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Meaning
Usage
Pronunciation
Famous
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Ianthe... crashing anthems and twinkling sparkles, the fluttering wings of butterflies and hummingbirds. Ianthe is a purple symphony, each poignant note painting a picture of a sun-drenched afternoon, where violets bloom in a dazzling display of nature's artistry. A kaleidoscope of sensations, Ianthe blooms with perseverance, sights and sounds igniting my imagination and awakening my senses. Now, shall we revel in the magic around us?
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My name is also Ianthe, my mum wanted to pick it since my dad was called Ian. I like to pronounce it as eye-ann-thuh sometimes my dad likes saying ee-ann-thuh but I like both. It’s annoying because everyone thinks the ending is pronounced thee like eye-ann-thee which obviously isn’t wrong but it’s just not the way I say it! At school whenever I say eye-ann-thuh they ignore it and say eye-an-thee so I just leave it. So much hassle in my name but I like it’s unique!
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Ianthe Elizabeth Brautigan also known as Ianthe Brautigan-Swensen is an American writer and educator.
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Ianthe Jeanne Dugan is an American journalist. She was an investigative reporter for The Wall Street Journal for 18 years.
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Ianthe is an unusual and strikingly beautiful name. I only wish I knew the correct pronunciation.
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Ianthe looks purple to me, I don't know why. In fact, I see certain kinds of color when I look at some names. For example, Lucian is the color of blue, Finnian is the color of white.
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My name is Ianthe. My parents always pronounced my name as ‘ee-ann-thay’. However, growing up, I preferred ‘eye-ann-thuh’. Hence, all of my friends used that pronunciation during that time. My siblings and some other family say ‘ee-yun-thay’. My preferred pronunciation is ‘ee-ann-thee’.
Ianthe is a name that most people (in my experience) have difficulty trying to pronounce. I have had some people think that it is a made up name that has no meaning or origin and become quite surprised to learn otherwise.
I always wanted to fit in when I was younger, but my name was one of the things that never allowed me to do so. Now that I am older, I appreciate it more and more for its beauty and uniqueness.
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Ianthe is a name that most people (in my experience) have difficulty trying to pronounce. I have had some people think that it is a made up name that has no meaning or origin and become quite surprised to learn otherwise.
I always wanted to fit in when I was younger, but my name was one of the things that never allowed me to do so. Now that I am older, I appreciate it more and more for its beauty and uniqueness.
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My great grandfather had a mostly-forgotten half-sister named Ianthe... but when I started out researching I did not know what her name was (or even that she had existed). I stumbled into a census record that mentioned "Drantha." My dad remembered something about an "Ann." It seemed like I was up against a dead end until I finally found a marriage record for a "Dortha" which cracked things open. I've seen it mangled many other ways since. I think pronunciation of the unusual name was part of the problem, but the cursive handwriting in the old records was a big part too. I can see how some people's capital "I" could look like a capital "D"... I'm not sure how the census facts were initially gathered, by speaking or by writing.
Well the awkward part is, Ianthe named her first son Iphis!
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Well the awkward part is, Ianthe named her first son Iphis!
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That's my name! I pronounce it eye-Ann-thee.
I have a million nicknames, no one can pronounce it or spell it properly.
But overall, not a bad name! My advice, don't name your daughter Ianthe! LOL.
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I have a million nicknames, no one can pronounce it or spell it properly.
But overall, not a bad name! My advice, don't name your daughter Ianthe! LOL.
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There is a double-crossing character (who becomes very much hated) in Sarah J Maas's book 'A court of mist and fury' called Ianthe... might prevent a few from naming children this...
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In response to the previous comment, hardly anyone has heard of Sarah J Maas, after all most parents don't read too much new adult fantasy, so I wouldn't let this discourage me from the name.
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I think Ianthe should ~properly be pronounced ee-an-thee because that's the Erasmian pronunciation of the Greek letter iota. However, it's so rare that I'd say it doesn't really matter as no one is going to argue with you that you're pronouncing yours or your kid's name wrong, and there is a lot of variation in pronunciation among people who actually have the name. My name is Ianthe and I pronounce it eye-an-thee, which I prefer anyway. Also, for the record, Ianthe wasn't a lesbian in the myth of Iphis and Ianthe; she always thought Iphis was a man and he always saw himself that way, and they didn't get together until after Isis transformed him. I think even some homophobes would like the myth as told by Ovid, which pretty clearly states that Iphis loving Ianthe before he is transformed is unnatural and then fixes it.
