Aida (given name)

Not to be confused with Ayda (name).
Aida
Pronunciation/ɑːˈiːdə/
GenderFemale
Language(s)Arabic, Persian, Turkish, Latin, Swahili, Armenian, Italian, Finnish, Spanish, Swedish
Origin
Word/nameArabic
Meaning“Happy”, "Returning", "Helper", "Distinguished", "moon", "Gift"
Actress Aida Turturro, in 2012.

Aida or Aïda is a female given name of Arabic origin. Variants include: Aidda, Ada, Aeeda, Aída, Aide, Aidee, Ade, Ajda, Ayeda, Ayeeda, Ayida, Ida, Ieeda, Ieda, Ayda, and Iyeeda.[1]

Variants

The name was used by Auguste Mariette for his sketch of the plot which Giuseppe Verdi later used for his opera of the same title, Aida. In the Italian opera, Aida is an Ethiopian princess. Mariette claimed that the name was authentically Egyptian, writing in a letter "Don't be alarmed by the title. Aida is an Egyptian name. Normally it would be Aita. But that name would be too harsh, and the singers would irresistibly soften it to Aida."[2] It may be derived from a name recorded on the Rosetta Stone.[2]

Unrelated to this origin, the Italian meaning for Aida is "Happy".[3] "Aida" is also sometimes traced to other African languages.[citation needed] Aida (相田) is also a Japanese surname.

Notable people named Aida

References

  1. ^ "Aida". Think Baby Names. Retrieved 11 December 2017.
  2. ^ a b Jon Solomon, The Rosetta Stone, Ptolemaic Aetos, and Aida
  3. ^ "All about the name Aida". BabyNames.com. Retrieved 11 December 2017.