I have to admit I’ve never met a Ginny in my entire life. To me it does sound like a very traditional short name that might have fallen out of fashion over the years. In fact the only Ginny I’ve come across is Ginny Weasley in the Harry Potter movies!
But that doesn’t mean it’s not a good choice if you’re thinking of having it for your baby girl as it is a fairly unique option. In this article, let’s look at what Ginny is short for, how popular the name is and what middle names you might want to think about.
Where does Ginny come from?
Ginny is usually short for Virginia, but it can also be a nickname for Ginevra, Genevieve, Guinevere and possibly Georgina. Virginia is a name which most likely came from the Roman family name Verginus or Virginus, which came from the name virgo meaning ‘virgin’. Although Genevieve is typically a French girl’s name, it originally comes from the Germanic name Genovefa or Kenowefa. Guinevere is widely considered to have come from the legend of King Arthur; she was his wife and queen.
What does it mean?
If we take Ginny as a diminutive form of Virginia, then the latter means “chaste’ or ‘pure’. If we take Genevieve as the given name, then it means “woman of the family”. Finally, if you are interested in having Guinevere then that means “white fairy”. You certainly have a few options if you are only interested in using Ginny as a nickname!
What middle names go with Ginny?
Here are some middle names that you might want to consider for Ginny (I’ve tried my best to choose some which go with Virginia as well, as this is usually the given name for most girls called Ginny)
- Ginny Alice
- Ginny Ann
- Ginny Beatrice
- Ginny Catherine
- Ginny Claire
- Ginny Elaine
- Ginny Elizabeth
- Ginny Grace
- Ginny Louise
- Ginny Lynn
- Ginny Megan
- Ginny Rose
How popular is Ginny as a given name?
Unfortunately it isn’t a very popular name these days. In the USA, it disappeared out of the top 1000 in 1982. Even earlier in the 20th century it wasn’t used that often as a given name, only appearing in the top 1000 from 1942 for a forty year period. I think it was far more common for girls to have Virginia as a given name, and Ginny as a nickname. Virginia has been in the top 1000 girls’ names every year since 1900, peaking in the 1920s.
Famous people called Ginny
As Ginny is not a popular name these days, I can’t find many current celebrities who have this name. Nevertheless here are some women in the public eye who are called Ginny.
- Ginny Dougary (journalist) – Interviewer and journalist from the UK. Author of The Executive Tart & Other Myths.
- Ginny Brown-White (politician) – Former U.S Representative for Florida’s congressional district.
- Ginny Simms (singer/actress) – Former American singer and actress who performed with many top big bands and other big names of the day such as Ella Fitzgerald and Peggy Lee.
- Ginny Blackmore (singer/songwriter) – She is a singer and songwriter from New Zealand, writing songs for Christina Aguilera and Adam Lambert. Her most famous song is probably Bones which did fairly well in the USA.
- Ginny Wright (singer) – Former US country singer who started performing in the 1950s.
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Graham is a father of two who founded Dadometer to share his parenting journey with other moms and dads.
