Name of the Week: Victor

Origin:

Victor derives directly from the Latin agent noun victor, the nominative form of victorem meaning " a conqueror".

Usage:

Victor was borne by an early pope and saint, Pope Victor I (d.199) who served as Bishop of Rome. Saint Victor of Marseilles (d.c.290), Saint Victor Maurus (d.303) and Saint Viktor of Xanten (d. 4th-century) are were also early saints to bear the name and all three were said to have been Roman soldiers before they were martyred for renouncing the worship of pagan idols. The name was also borne by two other popes later in the 11th century, as well as two antipopes in the 12th century. The term "Victorids" was coined for the powerful family in the Frankish province of Rhaetia who controlled the diocese of Chur in the 7th and 8th centuries, many of whom were named Victor, including its founder, Victor I, bishop of Chur. Despite this use by popes and saints, Victor was not especially common in Europe up until the 16th century. There are a handful of early examples (pre-1000) in France, and later 14th-century examples crop up in France and Germany.  In England, Victor can be found in the Curia Regis Rolls of 1200 and 1203 and there are then only a small number of records from the 16th century.  Victor Amadeus I, Duke of Savoy (1587-1637) brought the name into royal use, and three more dukes of Savoy named Victor Amadeus followed.  Victor became more common in France in the 18th century, but didn't gain favour in Britain until the late 19th century during Queen Victoria's reign.  In 1860, Victoria ranked at #153 in England and Wales, while Victor was marginally behind at #194. By 1870, however, Victoria has declined slightly to #168 while Victor had trebled in use, ranking at #111. From then on, Victor continued to rise and consistently eclipsed Victoria in use. Perhaps one of the key reasons for Victor's rise in the 1870s (clearly nothing to do with the feminine form Victoria, as that remained uncommon) was the birth of Prince Albert Victor in January 1864, the eldest child of the Prince of Wales (later King Edward VII). Queen Victoria named this new heir to the throne after her beloved husband Albert and herself, announcing his name as "Albert Victor" publicly before even consulting his parents. The Prince and Princess of Wales added Christian and Edward to the baby's names, but it was the double name "Albert Victor" by which he was officially known until his untimely death in 1892. Perhaps in some form of protest at being denied choosing their eldest son's names, his parents always called him"Eddy" throughout his life.  In 1863, five boys in total were registered with the name "Albert Victor". In 1864, following the birth of the prince, a huge figure of 146 boys were given the combo. Even by 1880, 130 boys were named "Albert Victor" as it continued to be a highly popular pairing.  This rising use as a middle name undoubtedly gave rise to Victor being used more as a first name, as registration records for Victor (as a first name) in the England and Wales Birth Index shows: 1840: 1850:  1860:  1870:  1880:  1890: 1900: 1904: 1914: 1924: 1934: 1944: 1954: 1964:  <#300 <#250 #194 #111 #80 #66 #39 #47 #49 #50 #62 #56 #88 *out of the top 100* Victor remained in good use during the first half of the 20th century until it eventually fell below the top 100 in 1964.  It had a spurt of use at the end of World War I (formally ending on 11 November 1918), thanks to the name's meaning, which we can see clearly from the quarterly birth records in 1918: Oct-Dec 1917: 428 records Jan-Mar 1918: 412 records Apr-Jun 1918: 493 records Jul-Sep 1918: 463 records Oct-Dec 1918: 1491 records - Armistice signed  Jan-Mar 1919: 820 records Apr-Jun 1919: 638 records Jul-Sep 1919: 2017 records - Treaty of Versaille (28 June 1919) Oct-Dec 1919: 904 records A similar situation occurred following the end of World War II in Europe in May 1945: Jul-Sep 1944: 600 records Oct-Dec 1944: 512 records  Jan-Mar 1945: 491 records  Apr-Jun 1945: 1893 records - End of the War in Europe Jul-Sep 1945: 1159 records  Oct-Dec 1945: 469 records British born Hollywood actor Victor McLagen (1886-1959) was a prolific actor who won an Oscar for Best Actor in 1935 for his role in The Informer. He was frequently mentioned in British newspapers, especially in the late 1930s/early 1940s, which may have prolonged the name's use in the inter-war period—it looked to be on the decline by 1934 but picked up a bit by 1944.  Since 1996, Victor has been steadily rising, seeing more of a marked rise from 2006 onwards.  In 2017, Victor ranked #227 with 236 births in England and Wales.  Regionally, it was most common in London, where it ranked #135, followed by #201 in the South East, #215 in the East and #220 in the South West.  In Scotland, Victor ranked #361 with 9 births in 2018.

