Cressida

Meaning: (Golden, Medieval English name originating from the Greek name Chryseis. In Greek Mythology, Chryseis was the daughter of Chryses (meaning Golden), and she was named in honor of her father. Cressida therefore means Golden. Various medieval tales describe her as a woman of Troy, daughter of Calchus, who leaves her Trojan lover Troilus for the Greek hero Diomedes. Shakespeare's play 'Troilus and Cressida' (1602) was based on these tales. Cressida's meaning is daughter of Chryses; golden. The name is well known among English speakers from the Trojan princess Cressida in the legend of Troilus and Cressida, as told by Chaucer and Shakespeare among others. Chaucer used the name in the form Criseyde (Old English), from Boccaccio's Criseida (Old English), which was apparently from Chryseis (Old Greek) under the influence of Briseida. Briseida means 'daughter of Brisis', while Chryseis means 'daughter of Chryses' and is ultimately from the Greek element 'chrysos' (golden). Both names are mentioned in Homer's Iliad. The modern form Cressida was created when Shakespeare Latinized Chaucer's name. It was first adopted by English speakers in the 20th century, in spite of the negative history in literature; Shakespeare's Cressida is lascivious, Boccaccio's is faithless, and Chaucer's is naive and easily misled.)

Origin: (Greek, Greek Mythology, English, Medieval English, Literature, German)

Pronunciation: (KRES-ə-də (English), KREHSahDah, CRESS-id-a, CREH-sih-duh, Go to this site and run your cursor over the name Cressida to hear how it is said: http://www.howjsay.com/index.php?word=cressida&submit=Submit)

Gender: Female

I forget what I was looking at the other day but I came across this name. I love the meaning and the Mythological History behind it. It almost looks a bit like my name. It has four of the letters in the same order as in my name Cassidy. Cressida is a unique name and can fit very many genres and eras. Nickname possibilities could be Cress or Essie which are cute.