Meaning:
Its source is Adelheid, a German name meaning "Exalted nature."
Languages:
This girl's name is used in German, Dutch, English, Spanish and Norwegian.
Nickname For: Adelaide and Hildegarde
Compound Forms: Heidiann and Heidilin
Alternative Spellings: Heide, Heidie, Heidy, Hiedi and Haidee
Variant Forms: Haydee and Heida
Popularity:
The name Heidi ranked 327th in popularity for females of all ages in a sample of 2000-2003 Social Security Administration statistics and 241st in popularity for females of all ages in a sample of the 1990 US Census.
This name makes a strong showing in state popularity data of the 1970s, but makes few (if any) appearances on lists compiled after that period.
Narrative:
This short form of Adelheid emerged among the German Swiss. It gained world-wide popularity upon the publication of Johanna Spyri's 1881 children's novel Heidi.
In 1937 the first of a number of film versions of the tale was released. Child star Shirley Temple helped to create the blonde and blue-eyed stereotype that some associate with Heidi. However, the title character in the novel is dark-haired.
