British Baby Names

Name of the Week: Hilda

Origin:

Hilda is the Latinised form of Hild, an Anglo-Saxon name derived from the Old English hild meaning "battle". In some cases, Hild may have been a hypocoristic form of longer names (both masculine and feminine) containing the element hild such as Hildgýð, Hildegard or Hildebehrt and Hildulf. Hilda also served as a Latinised form for the Norse cognate Hildr and Germanic cognate Hilde.

Usage:

The Prosopography of Anglo-Saxon England (PASE) database has four examples of Hild in use in Anglo-Saxon Britain; one female, three male.  Unlike many Anglo-Saxon names, Hilda managed to survive the Norman Conquest as a feminine name, mostly thanks to the veneration of Saint Hild (or Hilda) of Whitby (c. 614-680).  Hild's story is quite a remarkable one. Born to a noble family, she was baptised at 13 and made the decision to become a nun in her 30s. She soon became the Abbess of Hartlepool and spent seven years building a new monastery (for both men and women) at Whitby which she was in charge of for thirty years. Under Hild's guidance, many members of her monastery went on to become important clerical figures. Five of her monks became bishops, and she was so respected, that kings and princes are said to have sought her counsel. "She [...] taught there the strict observance of justice, piety, chastity, and other virtues, and particularly of peace and charity; so that, after the example of the primitive church, no person was there rich, and none poor, all being in common to all, and none having any property. Her prudence was so great, that not only indifferent persons, but even kings and princes, as occasion offered, asked and received her advice" (Ecclesiastical History, Book 4, Chapter XXIII).* In 664, Hild hosted the Synod of Whitby which sought to resolve issues between the Celtic and Roman religious calendars. This Synod, which Hild presided over like an Archbishop, shaped the way Christianity developed in England.  The main source for Hild's life is recorded by Bede who describes her life as "an example of the works of light."* His final words about her were: "Thus this servant of Christ, Abbess Hilda, whom all that knew her called Mother, for her singular piety and grace, was not only an example of good life, to those that lived in her monastery, but afforded occasion of amendment and salvation to many who lived at a distance, to whom the fame was brought of her industry and virtue."* The veneration of Hild as a saint dates to the 8th century when Bede wrote of her. Accordingly, several legends grew up around her such as a miraculous dream that her mother had when she was a baby, or how she turned a plague of snakes at Whitby into stone [these later turned out to be fossils on the coast].  She is considered one of the patron saints of learning and culture, and her feast day (depending on which denomination) is the 17th, 18th or 19th November.  Though Hilda was not especially common in the Middle Ages, it was in enough use to leave us with the surname Hild.  The Lincolnshire Danelaw Documents of 1154-89 list a Hilda de Tidintun and the Pipe Rolls of Oxfordshire has a Hilda de Gay in 1192.  It became uncommon after the 13th century but remained in use in the Whitby area thanks to Saint Hilda.  Elsewhere in the world, Hilda also saw use in Scandinavia. Nordic Names tracks the earliest recorded use for Hilda in Norway in the 14th century. It was well used in Sweden in the 19th century and many of the earliest famous Hildas are Swedish.  In the 19th century, Hilda has a revival in Britain in the late 19th century, rocketing in popularity by the 1890s. Much of this was thanks to the Tractarian Movement which popularised saints names, and the Victorian love of Medievalism.  Data from the 1881 census (see image, right) shows Hilda was well established across England and the South of Wales, but less common in Scotland. In 1900, Hilda was #94 in Scotland and #16 in England and Wales.  Records for Hilda from the England and Wales Birth Index: 1840: 1850:  1860:  1870:  1880:  1890: 1900: 1904: 1914: 1924: 1934: 1944: 1954: 1964: 1974: 1984: 1994: >#300 >#300 #261 #128 #71 #27 #16 #14 #15 #26 #61 __ __ __ __ __ __ Since 1996 in England and Wales, Hilda has been rare, ranking below the top 1000.  It has seen a moderate rise in use since 2009, peaking at #2341 with 11 births in 2017.  In 2018, Hilda ranked #3985 (5 births) in England and Wales. It had no births in Scotland or Northern Ireland.  Elsewhere, Hilda ranked #99 in Sweden and #37 in Finland in 2018.

Famous Bearers:

