The name Pandora is commonly translated as “all-gifted” or “gifted by all.”
It comes from Greek elements associated with “all” and “gifts.” Hesiod’s account presents Pandora as receiving contributions from multiple gods: Hephaestus fashions her, Athena gives clothing and instruction, Aphrodite grants grace, and Hermes supplies deceptive qualities and speech-related gifts in the narrative tradition.
The name therefore reflects the myth’s structure, in which the gods collectively prepare Pandora. It is not simply a reference to the container she later opens. The myth links her arrival to Zeus’s punishment of humanity after Prometheus gives mortals fire.
Modern retellings often focus on curiosity and blame, but Hesiod’s poem is also about divine power, human suffering, and the origins of toil. Pandora’s name has since become a common personal name and a symbol of consequences released by an apparently attractive gift.