Meanings
- A female given name from Ancient Greek.
Help me away, dear Charmian, I shall fall:
c. 1606–1607 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The Tragedie of Anthonie and Cleopatra”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, [Act I, scene iii]1 more example
Charmian Lyle had given herself her first name at the age of sixteen, upon encountering it in an English novel. Her baptismal name was Ethel. When her husband Walter was extremely angry with her, he called her Ethel. Charmian, she thought, suited her much better. She didn't think she looked, felt, or sounded like Ethel. Nor like her middle name, which she really detested, Edna.
1979, Mary McMullen, But Nellie Was So Nice, Doubleday, page 23
Origin
- Ancient Greekχάρμα“joy”
- EnglishCharmian
Diminutive form of Ancient Greek χάρμα (khárma, “joy”). According to Plutarch, the name of a servant and advisor of Cleopatra.
More words from Ancient Greek
Full word history & related roots →Rhymes & wordplay
Anagrams
Cite this entry
Charmian. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 3, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/Charmian
“Charmian.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/Charmian. Accessed November 3, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “Charmian,” accessed November 3, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/Charmian.
Source: Charmian on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.