Gender: Feminine
Origin: Greek Ευλαλια
Meaning: “to talk well.”
Eng (yoo-LAY-lee-uh; yoo-LAY-lee); Fre (eu-lah-LEE); Cat (oo-LOW-lee-ah); Sp (oo-LAH-lee-ah)

The name is composed of the Greek elements, eu ευ (good) and laleo λαλεω (talk).

The name was borne by two different early Spanish saints, both of whom are believed to be one and the same person. St. Eulalia of Mérida was a 3rd-century teenage Roman girl who refused to give up her faith, she was subsequently tortured and crucified, legend has it that when she was cut down from her cross, a layer of snow fell to cover her nakedness. The story was the subject of the famous painting by John William Waterhouse, (above).

In the English-speaking world, especially in the United States, Eulalia and her other forms appeared in the U.S. top 1000 from the 19th-century till the 1930s. She never ranked high, the highest only being # 365 in 1893. Her French form of Eulalie also experienced some usage but fell out of the top 1000 by 1900. The highest Eulalie ever ranked in the United States was at # 687 in 1893. Eulalie’s introduction into the United States may have had something to do with Edgar Allan Poe’s 1845 poem, Eulalie.

Eulalie is one of Poe’s less Gothic works, it recounts how a widower once again finds happiness in a girl named Eulalie.

Two famous American bearers were Silent film actress, Eulalie Jensen (1884-1952), and  Eulalie Spence (1894-1981) an African-American play-write of West Indian extraction.

Further up in North America, the name was borne by French-Canadian Blessed and religious foundress, Eulalie Durocher, aka, Soeur Marie Rose Durocher, who is credited for finding the Order of the Holy Name of Jesus and Mary (1811-1849).

In French naming history, Eulalie appears in a famous folktale, Jean, the Soldier, and Eulalie, the Devil’s Daughter.

Notable French bearers are numerous, but one of the most famous has to be an early female journalist by the name of Eulalie de Senancour (1791-1896).

In the United States, Eula was probably the most common form. She consistently remained within  the U.S. top 1000 between 1880 and 1960. The highest she ever ranked was at # 122 in 1908.

As of 2009, its French form of Eulalie was the 472nd most popular female name in France.

Other forms of the name include:

• Olaria (Aragonese)
• Olarieta (Aragonese)
• Olalia (Asturian)
• Olaya (Asturian)
• Santolaya (Asturian: literally means, Saint Eulalia, used in reference to St. Eulalia very much in the same way Santiago and Santana)
• Eulàlia (Catalan)
• Eulalia (Dutch/English/German/Italian/Latin/Polish/Spanish)
• Eula (English)
• Eulalie (English/French)
• Lalia (English)
• Aulaire (French: archaic)
• Evlalia (Greek)
• Eulália (Hungarian/Portuguese/Slovak)
• Aulazia (Occitanian/Provençal)
• Olalla (Spanish)