The name Felicia derives from the
Latin
Latin ( or ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic languages, Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally spoken by the Latins (Italic tribe), Latins in Latium (now known as Lazio), the lower Tiber area aroun ...
adjective ''
felix'', meaning "happy, lucky", though in the neuter plural form ''felicia'' it literally means "happy things" and often occurred in the phrase ''tempora felicia'', "happy times". The sense of it as a feminine personal name appeared in post-Classical use and is of uncertain origin. It is associated with
saint
In Christianity, Christian belief, a saint is a person who is recognized as having an exceptional degree of sanctification in Christianity, holiness, imitation of God, likeness, or closeness to God in Christianity, God. However, the use of the ...
s,
poet
A poet is a person who studies and creates poetry. Poets may describe themselves as such or be described as such by others. A poet may simply be the creator (thought, thinker, songwriter, writer, or author) who creates (composes) poems (oral t ...
s,
astronomical
Astronomy is a natural science that studies celestial objects and the phenomena that occur in the cosmos. It uses mathematics, physics, and chemistry in order to explain their origin and their overall evolution. Objects of interest include ...
objects, plant
genera
Genus (; : genera ) is a taxonomic rank above species and below family as used in the biological classification of living and fossil organisms as well as viruses. In binomial nomenclature, the genus name forms the first part of the binomial s ...
, fictional characters, and animals, especially cats.
Cultural associations
The name has been in regular use and was particularly popular with
Spanish
Spanish might refer to:
* Items from or related to Spain:
**Spaniards are a nation and ethnic group indigenous to Spain
**Spanish language, spoken in Spain and many countries in the Americas
**Spanish cuisine
**Spanish history
**Spanish culture
...
speakers in the United States in the late 1980s and early 1990s. It remained among the 1,000 most popular names for American girls until 2005 but has since declined in use. The name was among the top 10 most popular names for girls in
Sweden
Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden, is a Nordic countries, Nordic country located on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. It borders Norway to the west and north, and Finland to the east. At , Sweden is the largest Nordic count ...
in the 1990s and remained among the top 100 names for Swedish girls until 2022.
The name is associated in
American English
American English, sometimes called United States English or U.S. English, is the set of variety (linguistics), varieties of the English language native to the United States. English is the Languages of the United States, most widely spoken lang ...
with “
Bye, Felicia”, an informal phrase and internet
meme
A meme (; ) is an idea, behavior, or style that Mimesis, spreads by means of imitation from person to person within a culture and often carries symbolic meaning representing a particular phenomenon or theme. A meme acts as a unit for carrying c ...
intended as a dismissive send-off, wherein a person or idea is rendered so unimportant his or her name is reduced to "Felicia." The phrase or meme is used to
mock a person who causes
annoyance
Annoyance is an unpleasant mental state that is characterized by irritation and distraction from one's conscious thinking. It can lead to emotions such as frustration and anger. The property of being easily annoyed is called irritability.
P ...
.
People
*
Felicia of Sicily (fl. 1097), queen of Hungary
*
Felicia of Roucy (d. 1123), queen of Aragon and Navarre
*
Felicia Abban
Felicia Ewuraesi Abban (; 1936/1937 – 4 January 2024) was Ghana's first female professional photographer. She worked as a photographer for the country's first president, Kwame Nkrumah, for a number of years during the 1960s.
Early life
Feli ...
(1936/1937–2024), Ghanaian photographer
*
Felicia Nimue Ackerman (born 1947), American
Brown University
Brown University is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in Providence, Rhode Island, United States. It is the List of colonial colleges, seventh-oldest institution of higher education in the US, founded in 1764 as the ' ...
Philosophy
Philosophy ('love of wisdom' in Ancient Greek) is a systematic study of general and fundamental questions concerning topics like existence, reason, knowledge, Value (ethics and social sciences), value, mind, and language. It is a rational an ...
professor, monthly op-ed columnist, poet and author
*
Felicia C. Adams (born 1960), American attorney
*
Felicia Adeyoyin (1938–2021), Nigerian academic
*
Felicia Adjei
Felicia Adjei (born 3 March 1974) is a Ghanaian politician and the Member of Parliament for Kintampo South Constituency in the Brong Ahafo Region ...
