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Another thing of course is that in the middle ages they took the name and either misread or tweaked it to arrive at Cressida, who then became a typical example of a weak and disloyal woman, throwing over her man when a wealthier and more powerful version came along.

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One form of it, perhaps an accusative, would have been something close to Briseida.

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Anyway, there was a minor vogue for naming girls Cressida in the UK during the 70s if I recall. And all those cars ... not a reassuring message of reliability!

What you linked to basically gives the original history of the name quite well. As I understand it, Briseis probably came from a Greek word meaning "weighty, strong."

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I don't know a Briseis personally. It seems to have always been extremely rare in English-speaking countries. The Spanish form, Briseida, has gotten a bit more use, especially in Latin America.

I just want to mention, that if I remember the Iliad correctly, Briseis was a very minor character. I guess the movie producers wanted yet another love story in the plot.

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~ Ivayla,
skillfully disguised as a responsible adult