It is a feminised form of the Hebrew word for "praise".

all base ball players are boys softball is girls


Having said that , many girls have been named after men sometimes with the same spelling and sometimes with a feminised spelling.

In these days of gender equality the word 'founder' is generally used for people of either gender. In the past, many ~er and ~or word endings were feminised by changing them to ~ress - so founder would have been foundress.

In these days of gender equality the word 'founder' is generally used for people of either gender. In the past, many ~er and ~or word endings were feminised by changing them to ~ress - so founder would have been foundress.