🔥Daphne

Greek

"laurel tree, bay tree"

Daphne Origin and Meaning

The name Daphne is a girl's name of Greek origin meaning "laurel tree, bay tree".

In Greek mythology, Daphne was the nymph daughter of Peneus, a river god. Peneus saved Daphne from Apollo’s romantic obsessions by transforming her into a laurel tree. It is from this myth that the plant genus daphne, which contains the laurel species, gets its name.

Daphne's origins may be Greek, but it's seen by Americans as quintessentially British—as in the Daphne Moon character on Frasier and the heroine of the romantic drama Bridgerton. The shrub inspired the popularity of the name in England, where it became part of the British vogue for plant names at the end of the nineteenth century.

Though we don't see it becoming a Top 100 name in the US, Daphne is obviously finding more widespread acceptance—and for a distinctive, deeply-rooted, attractive girls' name, that's a positive thing. In fact, Daphne has been in the US Top 1000 for every year but two -- 1913 and 1938. And it's now at its highest point ever in the US and is also one of the most popular girls' names on Nameberry.

Its most famous bearer is Daphne du Maurier, author of such suspense novels as Rebecca. Fictional Daphnes have appeared in Some Like It Hot (Jack Lemmon as a woman), The Jewel in the Crown, Scooby-Doo, Harry Potter, and Heroes.

Daphne Rank in US Top 1000

# 241 in the US

Daphne Rank in Nameberry Top 1000

# 6 on Nameberry

Popularity of the name Daphne

• 241 US 2023
• 6 Nameberry 2025
• 197 Canada 2021
• 73 Future 2035
• 172 England 2023
• 142 Netherlands 2015

20 Names Similar to Daphne

These 20 names were selected by our users that were looking for other names like Daphne.

• Phoebe
• Flora
• Beatrix
• Cordelia
• Florence
• Astrid
• Evangeline
• Genevieve
• Theodora
• Dahlia
• Ophelia
• Delilah
• Esther
• Clementine
• Estelle
• Delphine
• Imogen
• Felicity
• Sylvia
• Guinevere

Famous People Named Daphne

• Daphne Eurydice Zuniga American actress
• Daphne Miriam Merkin American novelist and critic
• Daphne du Maurier Lady Browning, English novelist and playwright
• Daphne Jessie Akhurst Australian tennis player
• Daphne Bloomer American actress
• Daphne Rubin Vega, Panamanian,American dancer, singer, and actress
• Daphne Diana Joan Susanna Guinness British,Irish artist, model, and heiress
• Daphne Groeneveld Dutch model
• Daphne Fowler English TV quiz show champion
• Daphné French singer
• Daphne Winifred Louise Fielding English author and socialite
• Daphne Margaret Sybil Désirée Park Baroness Park of Monmouth, English diplomat and spy
• Daphne Ivory Wayans daughter of actor Keenen Ivory Wayans
• Daphne van den Hoogenband (b. 2007) daughter of swimmers Pieter van den Hoogenband and Minouche Smit
• Daphne Marie Corboz American soccer player

The name Daphne in Pop Culture

• Princess Daphne character from "Dragon's Lair"
• Daphne Blake character on animated series "Scooby Doo"
• Daphne Leander character in "The Internment Chronicles" by Lauren DeStefano
• Daphne Grimm character in Michael Buckley's "The Sisters Grimm" series
• Daphne Paloma Vasquez character on TV's "Switched at Birth"
• Daphne Allen minor character on Supernatural
• Daphne Moon character on TV's "Frasier"
• Daphne Greengrass character in the Harry Potter series
• Daphne Reynolds character in movie "What a Girl Wants"
• Daphne Hatzilakos teacher on TV's "Degrassi: The Next Generation"
• Daphne Glover main character on TV's "Underemployed"
• Daphne Harridge Collins character on TV's "Dark Shadows"
• Daphne de Luce character in Alan Bradley's Flavia de Luce series
• Crown Princess Daphne character on animated series "Winx Club"
• Daphne Rose Clarke character on Australian soap "Neighbours"
• Daphne Broon character in Scottish comic strip "The Broons"
• Daphne Millbrook character on TV's "Heroes"
• Daphne Millicent Turner character in the Malory Towers series by Enid Blyton
• Princess Daphne character in video game "Dragon's Lair"
• "Daphne Descends " song by The Smashing Pumpkins
• Daphne Chanders American "Queer as Folk" series character
• Daphne Conrad character from TV's "Nashville"
• Daphne Lacey character in the "St Clare" book series by Enid Blyton, who has a twin sister called Dora
• Daphne Yewbeam character in Jenny Nimmo's "The Children of the Red King" series
• Daphne Diaz character on TV's "Stuck in the Middle"
• Daphne the only named tunnel toad in "Toad Patrol"
• Daphne de Vallerand character in Echoes by Danielle Steel
• Daphne Kluger Anne Hathaway's character in "Ocean's Eight"
• Daphne Sullivan character in season two of "The White Lotus"