History: * Saint Hilda of Whitby (c. 614-680), a significant figure in the history of English Christianity. * Hilda Sandels (1830-1921), Swedish opera singer. * Hilda Sjölin (1835–1915), Swedish photographer. * Hilda Caselli (1836-1901), Swedish educational reformer. * Hilda Petrini (1838–1895), Swedish clockmaker and first female master of mechanics in Sweden. * Hilda Lund (1840–1911), Swedish ballerina. * Hilda Sachs (1857-1935), Swedish journalist and women's rights activist. * Princess Hilda of Nassau (1864–1952), the last Grand Duchess of Baden. * Hilda Hewlett (1864–1943), first British woman aviator to earn a pilot's licence, and aviation entrepreneur. * Hilda Käkikoski (1864-1912), Finnish politician, writer and schoolteacher, one of the first nineteen women elected to parliament. * Hilda Runciman, Viscountess Runciman of Doxford (1869–1956), British politician. * Hilda Borgström (1871–1954), Swedish actress. * Hilda Phoebe Hudson (1881-1965), English mathematician. * Hilda Ross (1883-1959), New Zealand politician. * Hilda Rix Nicholas (1884-1961), Australian painter. * Hilda Doolittle (1886–1961), American poet, novelist and memoirist. * Hilda Geiringer (1893–1973), Austrian mathematician and professor. * Hilda "H. F. M." Prescott (1896-1972), English author, academic and historian. * Hilda Conkling (1910–1986), American poet. * Hilda Ellis Davidson (1914–2006), English antiquarian and academic. * Hilda Fenemore (1914–2004), English actress. * Hilda Bernstein (1915–2006), South African author, artist, and anti-apartheid and women's rights activist. Contemporary: * Hilda Braid (1929–2007), English actress. * Hilda Hilst (1930–2004), Brazilian poet, playwright and novelist. * Hilda de Duhalde (born 1946), Argentine politician. * Hilda Ramos (born 1964), Cuban discus thrower. * Hilda Gaxiola (born 1972), Mexican beach volleyball player. * Hilda Kibet (born 1981), Dutch long-distance runner. Literature and Other Media: * Hilda Spellman, a principle character in Sabrina, the Teenage Witch. * Hilda Suarez, a character from the American television series Ugly Betty. * Hilda, the title character in Luke Pearson's Hilda series. * Hilda Ogden, a character from the British soap opera Coronation Street (1964-1987). * Hilda, the female protagonist of Pokémon Black and White. * Princess Hilda of Lorule, a character from The Legend of Zelda: A Link Between Worlds.

Variants:

Hilde (German, Dutch, Norwegian), Hildr (Norse)

Pronunciation:

HILD-ə [key]

Possible  diminutives:

Hildy, Hillie

Sibling Names:

Agnes     Freda     Maud     Avril     Kathleen     Ingrid  Lloyd     Gilbert     Francis     Edwin     Wilbur     Percival

Name Lists:

Funky-Clunky    Victorian Darlings    Roaring Twenties    Scandi-Familiars    Enid Blyton Names

 

If you like Hilda you may also like:   Phyllis, Doris, Muriel, Tilda, Rita, Ethel, Priscilla, Rhoda, Mildred, Zelda

Thanks to Stephanie for requesting this name.

Name of the Week: Delilah

Origin:

Delilah is the name of one of the principal characters in the Book of Judges, Chapter 16, in the Hebrew Bible. As the story goes, Delilah is loved by Samson, the final Judge of Israel, and she is bribed by the Philistines to find out the source of Samson's strength. Eventually, she goads into telling her⁠—it's his hair⁠—and when he is asleep, she orders a servant to cut Samson's hair and turns him over to the Philistines.  From Biblical times to Tom Jones' classic 1968 hit song Delilah, the name Delilah has been a byword for treachery, deceit and cunning.  However, several modern critics have been keen to liberate Delilah from this stigma, pointing out that she is unique among female Biblical figures because she acts independently without relying on, or being defined by, male relatives.  Many have also pointed out that Delilah's actions are far from unusual in the Biblical narrative. Jael killed a Canaanite army commander by driving a tent peg into his head after offering him hospitality; Judith seduced and then beheaded the general of the Assyrian army in his sleep.  There is very little difference between these women's actions and Delilah's: all three exploited the weaknesses of their enemies' most prominent military foe and were the cause of their deaths. However, Jael and Judith are praised in Biblical tradition as heroines while Delilah is denigrated simply because of which side she supported.  The etymology of Delilah is under debate by scholars. Like many ancient names, its true origins, it seems, are obscured through the mists of time. Traditionally, Delilah has been derived from the Hebrew verb dalal (דָּלַל) which, in Delilah's case, is often said to mean "delicate, languishing", but it has many meanings including "to hang", "look with languishing eyes", "hang down", "be low", "to be laid low" and "weak". However, as it is still disputed whether Delilah was an Israelite or not, more recent theories have focussed on non-Hebrew sources. One theory connects Delilah to the related Arabic words dalla "to behave amorously" and dalila "a guide".** In Judges (1975), R.G. Boling put forward the argument of a meaning of "flirtatious" from the Arabic dollatum "flirt"** while K.L. Younger in Judges and Ruth (2002) attributes it to the Akkadian dalalum meaning "to praise, glorify", a name element which is widely attested in names in the ancient Near East.** Some have taken this latter theory further suggesting Delilah may be a shortened form of the theophoric Akkadian name Dalil Ishtar meaning "glory of Ishtar, devotee of Ishtar" (the Akkadian goddess of love, beauty, fertility, war, combat and political power).** Theophoric names were incredibly common, so, as Akkadian names go, this one isn't outlandish.  Many scholars agree that Delilah's name (whether Hebrew or not) was deliberately adapted by Biblical writers as a pun on laylah (לילה) the Hebrew word for "night", which was used as a clear contrast to Samson's name, derived from shemesh (שֶׁמֶשׁ) meaning "sun".***** As Caroline Blyth (2017) poetically puts it: "Ultimately, despite our best efforts to pin down a meaning for [Delilah], uncertainty will always prevail; Delilah may play a central role in the Judges 16 story, she may be the only woman in Samson's saga to be granted a moniker, but this moniker remains unfathomable. [...] Rather than being 'an everlasting curse on the lips of men', the name Delilah may instead be an everlasting enigma that captures the multifaceted complexity of this biblical persona."*

Usage:

