Cynthia

The name derives from the Greek Kynthia, an epithet for the goddess Artemis denoting her mythical birthplace on Mount Cynthus. English poets took it up during the Renaissance, notably when Sir Walter Raleigh addressed Queen Elizabeth I as Cynthia in verse. American parents used it sparingly across the nineteenth century before putting it into heavy rotation in the nineteen-fifties.

The name reads as an adult with an organized desk and little patience for voicemail when an email would suffice. A Cynthia tends to be pictured with a distinct signature on paper checks and a canvas tote bag from a public television pledge drive. The record places the bulk of its holders in the baby boomer generation, born when tailfins were standard automotive design. The name has largely vacated elementary school attendance sheets without filing a formal complaint.