Electra

Greek
"amber, shining, bright"

Electra Origin and Meaning

The name Electra is a girl's name of Greek origin meaning "amber, shining, bright".

Though the plays by Sophocles and Eugene O'Neill and via the "Electra Complex" proposed by psychoanalyst Carl Jung, this name has, unfortunately, become associated with incest and murder.

Nevertheless, if you can put the mythology and theory aside, Electra makes a bright, spikey, electric feeling choice, with a shiny, gemstone meaning. If you can't, you could follow actress Isabella Rossellini who chose the gentler Italian version, Elettra, for her now grown daughter.

# 945 on Nameberry

Electra Rank in Nameberry Top 1000

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Popularity of the name Electra

20 Names Similar to Electra

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

Famous People Named Electra

  • Electra Havemeyer Webb
    American antiques collector; daughter of Henry Osborne Havemeyer and Louisine Elder
  • Electra Webb
    daughter of Electra Havemeyer Webb
  • Electra Collins Doren
    American suffragist and library scientist
  • Electra Niarchos (b. 1995)
    daughter of Greek shipping heir Philip Niarchos and Victoria Guinness
  • Carmen Electra
    American actress
  • Anna Michaela Ebba Electra von Hausswolff
    Swedish singer, pianist, organist and songwriter.

The name Electra in Pop Culture

  • Electra
    princess of Argos in Greek mythology, who plotted to kill her mother Clytemnestra as revenge for the murder of her father Agamemnon
  • Electra Complex
    female equivalent of an Oedipal Complex
  • "Mourning Becomes Electra
    " play cycle by Eugene O'Neill
  • "Electra Heart
    " album by Marina and the Diamonds, inspired by her alter ego Electra
  • Electra
    kitten in musical "Cats"
  • Electra the Electric Train
    character in musical "Starlight Express"
  • Electra
    Cathy's dog from the comic strip "Cathy"
  • Electra
    protagonist of the movie Love by Gaspar Noe.

International Variations of the name Electra

  • Elettra
    Italian