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Pamela is a feminine
given name A given name (also known as a forename or first name) is the part of a personal name quoted in that identifies a person, potentially with a middle name as well, and differentiates that person from the other members of a group (typically a fa ...
, often abbreviated to Pam. Pamela is also infrequently used as a surname.


History

Sir
Philip Sidney Philip, also Phillip, is a male given name, derived from the Greek (''Philippos'', lit. "horse-loving" or "fond of horses"), from a compound of (''philos'', "dear", "loved", "loving") and (''hippos'', "horse"). Prominent Philips who popularize ...
invented the name Pamela for a pivotal character in his epic prose work, '' The Countess of Pembroke's Arcadia'', written in the late 16th century and published posthumously. The name is widely taken to mean "all sweetness", formed on the Greek words πᾶν ''pan'' ("all") and μέλι ''meli'' ("honey"), but there is no evidence regarding what meaning, if any, Sidney intended for it. The Samuel Richardson novel '' Pamela'' in 1740 or 1741 inaugurated the use of Pamela as a given name but it was not in common usage until the 20th century. A rare early bearer of the name,
Lady Edward FitzGerald Stéphanie Caroline Anne Syms, Lady Edward FitzGerald (9 November 1831) was the wife of Lord Edward FitzGerald, the radical revolutionary and leading United Irishman, and was herself an enthusiastic supporter of Irish independence, scarcely less ce ...
(c. 1773 – 1831), although known by the first name Pamela, was born Stephanie Caroline Anne Syms. The name's popularity may have been hindered by the tendency to pronounce it which was not fully superseded by the now-standard until the start of the 20th century when the name finally entered general usage. Pamela was very popular in Great Britain from the 1930s through the 1950s with the tallies of the most popular names for British newborn girls for the respective years 1934, 1944 and 1954 ranking Pamela at respectively #20, #17 and #24. Evidently less popular from the 1960s—being ranked on the respective 1964 tally at #67—the name Pamela has grown increasingly unfashionable, with a reported total of eleven newborn girls in Britain given the name in 2009. The name was similarly most used throughout the
Anglosphere The Anglosphere is a group of English-speaking nations that share historical and cultural ties with England, and which today maintain close political, diplomatic and military co-operation. While the nations included in different sources vary, ...
from the 1940s through the mid-1970s. For instance, it was among the one hundred most used names for girls in the United States between 1943 and 1976 and remained among the one thousand most used names for American girls until 2011. It has since declined in use.


