Cindy

English

Alternative forms

• Cindi, Cindie, Cyndi, Cyndie, Cyndy

Etymology

Shortened from Lucinda and Cinderella. In the 20th century adopted as a pet form of Cynthia.

Pronunciation

• (US, Canada) IPA^(key): /ˈsɪndi/

• Audio (Southern England):

  (file)

Proper noun

Cindy

1. A diminutive of the female given name Cynthia and Lucinda; also used as a formal female given name.
   • 1849, Godey's Magazine, volume 39, page 55:

     Cindy came in lugging my trunk, assisted by an elderly servant-woman - - - ["]You may go, Tabitha, to your spinning, and you, Lucinda, bring up a pitcher of water for Miss Mary," said Mrs. Hardinge.

   • 1870, George Cruikshank, George Cruikshank's Fairy Library, page 10:

     Now, you must know that Cinderella had a godmother, - - - . The little old lady sat down upon a small log of wood on the opposite side, and said ,― "Why, Cindy, my darling, you have been crying?"

   • 1999, Ed McBain, The Big Bad City, Simon and Schuster, →ISBN, page 139:

     Her twin daughters were on the playground equipment. Cynthia and Melinda, reduced to Cindy and Mindy, as Carella had dreaded would happen from the moment she named them.

   • 2010, James Robertson, And the Land Lay Still, Hamish Hamilton, →ISBN, page 95:

     'Cindy sounds nice.' 'She is.' 'Is that her real name? Like the doll?' 'Aye, but with a C. C-I-N-D-Y.' 'Isn't that how the doll's spelled?' 'No, the doll has an S.'

Usage notes

• Popular given name in the U.S.A. in the 1950s.

Anagrams

• Cyndi