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.

# 400 in the US

Fiona Rank in US Top 1000

# 204 on Nameberry

Fiona Rank in Nameberry Top 1000

Fiona Popularity

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

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"