Zelda is a

nickname A nickname is a substitute for the proper name of a familiar person, place or thing. Commonly used to express affection, a form of endearment, and sometimes amusement, it can also be used to express defamation of character. As a concept, it is ...

for the feminine name Griselda, which may originally have meant "dark battle" or "strong woman;" often combined to mean "Grey fighting maiden". It is also the feminine form of the

Yiddish Yiddish (, or , ''yidish'' or ''idish'', , ; , ''Yidish-Taytsh'', ) is a West Germanic language historically spoken by Ashkenazi Jews. It originated during the 9th century in Central Europe, providing the nascent Ashkenazi community with a ver ...

name Selig, meaning "blessed", "happy". Since 1986, the name has been associated with the popular Nintendo franchise

The Legend of Zelda ''The Legend of Zelda'' is an action-adventure game franchise created by the Japanese game designers Shigeru Miyamoto and Takashi Tezuka. It is primarily developed and published by Nintendo, although some portable installments and re-rele ...

and its eponymous character

Princess Zelda is the titular character in Nintendo's ''The Legend of Zelda'' video game series. She was created by Shigeru Miyamoto and introduced in the original 1986 game ''The Legend of Zelda''. She is one of the central characters in the series, having ...

People

Zelda Barron Zelda Barron ( Zelda Ruth Solomons, 31 March 1929 – 14 August 2006) was a British director, screenwriter, and producer known for films like ''Shag'', '' Secret Places'', and '' The Bulldance''. Barron was born in Manchester, the fifth of si ...

(1929–2006), British director, screenwriter, and producer * Zelda Curtis (1923–2012), British journalist *

Zelda D'Aprano Zelda Fay D'Aprano (24 January 1928 – 21 February 2018) was a feminist activist living in Melbourne, Victoria. Life Early life D'Aprano (born Zelda Fay Orloff) grew up in a two-bedroom house in Carlton with her brother Maurice, her siste ...

(1928–2018), Australian feminist activist * Zelda F. Gamson (born 1936), American sociologist, writer, and activist *

Zelda Fichandler Zelda Fichandler (née Diamond; September 18, 1924 – July 29, 2016) was an American stage producer, director and educator. Life and career Zelda Fichandler came from a family that emigrated from Russia when she was an infant. Her father, Harry ...

(1924–2016), American stage producer, director, and educator *

Zelda Fitzgerald Zelda Fitzgerald (; July 24, 1900 – March 10, 1948) was an American novelist, painter, dancer, and socialite. Born in Montgomery, Alabama, she was noted for her beauty and high spirits, and was dubbed by her husband F. Scott Fitzgerald a ...

(1900–1948), American writer, painter, and socialite; wife of F. Scott Fitzgerald *

Zelda Harris Zelda Harris (born February 17, 1985) is an American actress. Harris was born in New York City to Karen and Philip Harris. She has a sister, Kenya. She attended Princeton University, where she was a member of the Class of 2007. She began actin ...

(born 1985), American actress * Zelda Jongbloed (1950–2018), South African journalist and politician *

Zelda Kahan Zelda Kahan (1886 – 1969) was a British communist. Born into a Jewish family in Russia in 1886, Kahan's family were forced to emigrate, and she moved to Britain at an early age. The Kahans lived at 6 Clapton Square in Hackney, London. She be ...

(1886–1969), British communist *

Zelda Kaplan Zelda Kaplan (June 20, 1916 – February 15, 2012) was a fixture in New York's art, nightclub, and fashion worlds. Her trademark outfit was a matching African-print dress, handbag, and shoes, and a tall cloth hat. She made numerous philanthropic ...

(1917–2012), American socialite * Zelda La Grange (born 1970), South African former private secretary to President Nelson Mandela *

Zelda Lockhart Zelda Lockhart is a contemporary African-American writer, speaker, teacher and researcher. Her latest novel ihttps://www.harpercollins.com/products/trinity-zelda-lockhart?variant=40902291947554July 2023 release. She is the director ohttps://lavens ...

, American writer, speaker, teacher, and researcher *

Zelda McCague This article lists Canadian supercentenarians (people from Canada who have attained the age of at least 110 years). The oldest verified Canadian person ever was Marie-Louise Meilleur, who died in 1998 aged 117 years, 230 days. As of , the oldest l ...

