Meanings
- A female given name originating as a coinage.
"It's almost too realistic, too digital and computery," complains Alexis Vogel, a veteran celebrity makeup artist who recently worked on "Stacked," a high-def show starring Pamela Anderson.
2005 June 12, Clive Thompson, “Not Ready for Their Close-Up”, in The New York Times Magazine, archived from the original on 09 Feb 20212 more examples
They lived about thirty miles from the Squire; and she told me, that I might be sure to find her out by one circumstance; for that they had a daughter with a very strange name, Pamĕla, or Pamēla; some pronounced it one way, and some the other.
1773, Henry Fielding, The History and Adventures of Joseph Andrews, page 259- But, Pamela, did you say? - A queer sort of name! - I've heard of it somewhere! - Is it a Christian or a Pagan name? - Linsey-woolsey - half one, half t'other - like thy girl - Ha, ha, ha.'
1786, Samuel Richardson, Pamela, or Virtue Rewarded, page 416
Origin
Invented by Sir Philip Sidney for his pastoral poem The Countess of Pembroke's Arcadia (c 1593). Seemingly created from scratch; some imagine an analysis as Ancient Greek πᾶς (pâs, “all”) + μέλι (méli, “honey”) but there is no evidence that this was intended.
Full word history & related roots →Cite this entry
Pamela. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 3, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/Pamela
“Pamela.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/Pamela. Accessed November 3, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “Pamela,” accessed November 3, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/Pamela.
Source: Pamela on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.