Meaning and history
Aphra is a rare English feminine name of uncertain origin. It has sometimes been linked with the biblical place name Aphrah, associated in Hebrew wordplay with “dust,” but it is unclear whether that directly explains every personal-name use. The defining bearer is Aphra Behn, the seventeenth-century English playwright, poet, novelist, and spy, often described as one of the first English women to earn a living through writing. Her prominence largely sustained the name’s literary identity.