in what novel did the name Pamela originate?

Dear nojoke,

The name Pamela was invented by the English poet Sir Philip Sidney
(1554-1586) for a character in "Arcadia", an epic romance in novel
format (first published 1590).

Sources:

Behind the Name: Pamela, by Mike Campbell, 2002
http://www.behindthename.com/cgi-bin/search.cgi?terms=pamela

Baby Name Finder: Dictionary - Baby Names Starting With P, by iVillage
Inc., 2002
http://www.parentsplace.com/pregnancy/babynames/dictionary/0,13993,112480,00.html

Sir Philip Sidney, by Pam Benstead (Acrobat Reader file)
http://www.richardiiiworcs.co.uk/di39/sidney.pdf

Zissells: Names, Brands and Trade Marks
http://www.zissells.com/page4.htm

Search terms used:
"the name pamela" novel:
://www.google.de/search?q=%22the+name+pamela%22+novel&hl=de&lr=&ie=UTF-8&oe=UTF-8&newwindow=1&start=10&sa=N
Arcadia "Sir Philip sidney" invented pamela:
://www.google.de/search?hl=de&ie=UTF-8&oe=UTF-8&newwindow=1&q=Arcadia+%22Sir+Philip+sidney%22+invented+pamela&meta=

Hope this answers your question!
Regards,
Scriptor

very fast, very informative.  thanks.