Given name

People with the name or its variants include: *
Pamela Adlon Pamela Fionna Adlon (; ; born July 9, 1966) is an American actress. She is known for voicing Bobby Hill in the animated comedy series ''King of the Hill'' (1997–2010), for which she won a Primetime Emmy Award. She also voiced Baloo in ''Jungl ...
, née Segall *
Pamela Anderson Pamela Denise Anderson (born July 1, 1967) is a Canadian-American actress and model. She is best known for her glamour modeling work in ''Playboy'' magazine and for her appearances on the television series ''Baywatch'' (1992–1997). Ander ...
*
Pamela Bellwood Pamela Bellwood (born Pamela King) is an American actress known for her role as Claudia Blaisdel Carrington on the 1980s prime time soap opera, '' Dynasty''. Life and career Bellwood became interested in an acting career when she portrayed Em ...
* Pamela J. Bjorkman * Pamella Bordes * Pamela Branch, British crime novelist *
Pamela Britton Pamela Britton (born Armilda Jane Owens, March 19, 1923 – June 17, 1974) was an American actress, best known for appearing as Lorelei Brown in the television series ''My Favorite Martian'' (1963–1966) and for her female lead in the film noi ...
* Pamela Brown, multiple people * Pamela Brooks * Pamela Bustin *
Pamela Butchart Pamela Butchart is a Scottish children's author and high school philosophy teacher. Butchart is best known for her books, ''The Spy Who Loved School Dinners'' and ''My Head Teacher is a Vampire Rat'', both of which won book awards. Education a ...
, Scottish children's author *
Pamela Carruthers Pamela Isabel Jameson Carruthers (née Torrie, 11 August 1916 – 23 September 2009), was a British showjumper, and showjumping course designer, and "had a profound influence on show jumping courses in many parts of the world". Early life She was b ...
*
Pamela Chopra Pamela Chopra (born 1938) is an Indian playback singer. She is the wife of veteran Bollywood film director Yash Chopra. She has also written and produced several films. Early life Chopra was born as Pamela Singh, the daughter of Mohinder Singh ...
*
Pamela Clabburn Pamela Clabburn (13 April 1914 – 2 July 2010) was an English author, conservationist, curator, needlewoman and textile expert. She worked for the staff of Strangers' Hall Museum in Norwich as assistant curator of social history and at Norwich ...
* Pamela Copus *
Pamela Courson Pamela Susan Courson (December 22, 1946 – April 25, 1974) was a long-term companion of Jim Morrison, singer of the Doors. Courson stated she discovered Morrison's body in the bathtub of a Paris apartment in 1971. She died three years after him ...
* Pamela Kyle Crossley *
Pamela Crowe Pamela Mavis Crowe MBE is a former Member of the Legislative Council of the Isle of Man. Prior to entering politics she was a director of Crowes Ltd and an author of several books. She was the MHK for Rushen from 1997 to 2003, when she was e ...
* Pamela Cundell * Pamela Dean * Pamela Des Barres, born Pamela Ann Miller * Pamela Duncan (novelist) *
Pamela Duncan (actress) Pamela Duncan (December 28, 1924 – November 11, 2005) was an American B-movie actress who starred in the 1957 Roger Corman cult science fiction film ''Attack of the Crab Monsters'' and later appeared in the 2000 Academy Award-nominated document ...
* Pamelyn Ferdin (or "Pamela Lynn"), child actress, animal rights activist * Pamela Fitzgerald (disambiguation), multiple people *
Pamela Frank Pamela Frank (born June 20, 1967) is an American violinist, with an active international career across a varied range of performing activity. Her musicianship was recognized in 1999 with the Avery Fisher Prize, one of the highest honors given t ...
*
Pamela Frankau Pamela Sydney Frankau (3 January 1908 – 8 June 1967) was a popular English novelist from a prominent artistic and literary family. She was abandoned by her novelist father Gilbert Frankau at an early age, and she became a prolific writer. Sh ...
*
Pamela Franklin Pamela Franklin (born 3 February 1950) is a British former actress. She is best known for her role in the film '' The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie'' (1969), for which she won a NBR Award and received a BAFTA Award nomination. Franklin made her a ...
*
Pamela Gay Pamela L. Gay (born December 12, 1973) is an American astronomer, educator, podcaster, and writer, best known for her work in astronomical podcasting and citizen science astronomy projects. She is a senior education and communication specialist ...
, American astronomer *
Pamela Geller Pamela Geller (born 1958) is an American anti-Muslim, far-right, political activist, blogger and commentator. Geller promoted birther conspiracy theories about President Barack Obama, saying that he was born in Kenya and that he is a Muslim. Sh ...
* Pamela Gemin *
Pamela Gidley Pamela Catherine Gidley (June 11, 1965 – April 16, 2018) was an American actress and model. She began her career as an actress in 1986, debuting in the film ''Thrashin, before appearing in a number of films, including '' Dudes'' (1987), ''Ch ...
* Pamela Gorkin, American mathematician *
Pamela Green Phyllis Pamela Green (28 March 1929 – 7 May 2010) was an English glamour model and actress, best known at the end of the 1950s and early 1960s. She modeled for Zoltán Glass and his brother Stephen, Horace Roye, Jean Straker, Bill Brandt, ...
, English model and actress * Pamela Green (DJ) * Pamela Gordon (actress), American actress * Pamela Gordon (politician), Bermudian politician * Pamela Anne Gordon, Canadian model * Pamela Harmsworth, Viscountess Rothermere * Pamela Harriman *
Pamela Hayden Pamela Hayden (born November 28, 1953) is an American actress and voice actress, known for providing various voices for the animated television show ''The Simpsons'', such as Milhouse Van Houten. Biography Hayden provides voices for characters ...
*
Pamela Healy Pamela Katherine Healy (born June 24, 1963 in San Francisco, California) is a retired female sailor from the United States, who won a bronze medal at the 1992 Summer Olympics in Barcelona, Spain. She did so in the 470 class, alongside Jennifer ...
*
Pamela Hensley Pamela Gail Hensley (born October 3, 1950) is an American actress and author. Her notable acting roles include Princess Ardala on the 1979–1981 television series '' Buck Rogers in the 25th Century'' and C.J. Parsons on the 1982–1985 televisio ...
