Dear Jennifer,

My grandmother’s first name was Gloriette, pronounced glory-et. I’ve tried looking up this name before with no luck. Does the name come from somewhere? People used the nickname Glo for her a lot. That side of the family also has a strong French Canadian background. Thank you for any information you might be able to give!

Sincerely, Alexandra

Hi Alexandra,

Yes, the suffix -ette is a diminutive used to mean “young” or “little” in the French language. Gloriette, then, would mean “Little Gloria,” most often used for a daughter–or relative–of someone named Glory or Gloria.

It would have the same meaning, then, as the name Gloria: “Glory (to God).”

Sincerely,
Jennifer

Jennifer Moss (she/her) is the founder of BabyNames.com, author of The Baby Names Workbook, and Producer of The Baby Names Podcast. Jennifer is widely regarded as the leading expert on popular baby name trends and the naming process, serving as the authoritative source on the subject for national and international media.

Jennifer entered the tech arena in the 80s as a software developer and database architect, and became a pioneer in the Internet industry. In addition to operating BabyNames.com, Jennifer owns a web development agency in central California.