DIANA MORRELL

Name borne in Roman mythology by the goddess of the moon and of hunting, equivalent to the Greek Artemis. In mythology she is characterized as both beautiful and chaste. Her name is of ancient and uncertain derivation. It probably contains a first element that is also found in the name of the Greek god Dionysos (see Dennis) and the Latin name of the supreme god Jupiter. It was adopted in Britain during the Tudor period as a learned name, a borrowing from Latin influenced by the French form Diane. Although it was much used by Elizabethan poets celebrating the virgin goddess and alluding to the Virgin Queen, it was not particularly popular as a given name until the end of the 19th century. In earlier centuries some clergymen were reluctant to baptize girls with this pagan name, mindful of the riots against St Paul stirred up by worshippers of Diana of the Ephesians (Acts 19:24–41). In the late 20th century, its popularity received a boost because of its association with the late Diana, Princess of Wales (1961–97), who was renowned for her beauty, glamour, and compassion.

English: from the medieval personal name Morel, a diminutive vernacular form of Latin Maurus (see Moore 3), with the hypocoristic suffix -el.