* Lady Pamela Hicks *
Pamela Isaacs Pamela Isaacs is an American singer and actress. Theatre In 1987 Isaacs appeared in ''Conrack'', a musical based on Pat Conroy's novel '' The Water is Wide,'' at AMAS Repertory Theater. The show is set in 1969 and recounts the adventures of Pat ...
*
Pamela Jelimo Pamela Jelimo (born 5 December 1989) is a Kenyan middle-distance runner, specialising in the 800 metres. She won the gold medal in 800 metres at the 2008 Olympics in Beijing at the age of 18. She is the first Kenyan woman to win an Olympic gol ...
*
Pamela Hansford Johnson Pamela Hansford Johnson, Baroness Snow, (29 May 1912 – 18 June 1981) was an English novelist, playwright, poet, literary and social critic. Life Hansford Johnson was born in London. Her mother, Amy Clotilda Howson, was a singer and actress, ...
*
Pamela Jones Pamela Jones, commonly known as PJ, is the creator and was editor of Groklaw, a website that covered legal news of interest to the free and open-source software community. Jones is an Open Source advocate who previously trained and worked as a ...
* Pamela Joyner (born 1957/58), American art collector * Pamela S. Karlan * Pamela Katz * Pamela M. Kilmartin * Pamela Kirkham, 16th Baroness Berners *
Pamela Klassen Pamela E. Klassen is a Professor in the Department for the Study of Religion at the University of Toronto, co-appointed to the Department of Anthropology at the University of Toronto and Osgoode Hall Law School at York University. In 2019, Kla ...
* Pamela Knaack * Pamela Kunz * Pamela Kurrell * Pamela Levy * Pamela London * Pamela Martin (disambiguation), multiple people *
Pamela Sue Martin Pamela Sue Martin (born January 5, 1953) is an American actress, who is best known for starring as Nancy Drew on the television series ''The Hardy Boys/Nancy Drew Mysteries'' and as socialite Fallon Carrington Colby on the ABC soap opera '' Dyna ...
*
Pamela Melroy Pamela Ann Melroy (born September 17, 1961) is an American retired United States Air Force officer and NASA astronaut serving as the deputy administrator of NASA. She served as pilot on Space Shuttle missions STS-92 and STS-112 and commanded mis ...
* Pamela Morris * Pamela Munro * Pamela O'Malley, Irish-Spanish bohemian, educationalist and radical * Pamela Pasinetti (born 1993), Thai-Italian model and beauty pageant titleholder *
Pamela Payton-Wright Pamela Payton-Wright (November 1, 1941 – December 14, 2019) was an American actress. Life and work Payton-Wright was born in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, the daughter of Eleanor Ruth (née McKinley) and Gordon Edgar Payton-Wright. After graduati ...
*
Pamela Rabe Pamela may refer to: *''Pamela; or, Virtue Rewarded'', a novel written by Samuel Richardson in 1740 *Pamela (name), a given name and, rarely, a surname * Pamela Spence, a Turkish pop-rock singer. Known as her stage name "Pamela" * MSC ''Pamela'', ...
* Pamela Rambo * Pamela Ramljak * Pamela C. Rasmussen *
Pamela Reed Pamela Reed (born April 2, 1949) is an American actress. She is known for playing Arnold Schwarzenegger's hypoglycemic police partner in the 1990 movie ''Kindergarten Cop'' and as the matriarch Gail Green in ''Jericho''. She appeared as Marlen ...
* Pamela Ribon *
Pamela Rooks Pamela Rooks (28 February 1958 – 1 October 2010) was an Indian film director and screenwriter, most known for the film, '' Train to Pakistan'' (1998) set in Partition of India and based on Khushwant Singh's novel; it was screened at several ...
*
Pamela Salem Pamela Fortunee Salem (born 22 January 1944) is a British film and television actress of Anglo-Indian descent. She was born in Bombay, India, and educated at Heidelberg University in Germany and later at the Central School of Speech and Drama i ...
*
Pamela Samuelson Pamela Samuelson is the Richard M. Sherman '74 Distinguished Professor of Law and Information Management at the University of California, Berkeley with a joint appointment in the UC Berkeley School of Information and Boalt Hall, the School of La ...
*
Pamela Sargent Pamela Sargent (born March 20, 1948) is an American feminist, science fiction author, and editor. She has an MA in classical philosophy and has won a Nebula Award. Sargent wrote a trilogy concerning the terraforming of Venus that is someti ...
* Pamela Sharples * Pamela Susan Shoop * Pamela Silver * Pamela Smart *
Pamela Colman Smith Pamela Colman Smith (16 February 1878 – 18 September 1951), nicknamed "Pixie", was a British artist, illustrator, writer, publisher, and occultist. She is best-known for illustrating the Rider–Waite tarot deck (also called the Rider–Wait ...
* Pamela Spence * Pamela Springsteen * Pamela Stein *
Pamela Stephenson Pamela Helen Stephenson, Lady Connolly (born 4 December 1949) is a New Zealand-born psychologist, writer, and performer who is now a resident in both the United Kingdom and the United States. She is best known for her work as an actress and co ...
* Pamela Tiffin * Pamela Lyndon "P. L." Travers *
Pamela Rogers Turner Pamela Joan Rogers (born July 1, 1977) is an American former elementary school physical education teacher and coach who taught in McMinnville, Tennessee. She was convicted of four counts of sexual battery in 2005 and two counts of solicitation o ...
(born 1977), teacher and child rapist * Pamela Vitale * Pamela Wallin *
Pamela Willeford Pamela Pitzer Willeford (born March 1950) is American diplomat who served as the United States Ambassador to Switzerland and Liechtenstein between 2003 and 2006. She is also notable as being the sole eyewitness of the 2006 hunting incident where ...
*
Pamela Williams Pamela Williams (born 1963) is an American smooth jazz saxophonist. Williams exhibits diverse musical elements in her repertoire, including nu Jazz, funk, R&B, house, Latin and pop. She is also known for her visual art. Biography Williams grew ...
* Pamela Wynne *
Pamela Zoline Pamela Zoline (or Pamela Lifton-Zoline; born 1941) is an American writer and painter, born in Chicago, living in the United States in Telluride, Colorado. Background Among science fiction fans, she is known for her controversial short story "The ...


