Jade

Jade belongs to the family of gemstone names, alongside Ruby and Amber. The word covers two green minerals, nephrite and jadeite, prized for carvings and jewellery. Its roots lie in Spain, where the stone was called piedra de ijada, the stone of the flank, because people believed it eased pain in the side and the kidneys. Ijada itself comes, through Vulgar Latin, from Latin ilia, the flanks.

French turned the Spanish phrase into l'éjade, and because the article ran into the vowel, speakers began to hear le jade. That reshaped word is the one English borrowed. According to Behind the Name, Jade only came into general use as a first name in the 1970s; at first it was given to both boys and girls, but it is now overwhelmingly a girl's name.

In English it is a single syllable, said like 'made' with a soft j at the start. French speakers say it differently, closer to 'zhad', and Dutch parents use both versions. Related forms include Jada, Jayda and Jayde in English and Giada in Italian.

Such a short name sits nicely before a longer middle name, for example Elizabeth, Josephine or Florence. For siblings, other gemstone and nature names such as Ruby, Amber or Rose keep a common thread, while a brother might suit an equally crisp name like Max or Theo.