Despite her "bad girl" Biblical reputation, Delilah can be found in baptisms from the 17th century in Britain. At this time, other 'rule-breaking' Biblical women (such as Bathsheba and Vashti) were used as names, and we should not find this unusual given that the Bible was one of the main sources for names during this period. By the 19th century, Delilah's use was low but regular and steadily declined by the mid-20th century. Data from the 1881 UK census (see image, right) demonstrates that Delilah was most common in West Yorkshire and Lancashire, as well as East Anglia. It was rare in Scotland and Wales.  Records in the England and Wales Birth Index: 1840s: 1850s: 1860s: 1870s: 1880s: 1890s: 1900s: 1910s: 1920s: 1930s: 1940s: 1950s: 1960s: 1970s: 123 births 122 births 142 births 103 births 87 births 59 births 48 births 37 births 22 births 6 births 2 births 15 births 26 births 26 births In the 1949 film Samson and Delilah, Hedy Lamarr played a more sympathetic version of Delilah. According to this re-telling, Delilah has been in love with Samson for a long time but betrays him to avenge the deaths of her father and sister, which she believes are the fault of Samson. She later comes to regret her actions and stays with him as the temple collapses around them. Samson and Delilah became the highest-grossing film of 1950*, winning two of its five Academy Awards nominations.  This may have played some small part in Delilah's modest renewal in use in the 1950s.  From 1996 to 2006, Delilah ranked consistently below the top 1000 in England and Wales. It broke into the top 1000 at #816 (37 births) in 2006, and, by 2008 it had leapt to #408 (105 births). It plateaued for two years and then, from 2011 has been on a steady and steep upward climb.  Regionally, Delilah broke into the top 100 in the South West (#89) and South East (#96) in 2017.  It cracked the combined England and Wales top 100 in 2018 at #90 with 601 births.   Individually, it ranked #90 in England and #107 in Wales in 2018. It was also more common for younger mothers, ranking at #46 for mothers under 25, #71 for mothers aged 25-29, #124 for mothers aged 30-34 and #170 for aged 35 and over. In Scotland, Delilah saw very little use at all from 1975 to 2010—only given to seven girls overall in that time. In 2012, it rose to #426 (8 births) but its ranks has fluctuated since. To date, Delilah peaked at #289 (13 births) in Scotland in 2017.  In 2018, Delilah ranked #348 with 10 births in Scotland.  In Northern Ireland, Delilah is even rarer. It reached a peak of #355 (4 births) in 2017 but was given to fewer than 3 babies in 2018, putting it well below the top 500.

Famous Bearers:

History: * Delilah Leontium Beasley (1867–1934), American historian and newspaper columnist. * Delilah Pierce (1904–1992), African-American artist, curator and educator. Contemporary: * Delilah Rene (b. 1960), American radio personality. * Delilah Cotto (b. 1970) Puerto Rican-American actress, dancer and model. * Delila Hatuel (b. 1980), Israeli fencer. * Delilah DiCrescenzo (b. 1983), American distance runner. * Delilah Fishburne (b. 2007), daughter of actors Laurence Fishburne and Gina Torres. * Delilah Genoveva del Toro (b. 2011), daughter of actors Benicio del Toro and Kimberly Stewart. * Delilah Grace Cavendish (b. 2012), daughter of cyclist Mark Cavendish and model Peta Todd. * Delilah Grace Wilshere (b. 2013), daughter of footballer Jack Wilshere. * Delilah Ruby Sinclair (b.2018), daughter of British soap actress Helen Flanagan and footballer Scott Sinclair.  * Delilah-Rae Monk (b. 2018), daughter of British singer Cher Lloyd.  Literature and Other Media: * Delilah, a 1973-1974 Canadian sitcom * Delilah "Del" Dingle, in the British soap opera Emmerdale (2005-2007). * Delilah, main in the animated series Delilah & Julius. * "Delilah", Tom Jones song (1968). * "Delilah", Queen song (1991) * "Delilah", a song by The Cranberries (1999). * "Delilah", Florence and the Machine song (2015).

Variants:

Delila, Dalilah (Biblical variants), Dalila (French, Italian, Spanish, Portuguese), Dalida (Greek, Russian, Slovak, Ukrainian, Hungarian, Croatian, Czech)

Pronunciation:

də-LĪ-lə [key]

Possible  diminutives:

Dell, Della, Dellie, Dolly, Lila, Lyla

Sibling Names:

Arabella     Savannah     Ariana     Sienna     Aurora     Eliana  Dominic     Reuben     Elijah     Leon     Rowan     Finley

Name Lists:

Vintage Names   Ripe Renovations

 

If you like Delilah you may also like:   Tallulah, Amaya, Dahlia, Atarah, Lyra, Violet, Kezia, Maya, Ariella, Talitha

Thanks to Alice for requesting this name.

Name of the Week: Cyrus

Origin:

Cyrus is a Latinised form of the Greek Κῦρος (Kỹros). This was, itself, a Hellenised form of the Old Persian name Kūruš (Kourosh) and the form Κῦρος was almost certainly created to match the Greek word κῦρος (kûros) "supreme power" from which the Greek κυριος (kyrios) "lord, master, ruler" is derived.  The original meaning of Kūruš is uncertain—like many ancient names, substantial evidence is lost to us—but there are several credible theories including "like the sun," "young," "hero," "he who bestows care" and "humiliator of enemies."

