Bridget - Origin and Meaning of the name

[ 2 syll. brid-get, br-idg-et ] The girl name Bridget is pronounced as BRIHJHahT ^KEY. Bridget is used predominantly in English, Irish, and Scottish, and its origin is Celtic. Bridget's meaning is exalted one. Derived from the elements 'brígh' which means strength, power, force ; 'briganti' which means exalted, divine. Brighid (Old Irish) and Brigid (Old Irish) are old forms of the name. The name Brighid was borne in Irish mythology by a goddess of fire, poetry, and wisdom; it could also have been associated with the ancient Celtic tribe of the Brigantes. The name was also borne by Saint Brigid of Kildare (451-525), patron saint of Ireland and founder of the Kildare monastery. Much of the later legends surrounding the saint appear to be Christian forms of pagan tales on the goddess. As Saint Brigid was the most important of Irish female saints, the name was considered too sacred to use. It came into general use in Ireland only from the 17th century, and spread to other English speaking countries by the 18th century. The Scandinavian forms of the name owe their popularity to Saint Birgitta (1304-1373), patron saint of Sweden and founder of the Bridgettine Order. The modern Gaelic short form Bríd is Anglicized as Bride, while Bidelia and Bedelia, both genteel elaborations, have fallen from favor. The pet forms Biddy and Biddie have also declined in use outside Ireland due to the association of the slang 'old biddy' with an 'old woman'. Biddy is known from the fictional Biddy Gargery in Charles Dickens' novel Great Expectations (1860). Elsewhere in literature, the name has been used by Henry Fielding for the character Bridget Allworthy in her comic novel Tom Jones (1749), and the character Bridget Jones in her Bridget Jones's Diary column (1995) and subsequent novels (1996,1999) which were made into successful films (2001,2004) starring Renée Zellweger as the titular lead.

The name Bridget is used to a great extent; it has 62 variants that are used in both English and other languages. English variants of Bridget include Berget (used in Irish as well), Bergit (used in Irish as well), Brid (used in Irish as well), Bridgid (used in Irish as well), Bridgitte, Bridgot, Brietta (used in Irish as well), Briggitte, Brighid (used in Irish as well), Bright, Brigid (used in Irish and Scottish as well), Brigit (used in Irish and Scottish as well), Brita (used in Finnish, German, Scandinavian, and Irish as well), and Labridget. Other English forms include the short form Bride (used in Irish as well), the pet forms Biddie (used in Irish as well), Biddy (used in Irish, and Scandinavian as well), Bridi, Bridie (used in Irish as well), Britt (used in Scandinavian as well), Britta (used in Scandinavian as well), and Brydie (used in Irish as well), and the spelling variants Briddgett, Bridgete, Bridgett, Bridgette, Bridgit, Briget, Brigett, and Briggette.

Variants of Bridget used in other languages include Berek (Greek), Bergette (French), Birget (Scandinavian), Birgit (German and Scandinavian), Birgitta (Scandinavian), Breeshey (Manx), Bridita (Spanish), Brigada (Italian), Brigida (Italian, Latinized, and Spanish), Brigide (French), Brigidita (Spanish), Brigita (Czech, Latvian, and Slavic), Brigitta (Dutch, French, German, Hungarian, and Scandinavian), Brigitte (French and German), Brites (Portuguese), Bríd (Irish and Scottish), Brídín (Irish and Scottish), Brígida (Portuguese), Bryga (Polish), Brygid (Polish), Brygida (Polish), Brygitka (Polish), Ffraid (Welsh), Gidita (Spanish), Gita (Czech, Indian, Polish, Slavic, and Yiddish), Gitta (German, Scandinavian, and Hungarian), Piritta (Finnish), Pirjo (Finnish), and Pirkko (Finnish). The pet forms Bedelia (Irish) and Bidelia (Irish), and the spelling variant Brigette (French and German) are other foreign forms.

See also the related forms, Brian (English and Irish) and Brígh (Irish).

Bridget is fairly popular as a baby name for girls. The name's popularity increased from the 1930s up to the 1970s. At the modest peak of its usage in 1973, 0.178% of baby girls were named Bridget. It ranked at #112 then. The baby name has since slipped in popularity. In 2008, its usage was 0.039% and its ranking #394, but it was nevertheless the most commonly used out of all girl names in its group.

Baby names that sound like Bridget include Bridgete (English), Bridgett (English), Bridgit (English), Brigit (English, Irish, and Scottish), Brigitte (French and German), Berget (English and Irish), Bergette (French), Bergit (English and Irish), Birget (Scandinavian), Birgid (German and Scandinavian), Birgit (German and Scandinavian), Birgitt (German and Scandinavian), Birgitte (Scandinavian), Bridgette (English), Bridgid (English and Irish), Bridgitte (English), Briget (English), Brigett (English), Brigette (French and German), and Briggette (English).

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