Judy

  • [ JOO-dee ]
  • English
Diminutive of JUDITH. A well-known bearer of this name was singer and actress Judy Garland (1922-1969).

JUDITH   female   English, Jewish, French, German, Spanish, Biblical
From the Hebrew name יְהוּדִית (Yehudit) meaning "woman from Judea", Judea being an ancient region in Israel. In the Old Testament Judith is one of the Hittite wives of Esau. This is also the name of the main character of the apocryphal Book of Judith. She killed Holofernes, an invading Assyrian commander, by beheading him in his sleep.

As an English name it did not become common until after the Protestant Reformation, despite a handful of early examples during the Middle Ages. It was however used earlier on the European continent, being borne by several European royals, such as the 9th-century Judith of Bavaria.
FULL FORMS
ENGLISH: Judith
EQUIVALENTS
BIBLICAL GREEK: Ioudith
BIBLICAL HEBREW: Yehudit
BIBLICAL LATIN: Iudith
BIBLICAL: Judith
CZECH: Jitka, Judita
DANISH: Judit, Jytte
ENGLISH: Jodene, Jodi, Jodie, Jody, Jude, Judi, Judie
FRENCH: Judith
GERMAN: Judith, Jutta
HEBREW: Yehudit
HUNGARIAN: Judit
ITALIAN: Giuditta
JEWISH: Judith
LITHUANIAN: Judita
NORWEGIAN: Judit
POLISH: Judyta
PORTUGUESE: Judite
SLOVAK: Judita
SPANISH: Judit, Judith
SWEDISH: Judit
YIDDISH: Hudes, Yutke