Usage:

One of the earliest mentions of the name is attributed to Cyrus I, King of Anshan, who ruled in the 7th century BC. Not much is known about him, but he is most famous for his namesake grandson, Cyrus II—or more commonly, Cyrus the Great, the founder of the first Persian Empire. Cyrus the Great's empire stretched throughout much of Western Asia and Central Asia and was the largest empire the world has ever known. An astute politician and military strategist, he is known for respecting the religion and culture of the lands he conquered and for creating a highly effective system of centralised administration. Furthermore, Cyrus left a lasting legacy on the Jewish nation and is mentioned many times in the Old Testament as the patron and deliverer of the Jews who ended Babylonian captivity. Because he issued a decree of liberation to the Jews, Cyrus is considered to have been anointed God for this task. The Bible even refers to him as a messiah, and he is the only non-Jewish figure in the Bible to be called so.  Nearly two centuries later, Xenophon wrote his masterpiece, The Cyropaedia, describing the education of Cyrus the Great as an ideal leader. It was very widely respected and studied in classical antiquity, and it was later rediscovered during the Renaissance in which Cyrus was used as an example of virtue and a model for princely behaviour. The Cyropaedia remained popular during the Enlightenment and heavily influenced Machiavelli's 16th-century political treatise, The Prince.  As a given name, Cyrus was adopted as a Greek name in Antiquity. We find it recorded in the Jewish Roman catacombs and there was a notable 1st-century Greek architect by the name who worked in Rome. Later, we find it in the Byzantine Empire (where Greek was the official language). Notable bearers include 5th-century writer Cyrus of Panopolis and Cyrus of Alexandria, the last Byzantine patriarch of Egypt. There is a Saint Cyrus: a 4th-century Alexandrian martyr.  In the Western world, Cyrus came into use as a given name in the 16th century, likely because it was a biblical name, but also perhaps influenced in some small part by the esteem for Cyrus the Great promoted in the Cyropaedia. It was rare at first but picked up by the 18th-century as small but regular use.  By 1840, Cyrus ranked at#189 with 21 births in England and Wales. It fell out of the top 200 thereafter.  Registration records for Cyrus as a first name in England & Wales show how consistent it was in use during the 19th-century but that it rapidly declined in use at the beginning of the 20th century: 1840s: 1850s: 1860s: 1870s: 1880s: 1890s: 1900s: 1910s: 1920s: 1930s: 1940s: 1950s: 1960s: 1970s: 225 births 226 births 242 births 247 births 230 births 220 births 174 births 127 births 63 births 20 births 15 births 8 births 81 births 99 births Cyrus picked up usage in the 1960s and 1970s, and it is interesting to note that many of these registrations had Indian surnames. This not only indicates that Cyrus was used among the Indian community but also reflects the rising migration during this period. Since 1996, Cyrus has, for the most part, remained between #500 and #1000 in England and Wales. It peaked at #462 with 69 births in 2006. In 2017, Cyrus ranked #613 with 59 births.  In Scotland, Cyrus is less common. Since 1990, it has ranked in 20 years out of 29 years. For most of that time (70%), it was only registered once in any given year. However, it did see an unusual peak of #444 with 6 births in 2009.  In 2018, Cyrus ranked #704 with 3 births in Scotland.

Famous Bearers:

History: * Cyrus I (d.c. 580 BC), King of Anshan. * Cyrus the Great (576 BC–530 BC), the grandson of Cyrus I and founder of the Great Persian Empire. * Cyrus the Younger (died 401 BC), brother to the Persian King Artaxerxes. * Cyrus, 1st-century Greek architect who worked in Rome. * Saint Cyrus, 4th-century Coptic saint. * Cyrus of Panopolis, 5th-century Byzantine writer and official. * Cyrus of Alexandria (d.642), Melkite Patriarch and co-founder of Monothelism. * Cyrus Peirce (1790-1860), founder of first public normal school (teachers' college) in the United States. * Cyrus McCormick (1809-1884), American inventor who developed the modern mechanical reaper. * Cyrus West Field (1819-1892), American businessman who successfully laid the first transatlantic telegraph cable. * Cyrus Hamlin (1839-1867), Union general during American Civil War, son of Vice President Hannibal Hamlin. * Cyrus B. Lower (1843-1924), American Civil War Medal of Honor recipient. * Cyrus Edwin Dallin (1861-1944), American sculptor. * Cyrus Townsend Brady (1861-1920), American journalist, historian and adventure writer. * Cyrus Leroy Baldridge (1889-1977), American artist, illustrator, author and adventurer. * Cyrus "Cy" Kendall (1898–1953), American actor. * Cyrus Vance (1917-2002), U.S. Secretary of State under President Jimmy Carter. Contemporary: * Cyrus Mistry (born 1956), Indian author and playwright. * Cyrus Frisch (born 1969), Dutch film director. * Cyrus Christie (born 1992), British professional footballer. * Cyrus Ramone Pattinson (born 1994), British boxer for Team GB. * Cyrus Dancy (b.2012), son of actors Claire Danes and Hugh Dancy.  Literature and Other Media: * Cyrus Smith, the leading character in Jules Verne's novel Mysterious Island (1874). * Cyrus Trask, a character from John Steinbeck's novel East of Eden (1952).  * Cyrus "The Virus" Grissom, a character from the film Con Air (1997). * Cyrus Lupo, a detective from Law & Order. * Cyrus, a Redguard pirate and hero in the video game The Elder Scrolls Adventures: Redguard.

