Fiona

Scottish

"white, fair"

Fiona Origin and Meaning

The name Fiona is a girl's name of Gaelic, Scottish origin meaning "white, fair".

Fiona entered the American consciousness with the opening of the 1954 Broadway musical Brigadoon, but didn't come onto the U.S. popularity list until 1990.

Fiona is the best known of a group of related Gaelic names, which is ironic because it's the only one without genuine traditional roots — it was found first in James Macpherson's Ossianic poems and then popularized in the late nineteenth century as a feminine pseudonym for William Sharp, a Scottish male writer. Some researchers believe that Fiona Macleod was Sharp's identity as a trans woman.

Its recent spike in popularity owes much to singer Fiona Apple and also possibly to Princess Fiona in Shrek. In fact, there have been numerous Fionas on the big and small screens, from The Thorn Birds to Josie and the Pussycats, Four Weddings and a Funeral to Nurse Jackie to Shameless.

Jennie Garth and Chad Lowe have daughters named Fiona. It's also Julia Roberts' middle name.

If you're looking for something more authentic, consider Fionnuala.

Fiona Rank in US Top 1000

# 400 in the US

Fiona Rank in Nameberry Top 1000

# 182 on Nameberry

Popularity of the name Fiona

• 400 US 2023
• 182 Nameberry 2025
• 130 Future 2028
• 965 England 2019
• 63 Germany 2024
• 66 Switzerland 2023
• 92 Dogs 2022
• 37 Cats 2022

20 Names Similar to Fiona

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

• Colette
• Felicity
• Vivian
• Vera
• Vivienne
• Celia
• Camille
• Rosalie
• Francesca
• Minni
• Lucille
• Emmeline
• Nina
• Lydia
• Gwendolyn
• Sylvia
• Meredith
• Bridget
• Tess
• Gemma

Famous People Named Fiona

• Fiona Apple (McAfee Maggart) American singer,songwriter
• Fiona Mary Shaw Irish actress
• Fiona Victoria Gubelmann American actress
• Fiona May Iapichino Italian Olympic long jumper
• Fiona Sit Hong Kong pop singer
• Fiona Nash Australian politician
• Fiona Rae British painter
• Fiona Dourif American actress
• Fiona Xie Singaporean actress and TV presenter
• Fiona O'Carroll Irish actress
• Fiona Elizabeth Bruce British TV journalist
• Fiona Eve Facinelli (b. 2006) daughter of actors Jennie Garth and Peter Facinelli
• Fiona Luna (b. 2010) daughter of actors Diego Luna and Camila Sodi
• Fiona Leigh Pudi (b. 2012) daughter of actor Danny Pudi
• Fiona Hepler Lowe (b. 2012) daughter of actors Chad Lowe and Kim Painter

The name Fiona in Pop Culture

• Princess Fiona character in the "Shrek" series
• Fiona Gallagher main character on TV's "Shameless"
• Fiona Celestine Arabella Coyne character on "Degrassi: The Next Generation"
• "Fred and Fiona " animated series
• Fiona "Fi" Glenanne character on TV's "Burn Notice"
• Fiona character in Lois Lowry's The Giver
• Fiona Belli main character of the game Haunting Ground
• Fiona Phillips main character on TV's "So Weird"
• Fiona character from Roger Zelazny's Amber series
• Fiona Lee character in The Blurred Man by Anthony Horowitz
• Fiona Goode character in"American Horror Story: Coven"
• Fiona Peyton daughter on TV's "Nurse Jackie"
• Fiona "Fee" Cleary character in The Thorne Birds
• Fiona Waters character in "From The Files of Madison Finn"
• Fiona Frauenfeld character from the "Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children" series
• Fiona McIrish character from the "Sims" series
• Fiona Widdershins character in A Series of Unfotunate Events: The Grim Grotto
• Fiona "The Black Fairy" on TV's "Once Upon a Time"
• Fiona Maye High Court judge in the "The Children Act"