(born 1974), Ghanaian politician
*
Felicia Afrăsiloaie (born 1954), Romanian rower
*
Felicia Atkins, Australian model
*
Felicia Ballanger (born 1971), French cyclist
*
Felicia Barton (born 1982), an American semifinalist on the eighth season of ''American Idol''
*
Felicia Minei Behr, American TV producer
*
Felicia Montealegre Bernstein
Felicia Montealegre Bernstein ( Felicia María Cohn Montealegre; February 6, 1922 – June 16, 1978) was an American actress born in Costa Rica.National Archives and Records Administration; Washington, D.C.; Decimal Files, compiled 1910–1949; ...
(1922–1978), American actress
*
Felicia Bond
Felicia Bond (born July 18, 1954 in Yokohama, Japan) is an American writer and illustrator of numerous books for children. She is the illustrator of all the ''If You Give...'' series written by Laura Numeroff and published by HarperCollins Chil ...
(born 1954), American writer and illustrator, illustrator of ''
If You Give a Mouse a Cookie
''If You Give a Mouse a Cookie'' is an American children's picture book written by Laura Joffe Numeroff and illustrated by Felicia Bond, first published in 1985 by Harper and Row. Described as a "circular tale", illustrating a slippery slope, ...
''
*
Felicia Brabec (born 1974), American politician and clinical psychologist
*
Felicia Brandström (born 1987), Swedish singer and one of the contestants in ''Swedish Idol 2006''
*
Felicia Brown-Edwards (born 1993), American sprinter
*
Felicia Browne (1904–1936), British artist
*
Felicia F. Campbell (1931–2020), American academic
*
Felicia Candelario (born 1961), Dominican Republic sprinter
*
Felicia Chateloin (born 1949), Cuban architect, educator
*
Felicia Chester (born 1988), American basketball player
*
Felicia Chin (born 1984), Singaporean actress
*
Felicia Buttz Clark (1862-1931), American writer
*
Felicia Collins (born 1964), American vocalist and guitarist
*
Felicia Cornaro (died 1111), Venetian dogaressa and de facto politician
*
Felicia Cosman, American orthopedic surgeon
*
Felicia Cummings (born 1968), Trinidadian cricketer
*
Felicia Day
Kathryn Felicia Day (born June 28, 1979) is an American actress, singer, writer, and web series creator. She is the creator and star of the web series '' The Guild'' (2007–2013), a show loosely based on her life as a gamer. She also wrote and ...
(born 1979), American actress
*
Felicia Donceanu (1931–2022), Romanian painter, sculptor, and composer
*
Felicia Edem Attipoe, Ghanaian first female aircraft marshaller
*
Felicia Elizondo (1946–2021), American transgender activist
*
Felicia Eze (1974–2012), Nigerian footballer
*
Felicia Farr (born 1932), American actress, widow of Jack Lemmon
*
Felicia Ferrone, American industrial and furniture designer
*
Felicia Filip (born 1959), Romanian operatic soprano
*
Felícia Fuster (1921–2012), Spanish painter and poet
*
Felicia Garza (born 1941), Mexican-American songwriter, singer and actress
*
Felicia Greer (born 1970), Canadian cyclist
*
Felicia Gressitt Bock (1916–2011), American scholar, translator
*
Felicia Hano (born 1998), American
artistic gymnast
Artistic gymnastics is a discipline of gymnastics in which athletes perform short routines on different types of apparatus. The sport is governed by the Fédération Internationale de Gymnastique (FIG), which assigns the '' Code of Points'' used ...