Variants:

Kyros (Greek), Kourosh, Kurosh (Persian), Kir (Russian), Ciro (Italian, Spanish)

Pronunciation:

SĪ-rəs [key]

Possible diminutives:

Cy, Cris

Sibling Names:

Rhoda     Selah     Minerva     Lilith     Dinah     Persis Dante     Atticus     Judah     Abel     Moses     Saul

Name Lists:

Quirky Biblical

 

If you like Cyrus you may also like:   Emrys, Silas, Darius, Amos, Caius, Sirius, Remus, Gideon, Matthias, Ephraim

Thanks to Leah for requesting this name.  

 

Name of the Week: Leonard

Origin:

Leonard is the Anglicised form of the Old Germanic name Leonhard composed of the elements lewo  "lion" and hard "hardy, brave, bold." Leonardus and Leonardo served as Latin forms of the name, with the latter becoming the Italian, Spanish and Portuguese form of the name also.

Usage:

Leonard was brought to Britain by the Normans and established itself thanks to the veneration of the saint Leonard of Noblac (d. 559). Saint Leonard was a Frankish nobleman in the court of King Clovis I, and together the two converted to Christianity. Leonard asked for the right to liberate any prisoners who he deemed worthy of their freedom. He freed many and gave them honest work clearing forests on his vast estates where he established an abbey.  Saint Leonard's cult spread rapidly in the 12th century and he became one of the most venerated saints of the late Middle Ages. In England, no fewer than 177 churches were dedicated to him, and he was also venerated in Scotland.  We can find records for Leonard starting from the 12th century, such as Leonardus de Berhedon in the 1219 Curia Regis Rolls of Rutland and Leonardus Skeler in the 1379 Poll Tax of Sussex. During this time, the surname Leonard was also established, as seen with Stephanus Leonardus in the Assize Court Rolls of Worcestershire in 1221 and William and Agnes Leonard in the Hundred Rolls of Huntingdonshire, in 1272. Overall, however, Leonard can only be found in small numbers at this early stage. It does not appear at all in George Redmonds analysis of 1000 names from 10 English counties in 1377-81, for example, which is curious given the popular veneration of the saint.  As Reaney and Wilson put it in the Oxford Dictionary of English Surnames the name was "not so common in England as one would have expected in view of the number of churches dedicated to St Leonard." By the 16th century, however, Leonard saw increased use, as we can see from Smith Bannister's rank of top 50 names from 1538 to 1700 in England: 1538-49: #24.5; 1550-9: #44.5; 1560-9: #30.5; 1570-9: #21.5; 1580-9: #30; 1590-9: #50; 1600-9: #28; 1610-9: #41.5; 1620-9: --; 1630-9: #35.5; 1640-9: --; 1650-9: #41; 1660-9: --; 1670-9: --; 1680-9: #49; 1690-1700: --.  In Europe, variants of Leonard were in similar use including Léonard in France and Leonardo in Spain and Italy in particular.  Leonard became less common in Britain in the 18th century, but by the mid-19th century, it was on a popular revival.  The diminutive form, Lenny, can also be found in records dating to the 16th century.** Curiously, Lenny was also used for girls in small numbers as well as for boys in the 19th century. In 1892, for example, there are birth records for both a 'Lenny Beatrice' and a 'Lenny Charles'.  This was perhaps inspired by Leonora or Helen/a.  Rankings of registration records for Leonard as a first name in the England and Wales Birth Index: 1840: 1850:  1860:  1870:  1880:  1890: 1900:  1904: 1914: 1924: 1934: 1944: 1954: 1964: 1974: 1984: 1994: #81 #79 #58 #49 #32 #29 #24 #22 #20 #25 #37 #59 #76 — — — — click to enlarge By 1996, Leonard ranked at fairly respectable #472 (39 births) in England and Wales. It saw very gradual rise to #431 (52 births) in 2002 and #401 (93 births) in 2008. Since 2011, however, it has seen a more marked increase, reaching #247 with 216 births in 2017.  The familiar short-form Lenny has seen an even steeper rise. Back in 1996, it ranked #1765 (6 births) in England and Wales, but had reached the top 500 by 2003 (#469 - 52 births). By 2013, that number had almost quadrupled, ranking #248 with 201 births.  In 2017, Lenny ranked #158 with 360 births in England and Wales. The spelling Lennie has also seen a steep rise during the same period, jumping from #2357 (4 births) in 1996 to #462 (89 births) in 2017.  The Italian and Spanish variant, Leonardo, has also seen an even more marked rise than Leonard itself. From ranking #1458 (8 births) in 1996, it jumped massively to #378 (60 births) in 1998 -- the year following the release of the film Titanic (1997) which catapulted Leonardo DiCaprio to stardom.  The name settled in use for a few years after but has been on a steep rise ever since 2003, ranking #136 (433 births) in 2017.  Much of Leonardo's success is in London, where it has ranked in the top 100 since 2014. In 2017, Leonardo ranked #62 in London alone. However, when London is removed from the England-whole data, it ranks at #159 (277 births) for the rest of the country.  In Scotland, Leonard fell below the top 200 from 1977 and, despite a brief spark at #156 (14 births) in 1985, remained below the top 200 with fewer than 6 births until 2014. It has since peaked at #315 (12 births) in 2016, but fell to #433 with 7 births by 2018.

