Would a little girl prefer her given name to be a diminutive of the rather old-fashioned name ‘Cynthia’, or a shortened version of the fairytale heroine ‘Cinderella’? Pint-sized Cindys would almost certainly opt for the latter choice, and be lost in dreams of glass slippers, pumpkin coaches, fairy godmothers and handsome princes. Their more mature counterparts might, however, be attracted by the dignity of ‘Cynthia’, a name redolent of aristocratic gracefulness and poise. Lucky is the girl given the name ‘Cindy’: she can be a legendary princess in her childhood, and grow up into a name of refinement and elegance.

Variants and meaning

BehindtheName.com lists the alternative spellings  ‘Cindi’, ‘Cyndi’ and ‘Sindy’, all as diminutives of ‘Cynthia’, an alternative name for the moon goddess Artemis in Greek mythology. Artemis, and her twin brother Apollo (the sun god) were born on the mountain of Kynthos on the island of Delos, according to Greek legend, and ‘Cynthia’ simply means ‘woman from Kynthos’. Its first use as a given name was in the Renaissance period (14th to 17th century) in Europe, but English speakers did not adopt it until the 19th century. Other sources cite ‘Cindy’ as a diminutive of ‘Lucinda’, which means ‘light’.   

Famous Cindys

The model Cindy Crawford would be an extremely desirable namesake, unless Cindy Brady of the Brady Bunch had more appeal. On the other hand, Cyndis who just want to have fun could do worse than model themselves on Cyndi Lauper. Keen amateur genealogists will be familiar with Cyndi’s List, a compilation by Cyndi Howells of more than 325,000 links to family history research sites. ‘Sindy’ is the name of Barbie’s far less successful UK rival. Five tropical storms and three hurricanes have been named ‘Cindy’.

Popularity

BehindtheName.com says that ‘Cindy’ itself is currently ranked in 754th place as a chosen name for baby girls in the United States, far behind the full version, ‘Cynthia’, at 419th position. Neither looks like breaking into the top ten any time soon. ‘Cindy’ reached its peak in the late 1950s and has been in decline ever since.

Ratings and impressions

An interesting feature at BehindtheName.com is the ratings and impressions chart for each name, based on the opinion of visitors to the site. ‘Cindy’ is a good name, and also wholesome, according to 68 percent of respondents, while 75 percent found it to be refined, and 77 percent thought it both youthful and simple.

Cindy, Oh Cindy

Those old enough to remember the heyday of the late Eddie Fisher (father of Carrie Fisher and one of the many husbands of Elizabeth Taylor) will certainly also recall his 1956 hit record “Cindy, Oh Cindy”, with its haunting refrain “Cindy, oh Cindy / Cindy don’t let me down / Write me a letter soon / And I’ll be homeward bound”. The Beach Boys covered the song in 1963.

The name ‘Cindy’ suggests a wealth of meaning for its lucky owners. It evokes light, especially moonlight, a Greek goddess and a beautiful but unassuming girl who entranced a prince and became a princess. It is proudly carried by a supermodel, a successful singer and a cute doll, though unconventional Cindys might prefer the link to those blustery storms.