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My name is Ianthe and I pronounce it I - AN - THEE, however I - AN - THAY is another way of correctly pronouncing it.
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Ianthe is the widowed sister in law to the male lead character in Georgette Heyer's novel, "Sylvester." An extremely beautiful but empty headed and selfish person, she unwittingly helps bring the two main characters together. I think the name is beautiful and romantic but would hesitate to use it. I'd be curious to know how someone who actually grew up with this as a first name found it.
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A British friend of a friend is Ianthe - pronounced ee-AN-thee.
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I really like this name, it somewhat reminds me of a Chinese paper lantern for some peculiar reason. Nice though. :)
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(1) Ianthe was a Cretan girl who was betrothed to Iphis. Iphis was a woman raised as a man; she also fell in love with Ianthe and prayed to the gods to allow the two women to marry. She was changed by Isis into a man, and became Ianthe's husband.
(2) Ianthe, one of the 3,000 sons and daughters of the Titan Oceanus and Tethys, the Oceanids mentioned in homeric hymn to Demeter, who was one of the nymphs with the Goddess of Spring, Persephone when she was captured by Hades, the God of the Underworld.
(3) Ianthe, a young girl, so beautiful that when she died the Gods made purple flowers grow around her grave.
(4) Ianthe was the nickname the poet Lord Byron gave to his intimate friend, Lady Charlotte Harley, to whom Childe Harold's Pilgrimage is dedicated.
(5) In Percy Shelley's poem, "Queen Mab," the fairy queen visits a character named Ianthe. The fairy then takes the soul of the sleeping Ianthe and leads it across existence and uses the soul to highlight the good and pure in mankind. Shelley uses this to illustrate the evil in man's nature. Shelley also named his eldest daughter with Harriet Westbrook, Eliza Ianthe (born June 23, 1813).
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(2) Ianthe, one of the 3,000 sons and daughters of the Titan Oceanus and Tethys, the Oceanids mentioned in homeric hymn to Demeter, who was one of the nymphs with the Goddess of Spring, Persephone when she was captured by Hades, the God of the Underworld.
(3) Ianthe, a young girl, so beautiful that when she died the Gods made purple flowers grow around her grave.
(4) Ianthe was the nickname the poet Lord Byron gave to his intimate friend, Lady Charlotte Harley, to whom Childe Harold's Pilgrimage is dedicated.
(5) In Percy Shelley's poem, "Queen Mab," the fairy queen visits a character named Ianthe. The fairy then takes the soul of the sleeping Ianthe and leads it across existence and uses the soul to highlight the good and pure in mankind. Shelley uses this to illustrate the evil in man's nature. Shelley also named his eldest daughter with Harriet Westbrook, Eliza Ianthe (born June 23, 1813).
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The name is pronounced I-AN-THEE.
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Ianthe was a lesbian in Greek mythology, so I wouldn't use this if you disapprove of homosexuality. And although I'm not a bigot, I don't particularly care for it as a name either.
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The myth of Ianthe didn't involve her intentionally falling in love with a woman. She fell in love with Iphis, who was born in a female body but raised as a boy. Iphis asked the goddess Isis (or Hera, depends on the version) to give him a male body so he could properly be with Ianthe, a wish she granted. I'm not against a lesbian interpretation of the myth (I'm an lgbtq+ person myself), but there are many other ways to read it. Also, you may want to think twice before giving advice to homophobes.
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I really like this name even though I prefer Xanthe. I believe the pronunciation is Ee-yan-they.
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I think it's pronounced "Jan-thay" but I'm not sure, that may be just Latin.
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I know someone who pronounces this "ai-ANN-thuh".
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It was revived by its use in 1656 in Sir William Davenant’s opera 'The Siege of Rhodes' (considered the first English opera), for the character of the heroic wife.
The name is occasionally found in use in the 19th century in England and the United States. In 1816, for example, Percy Bysshe Shelley named one of his daughters Ianthe.
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The name is occasionally found in use in the 19th century in England and the United States. In 1816, for example, Percy Bysshe Shelley named one of his daughters Ianthe.
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