Chelsea (given name) explained

Chelsea
Pronunciation:, or
Gender:Unisex, now primarily feminine
Meaning:"chalk wharf", "chalk landing place"
Region:England
Origin:Old English
Alternative Spelling:Chelsie, Chelsi, Chelsy, Chelcie, Chelci, Chelcy, Chelcey, Chelsey, Chelcea, Chealsy

Chelsea is an English given name derived from the Old English place name ċealc hȳð,[1] or the modern Celcyth, meaning chalk landing place. The name evolved to Chelsea, a location on the River Thames that became a London borough known for its wealthy, socially influential residents. Many locations have been named after the English place name Chelsea.[2]

American usage

The given name, a transferred use of the place name, was in use for boys in the New England region of the United States by the late 18th century and was first used for American girls in the 1840s.

The name was first popularized for girls in larger numbers in the United States by American comedian Chelsea Brown, who was born Lois Brown but chose Chelsea as a stage name. After Brown began appearing on the American television program Rowan & Martin's Laugh-In in 1968, the name quadrupled in use for American girls to 48 uses that year. The name debuted among the 1,000 most popular names for American girls in 1969, in 702nd place. Chelsea Morning, a 1969 hit song written about mornings in Chelsea, Manhattan by Canadian singer Joni Mitchell and later performed by Judy Collins, further popularized the name for girls with its descriptive lyrics such as "the light poured in like butterscotch."

The name of Chelsea Clinton, daughter of American President Bill Clinton and former U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton, was inspired by the song when she was born in 1980. The name Chelsea increased further in popularity in the 1980s due to its use for film and television characters, such as Chelsea Thayer Wayne, a character played by Jane Fonda in the 1981 American film On Golden Pond and Chelsea Reardon, a character played by Kassie DePaiva on the American soap opera Guiding Light beginning in 1986. In 1992, the name reached peak popularity in the United States and would have been the eighth most popular name for American girls in that year if all spellings of the name were combined. The name dramatically declined in use in 1993, during the first year of Bill Clinton's presidency. At the time, it was out of fashion in the United States to name children after politicians and those who were associated with them. The name has continued to decline in use, but remained among the 1,000 most popular names for American girls in 2023.

Spelling variants in use in the United States include Chelsey, Chelsi, Chelsie, and Chelsy.

World usage

The name has also been in regular use throughout the Anglosphere, including Australia, Canada, Ireland, New Zealand, and the United Kingdom, as well as in Belgium, France and Netherlands.[3]

Notable women

Chelsea

Chelcie

Chellsie

Chelsey

Chelsee

Chelsi

Chelsie

Chelsy

Notable men

Fictional entities

Notes and References

  1. Book: Hanks. Patrick. Hardcastle. Kate . Hodges. Flavia. 2006. Oxford Dictionary of First Names. Oxford University Press . 53. 0-19-861060-2.
  2. Web site: Cleveland Evans: Comedian gives the name Chelsea 21st-century cachet . Evans . Cleveland Kent . 1 December 2024 . omaha.com . Omaha World Herald . 1 December 2024 .
  3. Web site: Meaning, origin and history of the name Chelsea .

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