Entry № 2314 · Greek origin

Daphne Daphne — Meaning, Origin & Baby Name Popularity

/ DAF-nee /
Gender
Girl
Origin
Greek
Meaning
"Laurel tree"
Syllables
1
First recorded
Ancient (Greek)

A name that means "laurel tree".

Daphne comes from the Greek daphnē (δάφνη), meaning "laurel tree." In Greek mythology, Daphne was a nymph who, fleeing the unwanted love of Apollo, was transformed by her father into a laurel tree at the moment of capture. Apollo's symbol — the laurel wreath — comes from this myth.

Daphne has been rising rapidly in the U.S. since 2010. Today Daphne sits in the U.S. top 200.

Laurel tree — a Greek name.

The name in its native script.

δάφνη
Transliteration
Dáphnē
Pronunciation
/ ˈdæf.ni /
Root
Grammatical form

Where Daphne stands.

Daphne does not currently appear in the US Social Security Administration's top 1,000 girls' names, so we don't publish a US rank or birth count for it. That says nothing about the name's standing elsewhere in the world — only that it sits outside the ranked US data we rely on.

Daphnes before her.

Real people
Daphne du Maurier
British author of Rebecca.
1907 – 1989
Daphne Zuniga
American actress.
born 1962
In fiction
Daphne Bridgerton
Heroine of Julia Quinn's The Duke and I.
2000 novel
Daphne Blake
Character in Scooby-Doo.
1969 onward

Names connected to Daphne.

The number behind Daphne.

3

The Communicator

In Pythagorean numerology the letters of Daphne reduce to 3, The Communicator. This is a traditional interpretive system, not a factual claim about the name.