
  • Ursula Martius FranklinCanadian metallurgist, physicist and author
  • Ursula AndressSwiss actress
  • Ursula GoodenoughAmerican biologist and author
  • Ursula MayesAmerican model
  • Ursula BuchfellnerGerman model
  • Ursula CorberoSpanish actress
  • Ursula ParkerAmerican actress and violinist
  • Ursula Southeil aka Mother ShiptonEnglish prophetess of the 16th century
  • Ursula VernonAmerican graphic novelist
  • Ursula BurnsAmerican CEO of Xerox
  • Ursula PlassnikAustrian Minister of Foreign Affairs
  • Ursula Rowland (b. 2006)daughter of English,born fashion journalist Plum Sykes

Ursula in Pop Culture

  • Ursula Buffaycharacter on NBC's "Friends" and "Mad About You"; twin sister of Phoebe Buffay
  • Ursula Brangwencharacter in 'The Rainbow' and 'Women in Love' by D.H. Lawrence
  • Ursula Marchin 'John Halifax, Gentleman' by Dinah Craik
  • Ursulacharacter in film 'George of the Jungle'
  • Ursula the Sea Witchin Disney's 'The Little Mermaid'
  • Ursulacharacter in musical 'Bye Bye Birdie'
  • Ursulaname Marius assumes is Cosette's name in "Les Misérables"
  • Ursula Toddcharacter in "A God in Ruins" by Kate Atkinson
  • Ursulaname of the titular bear in Joanna Newsom's song "Monkey & Bear"