From French jadis meaning 'once' or 'long ago,' known in modern use through literary naming.
S. Lewis, who bestowed it on the White Witch of Narnia — the immortal, ice-hearted tyrant who held the land of Narnia in endless winter in The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe (1950) and whose origin story was told in The Magician's Nephew (1955). Lewis was a trained medievalist and linguist, and he likely drew on the Old French word jadis, meaning "formerly" or "in times past" — a word with Latin roots (jam, already, and dies, days) suggesting deep antiquity and irreversible loss.
For a character defined by frozen time and the absence of Christmas, the name carries extraordinary thematic precision. Jadis as a character is one of Lewis's most memorable creations: regal, terrifying, beautiful, and catastrophically powerful. She destroyed her own world rather than yield power, and her centuries-long curse over Narnia gives her an almost mythological stature.
This portrait has made Jadis a compelling figure not only for children's literature scholars but for readers drawn to complex, morally fascinating antagonists. The name appeared in numerous fantasy novels, games, and fan communities long before parents began choosing it for actual children. In contemporary baby naming, Jadis occupies the gothic-literary space alongside names like Persephone, Morgana, and Lilith — names from powerful fictional or mythological women that parents adopt precisely because of their dark elegance. It is rare, striking, and unmistakably literary, guaranteeing its bearer a name with a story — and a formidable one at that.