Famous Bearers:

Royalty: * Victor Amadeus I (1587–1637), Duke of Savoy. * Victor Amadeus II of Sardinia (1666–1732), Duke of Savoy.  * Victor Amadeus III of Sardinia (1726–1796), Duke of Savoy and King of Sardinia. * Victor Emmanuel I of Sardinia (1759–1824), Duke of Savoy and King of Sardinia. * Victor Emmanuel II of Italy (1820–1878), King of Sardinia. * Victor Emmanuel III of Italy (1869–1947), King of Italy. History: * Pope Victor I (died 199), Bishop of Rome. * Victor of Marseilles (died c. 290), Christian martyr and saint. * Victor Maurus (died c. 303), Christian martyr and saint. * Viktor of Xanten (died 4th century), Christian martyr and saint. * Victor I (fl. 7th century), bishop of Chur. * Victor II (fl. 8th century), bishop of Chur. * Victor III (died c.836), bishop of Chur. * Pope Victor II (c. 1018–1057). * Pope Victor III (c. 1026–1087). * Antipope Victor IV (1138). * Antipope Victor IV (1159–1164). * Victor Honoré Janssens (1658–1736), Flemish painter. * Victor-François, 2nd duc de Broglie (1718–1804), Marshal of France. * Victor de Broglie (1756–1794), French soldier and politician. * Victor de Broglie (1785–1870), 3rd duc de Broglie, French statesman and diplomat. * Victor Hugo (1802–1885), French writer. * Victor Meirelles (1832–1903), Brazilian painter. * Victor Babeş (1854–1926), Romanian biologist. * Victor Fonfreide (1872-1934), French painter. * Victor Borge (1909–2000), Danish-born American musician and comedian. * Victor Mature (1913–1999), American actor. Contemporary: * Victor French (1934-1989), American actor. * Victor Garber (born 1949), Canadian actor. * Victor Martinez (1954–2011), Mexican American poet and author. * Victor Davis (1964–1989), Canadian Olympic champion swimmer. Literature and Other Media: * Victor Frankenstein, the main character in the 1818 novel Frankenstein by Mary Shelley. * Viktor Krum, a character in the Harry Potter series. * Victor Creed "Sabretooth", a character from the X-Men series. * Victor Meldrew, the main character in the television series One Foot in the Grave. * Victor Stone, DC Comics superhero better known as Cyborg.

Variants:

Viktor (Swedish, Norwegian, Danish, Icelandic, German, Hungarian, Czech, Slovak, Bulgarian, Russian, Ukrainian, Croatian, Serbian, Slovene, Macedonian), Vittore (Italian), Wiktor (Polish), Gwythyr (Welsh), Bittor (Basque)

Pronunciation:

VIK-tə [key]

Possible diminutives:

Vic, Vito

Sibling Names:

Sylvie     Josephine     Olive     Pearl     Audrey     Lillian Maxim     Chester     Xavier     Wilbur     Sidney     Otto

Name Lists:

Resonant Roman   Royal European Names   Victorian Darling   Roaring Twenties   Upright Elegance   Vintage Names   Disney Names

 

If you like Victor you may also like:   Hector, Crispin, Marcel, Monty, Remy, Julian, Vincent, Emmanuel, Fabian, Tristan

Thanks to Bridget for requesting this name.