She's a beautiful and intelligent warrior queen, with an exotic sound
and more potential nicknames than you can shake a stick at.
Origin: |
On the face of it, the meaning of Zenobia is very straightforward: a combination of the Greek Ζηνο (Zeno) – a poetic name for Zeus – and βιος (bios) "life". The masculine form, Zenobios (or Zenobius in Latin) is found not infrequently in Ancient Greece. There was a 2nd century sophist named Zenobius, and from the 3rd century we can also find mention of Hieromartyr Zenobios, Bishop of Aegea. The most famous ancient Zenobia is the 3rd century queen of Palmyra. She was the daughter of Julius Aurelius Zenobius, strategos of Palmyra, who was known by his Semitic name Zabdila. Zenobius was the Hellenized form and, as with Roman tradition, his daughter was named Julia Aurelia Zenobia in reflection of his. Zenobia's Semitic name, however, and the form she used to sign documents, was Bat-Zabbai "daughter of Zabbai." It is most likely Zabbai was the family's clan name, which was translated into Greek as Zenobios. The name Zabbai itself (and the variant forms Zabdila, Zabeida and Zabda) can be found several times in Palmyran texts and is thought to mean "gift, dowry (of god)"** It also makes a few appearances in the Old Testament (Ezr 10:28; Neh 3:20). The picture is convoluted further by Zenobia's name sometimes being written in Arabic as Zainab – the name of a fragrant flowering plant, and a well known feminine name. It is quite possible, however, that Zainab evolved later as an altered form of Zenobia. |
Usage: |
Up until the 19th century, British Zenobias are very difficult to find. Mysteriously, however, there are several examples dating from the late 16th century in Cornwall and Devon, where the name was locally popular. It was used, at this time, in several variant forms such as Zonoby, Senobia and Synobie, while Siney was used as the name's short-form. Although not hugely popular, the name has been used consistently since the early 19th century, averaging around 5 births a year up until the 1930s. Zenobia was given to 3 girls in both 2004 and 2000 in England and Wales. As the released data does not record births below a count of 3, it is difficult to tell how often the name has been used since. |
Famous Bearers: |
History: Literature: Other: Celebrity-babies: |
Variants: |
Zenobie (French), Zenovia (Greek), Zinoviya (Russian) |
Pronunciation: |
zen-O-bee-ə (UK) [key] |
Possible Diminutives: |
Bee, Bia, Nia, Nobie, Zena, Zeno, Zee, Zeena, Zeba, Zia, Zizi, Zoe, Zobie |
Sibling Names: |
Mireia Electra Ianthe Roxana Lysandra Ximena |
Name Lists: |
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