This name experienced a rise in popularity at the end of the 20th century. It was the most popular name for girls in England and Wales from 2011 to 2015.
The daughter of Zeus, she was said to have sprung from his head fully grown after he impregnated and swallowed her mother Metis. Athena is associated with the olive tree and the owl.
In the United States it became more common for girls in the early 1980s, shortly after the debut of the television sitcom The Facts of Life (1979-1988), which featured a character named Blair Warner. The name left the American top 1000 rankings two decades later, but was resurrected by another television character, this time Blair Waldorf from the series Gossip Girl (2007-2012).
Eli has been used as an English Christian given name since the Protestant Reformation. A notable bearer was the American inventor of the cotton gin Eli Whitney (1765-1825).
This name can also be given in reference to the city in Italy, as in the case of Florence Nightingale (1820-1910), who was born there to British parents. She was a nurse in military hospitals during the Crimean War and is usually considered the founder of modern nursing.
As an English name, Laura has been used since the 13th century. Famous bearers include Laura Secord (1775-1868), a Canadian heroine during the War of 1812, and Laura Ingalls Wilder (1867-1957), an American author who wrote the Little House on the Prairie series of novels.
This spelling was used by Lord Byron for characters in The Giaour (1813) and Don Juan (1819), and it is through him that the name was introduced to the English-speaking world.
The name has been very common throughout the English-speaking world since end of the 20th century. In the United States it reached a high point in 2017, when it ranked as the fifth most popular name for boys.
The name was not used in England until after the Protestant Reformation. A notable bearer was Martha Washington (1731-1802), the wife of the first American president George Washington. It is also borne by the media personality Martha Stewart (1941-).
In England and elsewhere in Europe during the Middle Ages this name was used in honour of the saint. However, it was not generally given in Ireland before the 17th century because it was considered too sacred for everyday use. It has since become very common there.
Due to the saint's popularity, the name came into general use in medieval Europe, especially in Spain and France. It was also borne by a 16th-century king of Portugal who died in a crusade against Morocco.