Names from Children’s Literature – Matilda

Matilda Wormwood, the titular character of Roald Dahl’s book Matilda (1988), is extremely smart and loves to read books.

One day Matilda discovers she has psychokinetic powers, and she decides to use these powers to get back at her monstrous headmistress Miss Agatha Trunchbull.

The name Matilda can be traced back to the Germanic elements maht (meaning “might” or “strength”) and hild (meaning “battle”).

In the U.S., the name Matilda was common in the late 1800s, but slowly declined in popularity over the following decades, falling out of the top 1,000 entirely in the early 1960s.

Abroad, though, Matilda is much more popular. For instance, last year it was one of the top 100 baby names in the UK and in two Australian states (New South Wales and Queensland). …Maybe the popularity in Australia has something to do with the folk song?

Lastly: Did you know there was a Roald Dahl Museum in Buckinghamshire, England? I guess Roald is to the U.K. what Astrid is to Sweden. :)