MEANING & HISTORY
What does Imelda mean?
Imelda is the Italian and Spanish form of the Germanic name Irmhild. Its older elements are irmin, whole or great, and hilt, battle.
The shortened modern spelling conceals that compound, which is why the name should not be broken into supposed Spanish syllable meanings. Blessed Imelda Lambertini, a fourteenth-century religious figure from Bologna, is an association of the Italian form rather than the source of its Germanic roots.
Pronunciation & syllables
Dictionary readings are kept by language. Select the reading that matches your intended pronunciation. Dots show the source’s written divisions; they are not a universal syllable count across languages.
Tagalog
- /ʔiˈmelda/Standard-Tagalog
- [ʔɪˈmɛl.d̪ɐ]Standard-Tagalog
I · mel · da3 source divisions
Dictionary reading & contributors ↗Wiktionary contributors / Kaikki / Wiktextract · CC BY-SA 4.0
Origin and name formation
Language-specific accounts from the dictionary. A shared spelling can have more than one history.
TagalogEtymology & source
From Spanish Imelda, from Italian Imelda, name of a saint (Imelda Lambertini).
a female given name from Spanish
Wiktionary: Imelda (Tagalog) ↗ · Contributors · CC BY-SA 4.0
CebuanoEtymology & source
From Spanish Imelda, from Imelda Lambertini, from Proto-Germanic *ermunaz (“all, whole”) + *hildiz (“battle”). Popular during the early years of Marcos administration, often named after the then first lady of the Philippines.
a female given name from Proto-Germanic
Wiktionary: Imelda (Cebuano) ↗ · Contributors · CC BY-SA 4.0
EnglishEtymology & source
From Romance (Italian Imelda, Spanish Imelda), from German Irmhild.
A female given name from the Romance languages.
Wiktionary: Imelda (English) ↗ · Contributors · CC BY-SA 4.0
SpanishEtymology & source
Borrowed from Italian Imelda, name of a saint (cf. Imelda Lambertini), cognate with modern German Irmhild, from Proto-Germanic *ermunaz (“all, whole”) + *hildiz (“battle”).
a female given name
Wiktionary: Imelda (Spanish) ↗ · Contributors · CC BY-SA 4.0
Adapted from Wiktionary contributors via Kaikki/Wiktextract. Source accounts remain in their original English; editorial summaries and filters are adapted. Attribution and downloads
People with the name Imelda
Public figures and other documented namesakes linked by an explicit given-name claim. This is a selection of records, not a popularity ranking.
DOCUMENTED NAMESAKE
Imee Marcos
Filipina politician and former actress (born 1955)
DOCUMENTED NAMESAKE
Imelda Marcos
Philippine former First Lady (born 1929)
The record establishes the name association, not the person’s intended meaning, pronunciation or ancestry. Descriptions are attributed to Wikidata contributors (CC0).
Use in Philippine-linked records
Public-record transcription
14
eligible source records · 2001
This spelling is reported in an openly licensed transcription of elected-candidate records. This is a record count, not a birth count or national popularity measure.
OpenHalalan / COMELEC ↗Wikidata
10
distinct person records with an explicit given-name claim
Community-edited coverage, not a census or birth registry. Examples: Imelda Marcos, Imee Marcos
PSA · OFFICIAL BIRTH RECORDS
Imelda in the birth records
Exact spelling and stated year in the published name tables. Read the counts as individual snapshots.
Tables included: 2016, 2017, 2018, 2020, 2022, 2023 and 2024. The 2016 fact sheet lists five names per sex; the later tables include ten. Missing counts are not inferred. Sex categories follow the official tables, independently of dictionary gender labels. Explore the official tables →
Similar names to Imelda
Names with a similar opening or ending, ordered by spelling distance. Similar spelling does not imply the same meaning or origin.
Names in this collection
- Elda♀Battle, through the Hilda name family
- Gilda♀Payment or tribute; shortened from -gilda names
- Hilda♀Battle
- Nilda·Short form of Germanic names containing battle
- Richelda·Medieval Richild form: ruler and battle
- Romilda♀Fame and battle
- Benilda·Historic form in the Benilde–Bernhild name tradition
- Esmeralda♀Emerald in Spanish and Portuguese
What rhymes with Imelda?
No dictionary-confirmed rhyme match is available for this spelling in the current catalogue.
Recorded combinations with Imelda
1 source-reported compound forms include this name as a component. Each part keeps its own history.
Names in this collection
Explore combinations →Explore Imelda further
Follow the sources
- OpenHalalan — pinned 2001 COMELEC transcription (opens in a new tab)
Source-reported given-name form in a row with a separate explicit middle initial; ODbL-1.0.
- COMELEC — 2001 List of Elected Candidates (opens in a new tab)
Original document identified by the transcription; selected PDF entries were spot-checked, not every imported row.
- COMELEC — 2001 List of Elected Candidates (opens in a new tab)
Original document identified by the transcription; selected PDF entries were spot-checked, not every imported row.
- Wikidata given-name item Q1096615 — Imelda (opens in a new tab)
Given-name identity, native labels, language associations and explicit class where present; not lexical meaning or population frequency.
- Wikidata — Imelda Marcos (opens in a new tab)
Explicit given-name claim P735 linking to Q1096615 and citizenship claim P27 linking to Philippines Q928; community-edited evidence, not a civil-registry record.
- Wikidata — Imee Marcos (opens in a new tab)
Explicit given-name claim P735 linking to Q1096615 and citizenship claim P27 linking to Philippines Q928; community-edited evidence, not a civil-registry record.
- Wiktionary contributors — Imelda (Tagalog) (opens in a new tab)
Explicit given-name sense and separately attributed etymology; no birth-frequency claim.
- Wiktionary contributors — Imelda (Cebuano) (opens in a new tab)
Explicit given-name sense and separately attributed etymology; no birth-frequency claim.
- Wiktionary contributors — Imelda (English) (opens in a new tab)
Language-specific given-name etymology; shared spelling does not prove every bearer has this origin.
- Wiktionary contributors — Imelda (Spanish) (opens in a new tab)
Language-specific given-name etymology; shared spelling does not prove every bearer has this origin.
- Behind the Name — Imelda (opens in a new tab)
Consulted account of the name’s formation, relevant root elements, or explicitly linked base name.
- Behind the Name — Irmhild (opens in a new tab)
Consulted account of the name’s formation, relevant root elements, or explicitly linked base name.