Gender: Feminine
Origin and Meaning: unclear
(kope-PAY-lee-ah)
The name is of uncertain meaning or origin.
It first appeared in a famous ballet entitled Coppélia, which premiered in 1870.
The ballet was based off of a story written by German author, E.T.A. Hoffmann (1776-1822), in which a character by the name of Dr. Coppelius creates a beautiful, life-like, dancing doll which he names Coppélia.
It is highly speculated that the name Coppelius was a latinization of the Yiddish nickname Koppel, (a nickname for Jacob).
I named my daughter Coppelia, and understood the meaning to be – the girl with enamel eyes, or the girl with beautiful eyes. It’s an unusual name, which is why I liked it, but we have found about 20 other Coppelia’s worldwide.