Entry № 8118 · Greek origin

Phaethusa Phaethusa — Meaning, Origin & Baby Name Popularity

/ fee-eh-THOO-sah /
Gender
Girl
Origin
Greek
Meaning
"Phaethon's amber-weeping sister"
Syllables
3
First recorded
Ancient (Greek)

A name that means "phaethon's amber-weeping sister".

Phaethusa (Φαέθουσα) is the Greek name from phaethon ("radiant"). One of the Heliades — sisters of Phaethon — who wept so bitterly when their brother was struck down by Zeus that they were transformed into poplar trees, their tears becoming amber.

Rare but iconic in Ovid's Metamorphoses.

The amber-weeping sister of Phaethon.

The name in its native script.

Φαέθουσα
Transliteration
Phaéthousa
Pronunciation
/ ˌfiː.eɪˈθuː.sə /
Root
Grammatical form

Where Phaethusa stands.

Phaethusa does not currently appear in the US Social Security Administration's top 1,000 girls' names, so we don't publish a US rank or birth count for it. That says nothing about the name's standing elsewhere in the world — only that it sits outside the ranked US data we rely on.

Phaethusas before her.

Real people
Phaethusa
Greek nymph.
In fiction
Phaethusa
Heliade in Ovid's Metamorphoses.
Ancient Greek myth

Names connected to Phaethusa.

The number behind Phaethusa.

9

The Giver

In Pythagorean numerology the letters of Phaethusa reduce to 9, The Giver. This is a traditional interpretive system, not a factual claim about the name.