Surname

*
Lucia Pamela Lucia Pamela (May 1, 1904 – July 25, 2002) was an American musician, nightclub singer, bandleader, and eccentric. She is remembered today largely for a science fiction themed musical album and coloring book concerning an imaginary trip to the M ...


Fictional characters

* Pamela, one of the Thea Sisters in ''
Thea Stilton ''Geronimo Stilton'' is an Italian children's chapter book series written by Elisabetta Dami under the pen name of the title character. Scholastic Corporation has published the English version of the series in the US since February 2004, and t ...
'' * Pamela Andrews, heroine of Samuel Richardson's novel '' Pamela, or Virtue Rewarded'' (1740–1741) * Dr. Pamela Lillian Isley or Poison Ivy, character in DC Comics and enemy of Batman *
Pamela Voorhees Pamela Voorhees () is a character (arts), fictional character and the overarching antagonists, antagonist of the Friday the 13th (franchise), ''Friday the 13th'' series of horror films. She was created by Victor Miller (writer), Victor Miller, ...
, in the '' Friday the 13th'' films *
Pamela Barnes Ewing Pamela Jean "Pam" Barnes Ewing is a fictional character from the CBS primetime soap opera ''Dallas''. Pamela is portrayed by actress Victoria Principal, first appearing on the show in the first episode, entitled "Digger's Daughter", which wa ...
, in TV series ''Dallas'' * Pamela Abbott, one of the Abbott sisters in the movie, ''
Inventing the Abbotts ''Inventing the Abbotts'' is a 1997 American period coming-of-age film directed by Pat O'Connor and starring Liv Tyler, Joaquin Phoenix, Billy Crudup, Jennifer Connelly, and Joanna Going. The screenplay by Ken Hixon is based on a short story by ...
'' *
Pamela Douglas Pamela Douglas is a fictional character from the CBS soap opera, ''The Bold and the Beautiful'', portrayed by Alley Mills. She made her first appearance during the episode broadcast on December 1, 2006. Pamela was introduced as the sister of estab ...
, from soap opera '' The Bold and the Beautiful'' * Pamela Ibis, a recurring character from the ''Atelier'' series of video games. * Pamela Moran, a main character in ''
Army Wives ''Army Wives'' is an American drama television series that followed the lives of four army wives, one army husband, and their families. The series premiered on Lifetime on June 3, 2007, and ran for seven seasons, ending on June 9, 2013. The s ...
'' * Pamela Byrnes (later Focker), a main character in the '' Meet the Parents'' film trilogy * Pamela Beesly, from the sitcom '' The Office'' *
Pamela Swynford De Beaufort Pamela Ravenscroft, known as Pamela Swynford De Beaufort in ''True Blood'', is a fictional character from ''The Southern Vampire Mysteries'' by author Charlaine Harris. She is a vampire, created by Eric Northman and co-owner of ''Fangtasia'', a ...
, from the HBO TV series, True Blood.


See also

* Pam (disambiguation) * List of Wikipedia articles starting with ''Pamela'' * List of Wikipedia articles starting with ''Pam''


References

{{Given name, Pamela English given names English feminine given names English given names invented by fiction writers