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Desdemona

Gender: Feminine
Language/Origin: English/Greek
Etymology:
Desdemona comes from Greek, and means “Ill-Fated,” or “Misery.”

History:
Desdemona is a Shakespearean name, the name of the heroine of his 1604 tragedy Othello. Shakespeare took both name and plot from a story entitled “The Moore of Venice” found in Italian author Cinthio’s (Giovanni Battista Giraldi) 1565 collection of stories called the Hecatommithi (one hundred tales).

Desdemona is rarely bestowed upon real girls.

Pronunciation: dez-dee-moan-ah.

Alternates: Disdemona.

Famous Bearers:
Fictional Characters:
Desdemona
William Shakespeare’s Othello.

Places:
Desdemona
One of Uranus’s moons.



Popularity:
Percentage from the 1990 U.S. Census:
less than 0.001 % named Desdemona

Popularity of Desdemona:
Popularity (for newborns):
In the United States...
1900-2000: N/A

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