(1888–2001), Canadian supercentenarian *

Zelda Nolte Zelda Nolte (1929–2003) was a South African- British sculptor and Woodblock printing, woodblock printmaker. Education Zelda Nolte studied at the Kunstgewerbeschule Zürich under the directorship of Johannes Itten, which became Zürcher Hochs ...

, British sculptor * Zelda Nordlinger (1932–2008), American feminist and women’s rights activist coordinator *

Zelda Popkin Zelda Popkin (née Feinberg; 5 July 1898 – 25 May 1983) was an American writer of novels and mystery stories. She created Mary Carner, one of the first professional female private detectives in fiction. Carner was a store detective who appeared ...

(1898–1983), American mystery novelist *

Zelda Rubinstein Zelda May Rubinstein (May 28, 1933 – January 27, 2010) was an American actress and human rights activist, known as eccentric medium Tangina Barrons in the ''Poltergeist'' film series. Playing "Ginny", she was a regular on David E. Kelley's Emmy ...

(1933–2010), American actress *

Zelda Schneersohn Mishkovsky Zelda Schneurson Mishkovsky ( he, זלדה שניאורסון-מישקובסקי; June 20, 1914 – April 30, 1984), widely known as Zelda, was an Israeli poet. She received three awards for her published works. Biography Zelda Schneurson (later M ...

(1914–1984), (pen-name “Zelda”), Israeli poet, notable writer of Hebrew religious poetry *

Zelda Sears Zelda Sears (née Paldi; January 21, 1873 – February 19, 1935) was an American actress, screenwriter, novelist and businesswoman. Early life and background She was born as Zelda Paldi near Brockway Township, St. Clair County, Michigan, into ...

(1873–1935), American entertainer *

Zelda Seguin Wallace Zelda Harrison Seguin Wallace (1848 – February 19, 1914) was an American opera singer and suffragist. Early life Zelda Harrison was born in New York City. She studied voice with Ann Childe Seguin, who sang at the coronation of Queen Victoria.Th ...

(1848–1914), American opera singer and suffragist * Zelda the Brain, a female professional wrestler from the

Gorgeous Ladies of Wrestling Gorgeous Ladies of Wrestling (also known by its initials as GLOW or G.L.O.W.) is a women's professional wrestling promotion that began in 1986 (the pilot was filmed in December 1985) and has continued in various forms after it left television. C ...

Zelda Tinska Milica Zelda Tinska (Serbian Cyrillic: Милица Зелда Тинска, born 1978) is a Serbian actress who lives and works in London, UK. Career Zelda trained as a ballerina in the renowned École supérieure de danse de Cannes Rosella H ...

(born 1978), Serbian actress *

Zelda Williams Zelda Rae Williams (born July 31, 1989) is an American actress, director, producer, and writer. She is the daughter of actor and comedian Robin Williams and film producer and philanthropist Marsha Garces Williams. As a voice actress, she is bes ...

(born 1989), American actress, director, producer, and writer; daughter of Robin Williams *

Zelda Wynn Valdes Zelda Barbour Wynn Valdes (June 28, 1901 - September 26, 2001) was an American fashion designer and costumer. She is credited for designing the original Playboy Bunny waitress costumes. Biography Zelda Valdes was born Zelda Christian Barbour i ...

(1905–2001), American fashion designer and costumer *

Zelda Zabinsky Zelda Barbara Zabinsky is an industrial engineer and operations researcher specializing in the application of global optimization to logistics. She is a professor of industrial engineering at the University of Washington, where she also holds adj ...

, American industrial engineer and operations researcher * Sean N. Zelda, musician who founded the band

We Came as Romans We Came as Romans (sometimes abbreviated as WCAR) is an American metalcore band from Troy, Michigan. Formed in 2005, the band has gone through one name change and multiple line-up changes, and signed to SharpTone Records in 2016 after having b ...

* Zelda Zonk, a pseudonym used by

Marilyn Monroe Marilyn Monroe (; born Norma Jeane Mortenson; 1 June 1926 4 August 1962) was an American actress. Famous for playing comedic " blonde bombshell" characters, she became one of the most popular sex symbols of the 1950s and early 1960s, as wel ...

(1926–1962)

References

{{given name, Zelda English feminine given names

People

See also

References