*
Felicia Browne Hemans (1793–1835), English poet
*
Felicia D. Henderson (born 1961), American screenwriter
*
Felicia Hill-Briggs, American behavioral and social scientist
*
Felicia Hutnick, American tennis player
*
Felicia Hwang Yi Xin (born 1992), Indonesian model and actress
*
Felicia Jacobs, rugby player
*
Felicia Keesing
Felicia Keesing (born January 24, 1966) is an American Ecology, ecologist and the David & Rosalie Rose Distinguished Chair of the Sciences, Mathematics, and Computing at Bard College in Annandale-on-Hudson, New York.
Education
Keesing received ...
, American ecologist
*
Felicia Kentridge (1930–2015), South African lawyer and activist
*
Felicia Knaul, British-Canadian health economist
*
Felicia Kornbluh (born 1966), American scholar and writer
*
Felicia Kwaku, Nigerian-British nurse
*
Felicia Laberer (born 2001), German paracanoeist
*
Felicia Lamport (1916–1999), American poet and satirist
*
Felicia Langer (1930–2018), German-Israeli attorney and activist
*
Felicia Lee (born 1992), American swimmer
*
Felícia Leirner (1904–1996), Polish-born Brazilian sculptor
*
Felicia Hardison Londré (born 1941), American theatrical historian
*
Felicia Mabuza-Suttle (born 1950), South African talk show hostess
*
Felicia Malipiero, Dogaressa of Venice
*
Felicia Mason (born 1962), African-American novelist and journalist
*
Felicia Mercado
Felicia Mercado (born Felicia Mercado Agud on December 17, 1959) is a Mexican actress, singer, TV host and beauty pageant titleholder, best known for her appearances in telenovelas . She appeared in '' Between Love and Hatred'' and ''Teresa''. H ...
(born 1959), Mexican actress, singer and TV hostess
*
Felicia Meyer (1912–1978), American painter
*
Felicia Michaels (born 1963), American stand-up comedian
*
Felicia Middlebrooks
Felicia Middlebrooks (born May 29, 1957) is an Americans, American radio news broadcaster. She was the morning-drive news anchor of WBBM (AM), WBBM Newsradio in Chicago, Chicago, Illinois, along with Pat Cassidy. Their morning show was rated No. ...
(born 1957), American radio news broadcaster
*
Felicia "Fe" Montes, American artist
*
Felicia Moore, American politician
*
Felicia Nossig (1855–1939), Polish sociologist
*
Felicia Oh (born 1967), American martial artist
*
Felicia Ospitaletche (born 1953), Uruguayan sprinter
*
Felicia Pearson
Felicia Pearson (born May 18, 1980) is an American actress, rapper, and author. She played a fictionalized version of herself nicknamed "Snoop" on ''The Wire'' and wrote a 2007 memoir, '' Grace After Midnight,'' detailing her troubled childhood ...
(born 1980), American actress from ''The Wire''
*
Felicia Pratto (born 1961), American social psychologist
*
Felicia Pride, American author, educator and entrepreneur
*
Felicia Rabourn (born 1990), American politician
*
Felicia Ragland (born 1980), American basketball player
*
Felicia Raschiatore (born 1961), American tennis player
*
Felicia Rice, American book artist
*
Felicia Robinson, American politician and educator
*
Felicia Rogic (born 1993), Swedish association football player
*
Felicia Sanders (1921–1975), American popular music singer
*
Felicia Rudolphina Scatcherd (1862–1927), English journalist and spiritualist
*
Felicia Schroeder, American soccer player
*
Felicia Skene
Felicia Mary Frances Skene (23 May 1821 – 6 October 1899), also known by the pseudonyms Erskine Moir and Francis Scougal, was a Scottish writer, philanthropist and prison reformer of the Victorian era.
Life
Skene was born on 23 May 1821 in Ai ...