Famous Bearers:

History: * Saint Leonard (d.559), patron saint of prisoners, captives and horses.  * Leonardo Fibonacci (c. 1170 – c. 1250), Italian mathematician. * Leonardo Bruni (c. 1370–1444), humanist, historian and chancellor of Florence. * Leonardo da Vinci (1452–1519), Italian Renaissance scientist, inventor, engineer, sculptor, and painter. * Leonard of Chios (d. 1458), Catholic archbishop. * Leonhard Fuchs (1501–1566), German physician and natural historian. * Saint Leonard of Port Maurice (1676–1751), Italian saint. * Leonhard Euler (1707–1783), Swiss mathematician. * Leonard Labatt (1838–1897), Swedish tenor. * Leonard Woolley (1880–1960), British archaeologist. * Leonard Cheshire (1917-1992), British philanthropist. * Leonard Bernstein (1918–1990), American conductor and composer. Contemporary: * Leonard Stone (1923–2011), American actor. * Leonard Rosenman (1924–2008), American composer. * Leonard Nimoy (1931–2015), American actor and film director. * Leonard Cohen (1934–2016), Canadian singer-songwriter. * Leonard Adleman (born 1945), American computer scientist. * Leonard "Lenny" Kravitz (born 1964), American singer and songwriter. * Leonard Doroftei (born 1970), Romanian boxer. * Leonard Humphries (born 1970), American football player. * Leonardo DiCaprio (born 1974), Academy-award winner American actor. Literature and Other Media: * Leonard McCoy, character in the Star Trek series. * Leonard Hofstadter, character in The Big Bang Theory. * Leonard of Quirm, character in the Discworld novels.

Variants:

Leonhard (German), Léonard (French), Lennart (Swedish, Danish, Norwegian, Finnish, Dutch), Leonardo (Italian, Spanish, Portuguese)

Pronunciation:

LEN-ərd [key]

Possible diminutives:

Len, Lenny, Leo, Leon, Ned

Sibling Names:

Esther     Mabel     Georgina     Jemima     Audrey     Josephine Vincent     Sidney     Ernest     Reginald     Chester     Robin

Name Lists:

Victorian Darlings

 

If you like Leonard you may also like:   Francis, Edwin, Jonathan, Ronald, Lawrence, Franklin, Patrick, Timothy, Edison, Douglas

Thanks to Marie for requesting this name.  

 

Name of the Week: Victoria

 

Origin:

Victoria is a Latin name meaning "victory." In Roman mythology, Victoria was the winged-goddess of Victory, equivalent to the Greek goddess Nike.

Usage:

Victoria had some use in the early Roman Christian Empire. The mother of the Gallic Emperor Victorinus was named Victoria (d.271) and there was a 1st century martyr named Victoria, the servant of St Edistus. There is also record a 3rd century martyr and two 4th century martyrs, and a Saint Victoria of Albitina (d.304). Despite being the names of early saints, there is little evidence that Victoria was used as a given name in the Middle Ages. We find the first examples in the 16th century, no doubt thanks to a rising fashion for classical names. Even then, however, the name was uncommon in Britain.  By the 18th century, Victoria (and French and Prussian cognate forms Victoire and Viktoria) was in good use amongst French, German and Prussian aristocracy.  One of the first royals to bear the name was Duchess Maria Anna Victoria of Bavaria (1660–1690) – known as Dauphine Victoire – a Bavarian princess who married Louis of France, Le Grand Dauphin. She was most likely given the name in honour of her maternal grandfather Victor Amadeus I, Duke of Savoy.  Princess Victoire of France (1733–1799) and Princess Victoria of Saxe-Coburg-Saalfeld (1786–1861) followed.  In Britain, the name came to prominence thanks to Queen Victoria (1819–1901). Queen Victoria was the only daughter of the Duke of Kent (the fourth son of George III) and Princess Victoria of Saxe-Coburg-Saalfeld. After the death of George III's only legitimate grandchild, Princess Charlotte, in 1817, a succession crisis occurred forcing the Duke of Kent and his unmarried brothers to marry and provide heirs. Victoria was the only surviving legitimate child to be born to the brothers. At her baptism, her parents proposed the names Georgi(a)na, Charlotte and Augusta, but all where rejected by the Prince Regent – who, according to royal precedence, held the power of veto. He only agreed to Alexandrina, after her godfather Emperor Alexander I of Russia, and Victoria, after her mother. There was no love lost between the Regent and his brother, and one get's the impression that George was expressly forbidding the use of 'traditional' British Georgian royal names, accepting only names of foreign royal houses. Little Princess Alexandrina Victoria went by the name "Drina" as a child, but she preferred Victoria, and was generally known as "Princess Victoria" by the British public.  In 1831, when Victoria was 12, it was debated in Parliament whether the princess's name should be changed to something "more accordant to the feelings of the people" such as Elizabeth as "there would be no difficulty in handing down the name of Elizabeth, instead of Victoria, as the Queen of this country."* Later, her uncle, William IV approved a proposal to change her name to Charlotte. Victoria recalled the event to her Uncle Leopold (widower of Princess Charlotte) in 1836 stating that: "about a year after the accession of the present King there was a desire to change my favourite and dear name Victoria to that of Charlotte, also most dear, to which the King willingly consented. On its being told me, I said nothing, though I felt grieved beyond measure at the thought of any change. Not long after this, Lord Grey, and also the Archbishop of Canterbury, acquainted Mamma that the country, having been accustomed to hear me called Victoria, had become used to it, enfin, liked it, and therefore, to my great delight, the idea of a change was given up."* Indeed, Victoria was clearly proud of her name – or at least determined enough to see it firmly established as "royal". Not only did she name her eldest daughter Victoria, 17 of her 22 granddaughters were given the name, with 7 of them receiving it as a first name.  Despite the name being so dominant in British royalty in the 19th century, it was surprisingly underused among the general population. With the exception of key patriotic years such as 1837/38 (Victoria's succession/coronation), 1840 (Victoria's marriage), 1897 (the year of the Diamond Jubilee) 1900 (during the Boer War) and 1901 (Victoria's death) Victoria rarely ranked in the top 100.  Records for Victoria as a first name in the England and Wales Birth Index: 1840: 1850:  1860:  1870:  1880:  1890: 1900:  1904: 1914: 1924: 1934: 1944: 1954: 1964: 1974: 1984: 1994: #67 #154 #153 #168 #168 #183 #88 — — — — — — — #18 #7 #27 After falling out of the top 100 at the beginning of the 20th century, Victoria saw a triumphant revival in the later 1960s. By 1974, it ranked at #18 in England and Wales: its highest ever rank in Britain up to that point. It rose to #7 by 1984 and gradually began to decline from that point.  Victoria ranked in the top 50 until 2000 and left the top 100 for the first time in 2004.  Between 2004 and 2012, Victoria stayed, for the most part, just below the top 100. It started to rise again in 2013, and has been in the top 100 since.  Most of this usage is focused in England, especially in London (where Victoria ranked #33 in 2016 versus #91 nationally).  In 2017, Victoria ranked #92 in England alone but only #219 in Wales.  Historically, Victoria has also been less common in Scotland, also. It does not rank in the Scottish top 100 of 1900 or 1950, and in 1974 (when Victoria was #18 in England), Victoria ranked #48 in Scotland. It peaked at #16 in 1983 and remained in the top 100 until 2002. It has since continued to decline in use, ranking #149 in 2017.

