Culture
From Nefertiti To Isolde: What The Women Who Came Before Us Knew About Beauty, Joy, And Virtue
We've all heard of Nefertiti, Queen of Egypt, mother of Tutankhamun, famed for her beauty and the exquisite bust so symbolic of that ancient civilization. But do we know what her name means?
By Hannah Owen4 min read
The ancient Egyptian word nefer meant "beautiful" or "good" or "happy." Scholars agree the name Nefertiti means "The Beautiful One Has Entered." Whether nefer was used to mean only one thing at a time – the way rose today sometimes means "got up" but sometimes means the flower – or whether it was used to embody all three definitions at once is anyone's guess. But I like to think it was the latter: A woman is beautiful because she is good and happy; she embodies a higher manifestation of beauty when she adds joy and virtue to the mix.