(1821–1899), Scottish writer, philanthropist and prison reformer
*
Felicia Sonmez, American journalist
*
Felicia Sorel (1903–1972), American dancer, choreographer
*
Felicia Spencer (born 1990), Canadian mixed martial arts fighter
*
Felicia Stancil (born 1995), American bicycle racer
*
Felicia Stewart (1943–2006), American doctor
*
Felicia Tang (1977–2009), American actress and model
*
Felicia Taylor (1964–2023), American journalist
*
Felícia Thierret, French actress
*
Felicia Țilea-Moldovan (born 1967), Romanian javelin thrower
*
Felicia Tuczek, German composer and pianist
*
Felicia Walters (born 1992), Trinidadian cricketer
*
Felicia Weathers (born 1937), American soprano in opera and concert
*
Felicia Wiedermann, German field hockey player
*
Felicia Yap, Malaysian author
*
Felicia Zhang (born 1993), American pair skater
*
Felicia Zimmermann (born 1975), American fencer
Fictional characters
* Felicia, a catgirl in the Capcom video game series ''
Darkstalkers
''Darkstalkers'', known in Japan as , is a fighting game series and media franchise created by Capcom. The series is set in a pastiche gothic fiction universe with characters based on monsters from international folklore, and features a stylized ...
''
* Felicia, a character in the webseries ''
Corner Shop Show
''Corner Shop Show'' is a British comedy drama web series that premiered on YouTube in March 2014. The series is created by Islah Abdur-Rahman and consists of continuous episodes uploaded on his YouTube channel CornerShopShow, following the a ...
'' played by Lynsey Pennycooke
* Felicia, the clumsy maid in the video game ''
Fire Emblem Fates
''Fire Emblem Fates'' is a tactical role-playing video game for the Nintendo 3DS handheld video game console, developed by Intelligent Systems and Nintendo SPD and published by Nintendo. It was released in June 2015 in Japan, then released int ...
''
* Felicia, 1995 titular of cancelled RPG SNES by
Tonkin House
* Felicia, an unlockable character in ''Myth Makers: Super Kart GP''
* Felicia, 1995 character from the movie Friday
* Felicia, one of the titular character's children in the DreamWorks animated film ''
Shrek Forever After''
*
Felicia Forrester, a character in the American soap opera ''
The Bold and the Beautiful
''The Bold and the Beautiful'' (often referred to as ''B&B'') is an American television soap opera created by William J. Bell and Lee Phillip Bell for CBS. It premiered on March 23, 1987, as a sister show to the Bells' other soap opera ''Th ...
''
* Felicia Hardy, more commonly known by her alias,
Black Cat
A black cat is a Cat, domestic cat with black fur. They may be a specific Purebred, breed, or a common domestic cat of no particular or mixed breed. Most black cats have golden iris (anatomy), irises due to their high melanin pigment content. Bl ...
, a Marvel Comics character
* Felicia Jones, a character in the American soap opera ''
General Hospital
''General Hospital'' (often abbreviated as ''GH'') is an American daytime television soap opera created by Frank and Doris Hursley which has been broadcast on American Broadcasting Company, ABC since April 1, 1963. Originally a half-hour seria ...
''
* Felicia Miller, a character in ''
Valentine's Day
Valentine's Day, also called Saint Valentine's Day or the Feast of Saint Valentine, is celebrated annually on February 14. It originated as a Christian feast day honoring a Christian martyrs, martyr named Saint Valentine, Valentine, and ...
'' played by
Taylor Swift
Taylor Alison Swift (born December 13, 1989) is an American singer-songwriter. Known for her autobiographical songwriting, artistic versatility, and Cultural impact of Taylor Swift, cultural impact, Swift is one of the Best selling artists, w ...
* Felicia Tilman, a character in ''
Desperate Housewives
''Desperate Housewives'' is an American mystery comedy-drama television series created by Marc Cherry, and produced by ABC Studios and Cherry Productions. It aired for eight seasons on ABC from October 3, 2004, until May 13, 2012, for a tota ...
'' played by Harriet Sansom Harris
* Lady Felicia, Countess of Montague, a character in
Father Brown (2013 TV series) played by
Nancy Carroll (British actress)
Other uses
*
Felicia, Argentina, a town in Santa Fe Province, Argentina
*
Škoda Felicia, an automobile made by Czech automaker
Škoda
References
{{Given name
Feminine given names
Latin feminine given names
Given names
Romanian feminine given names