Famous Bearers:

Royalty: * Dauphine Victoire of France (1660–1690), also known as Duchess Maria Anna Victoria of Bavaria. * Princess Victoire of France (1733–1799), daughter of Louis XV of France. * Princess Victoria of Saxe-Coburg-Saalfeld (1786–1861), Duchess of Kent, Queen Victoria's mother. * Queen Victoria (1819–1901), Queen of the United Kingdom and Empress of India. * Victoria, Princess Royal (1840–1901), daughter of Queen Victoria and later Empress of Germany. * Princess Victoria of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha (1822–1857), wife of Louis, Duke of Nemours. * Victoria of Baden (1862–1930), Queen consort of Sweden. * Princess Victoria of Hesse and by Rhine (1863–1950), wife of Prince Louis of Battenberg. * Princess Viktoria of Prussia (1866–1929), daughter of Victoria, Princess Royal.  * Princess Victoria of the United Kingdom (1868–1935), daughter of Edward VII. * Princess Victoria Melita of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha (1876–1936), daughter of Alfred, Duke of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha. * Princess Victoria Margaret of Prussia (1890–1923), daughter of Frederick Leopold of Prussia. * Princess Victoria Louise of Prussia (1892–1980), daughter of Wilhelm II of Germany. * Princess Victoria of Prussia (born 1952), daughter of Prince Frederick of Prussia. * Victoria, Crown Princess of Sweden (born 1977), heir apparent to the Swedish throne. History: * Victoria (died 271), mother of Gallic Emperor Victorinus. * Saint Victoria of Albitina (d.304), venerated as a martyr and saint by the Catholic Church. Contemporary: * Victoria Wood (1953-2016), English singer, writer and comedian. * Victoria Fuller (born 1970), American model and actress. * Victoria Coren Mitchell (born 1972), English writer, presenter and professional poker player. * Victoria "Tori" Spelling (born 1973), American actress * Victoria Beckham (born 1974), member of the Spice Girls and fashion designer. * Victoria Silvstedt (born 1974), Swedish model and actress. * Victoria Crawford (born 1986), WWE professional wrestler and model. * Pixie Lott (born 1991), British singer, given name Victoria Louise Lott. Literature and Other Media: * Victoria, a vampire in the Twilight series. * Victoria Newman Abbott, a character on the America soap opera The Young and the Restless. * Victoria Anne Sugden, a character on the British soap opera Emmerdale. * Princess Victoria (aka Princess Tori), character from 2012 film Barbie: The Princess and The Popstar.

Variants:

Viktoria (German, Swedish, Norwegian, Danish, Estonian, Russian, Ukrainian, Bulgarian), Victoire (French), Vittoria (Italian), Viktoriya (Russian, Ukrainian, Bulgarian), Wiktoria (Polish)

Pronunciation:

vik-TOR-ee-ə [key]

Possible  diminutives:

Cora, Ria, Rory, Thora, Tori, Toria, Tovi, Vita, Queenie, Cherry, Plum

Sibling Names:

Rebecca     Elizabeth     Francesca     Matilda     Felicity     Abigail  Alexander     Thomas     Samuel     Sebastian     Benjamin     Joseph

Name Lists:

Resonant Roman   Royal British Names   Royal European Names   Names of Roses

 

If you like Victoria you may also like:   Harriet, Alexandra, Zara, Georgina, Catherine, Beatrice, Alice, Clara, Eleanor, Imogen

Thanks to Julia for requesting this name.

Name of the Week: Albert

Origin:

Albert is the modern English form of two cognate names: the old Germanic Adalberaht (Adalbert) and the Anglo-Saxon Æðelberht (Ethelbert). The former was introduced to Britain by the Normans where it largely replaced its Old English counterpart. Both names were descended from the Proto-Germanic elements *athala- "noble" and *berhta- "bright."

