| Talitha | |
|---|---|
Talitha is a name given in reference to the raising of the daughter of Jairus in the Gospel of Mark. |
|
| Gender | female |
| Origin | |
| Word/Name | Aramaic |
| Meaning | "little girl" |
Talitha is a rare feminine name meaning "little girl" in Aramaic, given in reference to the Biblical story in the Gospel of Mark in which Jesus Christ was said to have resurrected a dead child with the words "Talitha cumi" or "Talitha kum" or "Talitha koum," meaning "Little girl, I say to you, arise!"[1] It was in occasional use in the United States in the 19th century. Eleven-year-old Talitha Dunlap was among the between 120 and 140 men, women and children who were killed during the 1857 Mountain Meadows Massacre.[2] The name ranked 1,108 among names given to American girls born in 1881.[3] The name was also in occasional use in England by about 1861, when the christening of a girl named Talitha-Cumi People was reported in The Times.[4] It remains in occasional use in the United States and other countries. Forty girls born in 2010 in the United States were given the name Talitha.[5]
While the personal name is most often derived from the Biblical story, Talitha is also the name of two stars, Talitha Borealis and Talitha Australis, in the Ursa Major constellation. The names of the stars are derived from the Arabic phrase, القفزة الثالثة (al-qafzat aθ-θāliθah or at-tālitah) meaning "The third leap [of the gazelle]", referring to an Arabic story about a startled gazelle which leapt three times to different points in the constellation.[6]