Hope (given name)

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Hope is a unisex name derived from the Middle English hope, ultimately from the Old English word hopian^[1] referring to a positive expectation or to the theological virtue of hope. It was used as a virtue name by the Puritans.^[2] Puritans also used Hope as an element in phrase names, such as Hope-for, Hopeful, and Hope-still.^[3]

The name is also the usual English translation of the Greek name of Saint Hope, an early Christian child martyr who was tortured to death along with her sisters Faith and Charity. She is known as Elpis in Greek and Spes in Church Latin and her name is translated differently in other languages.

Faith, Hope and Charity, the three theological virtues, are names traditionally given to Multiple birth girls, just as Faith and Hope remain common names for twin girls. There were 40 sets of twins named Faith and Hope born in the United States in 2009, the second most common name combination for twin girls.^[4] One example were the American triplets Faith, Hope and Charity Cardwell, who were born in 1899 in Texas and were recognized in 1994 by the Guinness Book of World Records as the world's longest lived triplets.^[5]

Hope has been among the top 1,000 names given to girls born in the United States since 1880 and has been among the top 500 since 1909. It was ranked as the 231st most popular name for girls born in 2011 in the United States, down from its peak ranking of No. 144 in 1999.^[6]

Notable people

• Hope Akpan (born 1991), (male) English professional footballer
• Hope Anderson (born 1988), American beauty queen
• Hope Andrade (born 1949), American businesswoman, former Secretary of State of Texas
• Hope Cooke (born 1940), American socialite, former Queen Consort of the King of Sikkim
• Hope Davis (born 1964), American actress
• Hope Dworaczyk (born 1984), American Playboy model, TV host and reality television personality
• Hope Edelman (born 1964), American non-fiction author
• Hope Emerson (1897–1960), American actress
• Hope Garber (1924–2005), Canadian actress and singer
• Hope Holiday (born 1938), American actress
• Hope Goddard Iselin (1868–1970), American heiress and sportswoman
• Hope Lange (1933–2003), American actress
• Hope Larson (born 1982), American illustrator and cartoonist
• Hope Loring (1894–1959), English screenwriter
• Hope Munro (born 1981), Australian field hockey player
• Hope Mwesigye (born 1956), Ugandan lawyer and politician
• Hope A. Olson (born 1942), American Information studies scholar
• Hope Partlow (born 1988), American pop singer
• Hope Powell (born 1966), English international football coach and former player
• Hope Sabanpan-Yu, Philippine story writer and poet
• Hope Sandoval (born 1966), American singer-songwriter
• Hope Harmel Smith, American television producer and writer
• Hope Solo (born 1981), member of the United States women's national soccer team
• Hope Summers (1896–1979), American actress
• Hope Hill Van Beuren, American billionaire
• Hope Morgan Ward (born 1951), American Methodist bishop

Fictional

• Hope Williams Brady, a character on the American soap opera Days of Our Lives
• Hope Estheim, a character from the game Final Fantasy XIII and recurring in its sequel Final Fantasy XIII-2
• Hope Logan, a character on the American soap opera The Bold and the Beautiful
• Hope Manning-Thornhart, a child character on the American soap opera One Life to Live
• Hope Summers (comics), a superhero in Marvel Comics, first appearing in X-Men in 2007
• Hope Adams Wilson, a former character on the American soap opera The Young and the Restless

Notes