Ethel
ETH-əl
A classic feminine name meaning “noble.”
Meaning
Ethel is an old English name built on the Anglo-Saxon element meaning “noble.” In the 19th-century naming books, it is treated both as an independent name and as a shortened form of longer names beginning with Ethel-, such as Ethelburga and Etheldreda. The excerpts also note its revival as a fashionable female name in modern times.
Origin
Old EnglishAnglo-Saxonfeminine
Fun fact
The name was popularized again in the 19th century and, in some cases, was used as a short form of longer Anglo-Saxon saint names.
Confidence: sourced. Sources: History of Christian Names, Praenomina; or, the etymology of the principal Christian names of Great Britain and Ireland.