Pamela

Pamela is an English name invented by the poet Sir Philip Sidney, who used it for a character in his prose romance Arcadia, written in the 1580s. The name was likely constructed from Greek elements, possibly pan meaning all and meli meaning honey, though Sidney's precise intention is uncertain. It gained widespread popularity after Samuel Richardson chose it for the heroine of his 1740 novel Pamela, or Virtue Rewarded, which became enormously influential across Europe. Shortened forms Pam and Pammy are common familiar variants.