The name Hope is an Old English feminine name that means "expectation; belief." Since it is one of the three theological virtues in Christian tradition as described in I Corinthians – Faith, Hope, and Charity – the name first gained popularity among Puritans and Catholic nuns. Saint Sophia also used those three names for her daughters, giving Hope an even stronger religious connection. The name was always popular in the New England region of the United States and the Atlantic provinces of Canada, reflecting its Puritan heritage, and surged ahead in the name popularity rankings in the 1980s due to the character Hope Williams Brady on the American soap opera Days of our Lives. It is now approximately the 200th most popular female in the United States, Australia, and Canada, and about the 90th most popular female name in New Zealand.
Some notable women named Hope include:
