The Baby Name Wizard

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Contribute to, or edit, this collection of community wisdom on the name Gladys!

Comments and insights on the name Gladys: | Edit

another name to think of is Kalidas \k(a)-li-das\ variant of Calida (Greek, Spanish), and the meaning of Kalidas is "most beautiful; heated, with warmth".

Personal experiences with the name Gladys: | Edit

Name of my old baby sitter (who I love dearly and am still in contact with), my cousin and aunt's housekeeper's name, and one of my great-grandmothers' name.

My mother HATES her name—in the strongest sense of the word. She was named Gladys after her mother (my grandmother). My mom wishes she could change it. I think it has something to do with all the unwelcomed nicknames you could get out of it. Glad-EYE (the plural of Gladys, which my younger sister likes to use), Glad-ASS, and something from the slogan, "Hey, Gladys, don't get mad get GLAD", the last of which really pisses her off, especially if you tell her it when she's mad already.

Nicknames for Gladys: | Edit

Glad, Gladdy

Meanings and history of the name Gladys: | Edit

It is of Welsh origin. Variant of Claudia (Latin) "lame". The name was used in several Edwardian romantic novels.

Famous real-life people named Gladys: | Edit

Gladys Knight, African-American singer
Gladys Cooper, English actress
Gladys Aylward, English missionary whose story inspired the film "The Inn of the Sixth Happiness"

Gladys in song, story & screen: | Edit

Gladys Kravitz, nosy neighbor on the American sitcom "Bewitched"
"Pete and Gladys", 1960s TV comedy
Gladys Hotchkiss, quick-witted secretary in the play and film, "The Pajama Game"
Book and movie about Gladys Alward:
The Small Woman by Alan Burgess
The Inn of the Sixth Happiness, starring Ingrid Bergman.