Short form of obsolete names beginning with Germanicīd "work", used for both sexes in medieval England. It was revived in the 19th century, partly mistaken for a Greek name, for the Mount Ida of classical mythology.
"Ida!!!" "It is not a common, but an ancient name in Greece", said the diako,"and was borne by the wife of Lycastus and the mother of the Cretan Minos." Osmyn blushed to have been over-heard, and suffered his heart alone to repeat again the sweet and simple name of "Ida".
1938,Graham Greene,Brighton Rock, Compact Books, published1993,→ISBN, page16:
That's whatthey called me," she said. "My real name'sIda." The old and vulgarised Grecian name recovered a little dignity
"Ida" - the name was magical to me. In whispers, in the dark. Beneath bedcovers. Forehead pressed to a windowpane coated with frost. "Ida". What a strange, beautiful name: I could not say it often enough: it was easy to confuse "Ida" with "I" - - -
According to the 2010 United States Census,Ida is the 41038th most common surname in the United States, belonging to 531 individuals.Ida is most common among White (51.98%) and Asian/Pacific Islander (40.3%) individuals.
[1] Danskernes Navne, based on CPR data: 22 062 females with the given name Ida have been registered in Denmark between about 1890 (=the population alive in 1967) and January 2005, with the frequency peak in the 2000s. Accessed on 19 June 2011.
Name of early female saints, shortened from compound given names beginning withGermanic elementIda-,Idu-. The meaning is debated, possibly cognate with the Old Norseið(“work”), or related to the goddessIðunn. Since its revival in the 19th century also used as a diminutive ofAdelaide.
Kristoffer Kruken - Ola Stemshaug: Norsk personnamnleksikon, Det Norske Samlaget, Oslo 1995,→ISBN
[2] Statistisk sentralbyrå, Namnestatistikk: 17 273 females with the given name Ida living in Norway on January 1st 2011, with the frequency peak around 1990. Accessed on 19 May, 2011.
Year 731 In this year Osric, king of the Northumbrians, was slain, and Ceolwulf ascended to the throne and held it for eight years. Ceolwulf was son of Cutha, Cutha son of Cuthwine, Cuthwine son of Leodwald, Leodwald son of Edgewald, Edgewald son of Ealdhelm, Ealdhelm son of Ocea, Ocea son of Ida, [and]Ida son of Eoppa. And in the same year Archbishop Brightwald died and Tatwine was ordained as archbishop.
“Ida”, inSlovníkový portál Jazykovedného ústavu Ľ. Štúra SAV [Dictionary portal of the Ľ. Štúr Institute of Linguistics, Slovak Academy of Science] (in Slovak),https://slovnik.juls.savba.sk,2003–2025
Roland Otterbjörk: Svenska förnamn, Almqvist & Wiksell 1996,→ISBN
[5] Statistiska centralbyrån and Sture Allén, Staffan Wåhlin,Förnamnsboken, Norstedts 1995,→ISBN: 48 005 females with the given name Ida living in Sweden on December 31st, 2010, with frequency peaks in the 19th century and in the 2000s. Accessed on 19 June 2011.
