Muffy (given name)
 Muffins, an illustration from the 1905 Pillsbury Company cookbook A Little Book for a Little Cook. | |
| Gender | Feminine |
|---|---|
| Language | English |
| Origin | |
| Meaning | Nickname for names starting with M |
| Other names | |
| Related names | Moff, Moffet, Muffet, Muffin |
Muffy or Muffie is a primarily feminine given name and hypocorism. It originated as a feminine nickname for names beginning with the letter M such as Mary, Margaret, or Martha and came to be regarded in the 1980s as a stereotypical preppy nickname.[1][2] The name is sometimes associated with or derived from the word Muffin, an English term for an individual baked bun that is sometimes used as a term of endearment.[3] In other instances, it might be derived from the English nursery rhyme Little Miss Muffet.
People
[edit]- Muffie Cabot (born c. 1936), American heiress and socialite
- Muffy Calder (born 1958), Scottish computer scientist
- Marianna Davis (born 1972), American Paralympic cyclist, sit-skier and mountain climber
- Marjorie Fleming (1803–1811), Scottish child writer and poet
- Alie Israel (born 1983), American sprinter
- Esme Mackinnon (1913–1999), British world champion alpine skier
- Muffie Meyer, American film director
- Mayer Amschel de Rothschild (1818–1874), English businessman and politician, member of the Rothschild family
- Muffet McGraw (born 1955) American Notre Dame University women's basketball coach
- Muffy Styler (born 1973), stage name of American jazz singer, musician and performer Jenny Lee Mitchell
Fictional characters
[edit]- Muffy, a character and a bachelorette in Harvest Moon: A Wonderful Life and Harvest Moon DS
- Nickname of the title character of Maureen Birnbaum, Barbarian Swordsperson, a 1993 anthology, and other short stories
- Mary Alice "Muffy" Crosswire, in the children's book and animated children's television series Arthur
- Muffy, a recurring character in the sitcom That's So Raven
- Muffy B. Tepperman, in the 1982–1983 sitcom Square Pegs
- Muffy Mouse, in the 1980s Canadian children's television series Today's Special
- Muffy, in the 1986 horror film April Fool's Day
- Muffy St. Jacques, in the R rated John Waters black comedy film "Desperate Living"
- Muffy Keyes, a.k.a. Lady Baglady, in Chuck Palahniuk's 2005 novel Haunted
References
[edit]- ↑ Birnbach, Lisa (1980). The Official Preppy Handbook. Workman Publishing. p. 19. ISBN 0894801406.
- ↑ Krieger, Liz (10 July 2017). "Why 'Birdie' is the New 'Muffy'". townandcountrymag.com. Town and Country Magazine. Retrieved 8 October 2025.
- ↑ Kihm, Sophie. "Muffy". nameberry.com. Nameberry. Retrieved 9 October 2025.