Usage:

Æðelberht was not at all uncommon among Anglo-Saxon royalty in England. Kings to bear the name include two 7th and 8th century kings of Kent, a 7th century king of Hwicce, an 8th century king of Sussex, two 8th century kings of East Anglia and a 9th century king of Wessex. The Prosopography of Anglo-Saxon England (PASE) database has records of three Adalberts (the Latinised form of the Germanic name) from the 6th to the 11th century. Added to this, there are also 32 records for Æthelberht (several of them Anglo-Saxon kings or nobles) as well as five Æthelbeorhts and one Æthelbert.  Both Saxon and Norman forms of the name can be found in the Domesday Book of 1086. Adalbert is found commonly latinised as Albertus, while Æthelberht is found as Ailbertus / Ailbriht.  It is from the Germanic Adalbert from which Albert emerged, reinforced by the Old French form Aubert, and both Albert and Aubert are found as surnames from the 12th century. Ailbriht (the later form of Æthelberht) was used as a given name to at least the 14th century, and created the surname Albright/Allbright.  Overall, however, Albert in any form was not common in Britain. It does not rank at all in George Redmonds' top 50 names from the poll tax returns of ten English counties 1377-81, nor does it appear in Smith-Bannister's top 50 name rankings from 1538-1700.*  It is also absent from Leslie Dunkling's top 50 rankings for England and Wales in both 1700 and 1800. It was common, however, on the Continent, being the name of several medieval saints, as well as kings of Germany, Sweden, Austria, Saxony and Bohemia. There are many medieval records for variants of the name in France, Germany and Italy from the 7th to the 15th century.  The name really took off in Britain with the marriage of Queen Victoria to Prince Albert of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha on the 10th February 1840.  There were 260 boys named Albert in the Oct-Dec quarter of 1839. This almost quadrupled to 809 births in the Jan-Mar quarter of 1840 at the time of the royal wedding.  The name saw a further boost in 1861 — the year of Prince Albert's death. So determined and domineering was Queen Victoria in passing on the name Albert to all her male descendants that all of her children used the name Albert as a first or middle name for one of their sons. Of her eighteen grandsons, twelve bore the name Albert as one of their names.  Upon the birth of Prince Albert Victor in 1864, the eldest child of the Prince of Wales (later King Edward VII), Queen Victoria, announced his name as "Albert Victor" publicly before even consulting his parents. The Prince and Princess of Wales added the names Christian (after King Christian IX of Denmark, his maternal grandfather) and Edward. Perhaps in some form of protest, they always called their son "Eddy" throughout his life.  The royal use of the name had a massive impact on the popularity of the name in England and Wales. It was especially popular in the South of England, as data from the 1881 census shows (see image below, right). click to enlarge Births in England and Wales:    Rank Births 1840: 1850:  1860:  1870:  1880:  1890: 1900:  1904: 1914: 1924: 1934: 1944: 1954: 1964: #18 #21 #19 #14 #11 #9 #9 #9 #8 #13 #35 #61 #93 -- 1973 births 1660 births 3415 births 9053 births 12928 births 14116 births 14715 births By 1964, Albert had fallen out of the top 100 in England and Wales. In Scotland, Albert was #35 in 1900, #66 in 1950 but had fallen to #206 by 1974.  From 1996 to 2005, Albert ranked consistently between #200-#300 each year.  From 2006 onward, the name started to rise steadily, taking a more marked leap after 2010 when it went from #159 (353 births) to #130 (493 births).  Albert first entered the top 100 again in England and Wales in 2013 at #99 and in 2017 ranked #59 with 1066 births.  Individually, Albert ranked #58 in England (1046 births) and #157 (20 births) in Wales in 2017.  Following the success of Alfie and Archie, the traditional short forms of Albert — Albie and Bertie have also seen a rise during this time. Albie first joined the top 500 in 2003 and saw a swift rise through the top 200 from 2012, reaching the top 100 by 2016, overtaking Albert in 2017.  Bertie was below the top 100 for most of the decade from 1996 to 2006, but reached the top 500 in 2011 and has been rising since.  In 2017, Albie ranked #57 with 1114 births and Bertie ranked #308 with 162 births.  In Scotland, Albert is much more uncommon, having no more than 7 births in any given year between 1975 to 2011. In 2014, it rose to #336 (11 births) and peaked in 2015 at #224 with 21 births. In 2017, Albert ranked #383 with 9 births.

Famous Bearers:

Royalty: * Albert I of Brandenburg (c. 1100–1170) Margrave of Brandenburg from 1157 to 1170 and duke of Saxony from 1138 to 1142. * Albert I of Germany (1255–1308), King of Germany and Duke of Austria. * Albert II of Germany (1298–1358), Duke of Austria. * Albert of Sweden (1338–1412), king of Sweden. * Albert III of Germany (1349–1395), Duke of Austria. * Albert IV of Germany (1377–1404), King of Germany and Duke of Austria. * Albert II of Germany (1397–1439), King of Germany, King of Hungary, Croatia and Bohemia, Duke of Austria as Albert V. * Albert VI of Germany (1418–1463), Archduke of Austria. * Albert, Duke of Saxony (1443–1500), the younger son of Frederick II the Gentle. * Albert VII, Archduke of Austria (1559–1621), Governor of the Spanish Netherlands. * Albert, Prince of Schwarzburg-Rudolstadt (1798–1869), former head of state of Schwarzburg-Rudolstadt. * Archduke Albert, Duke of Teschen (1817–1895), Austrian General. * Albert, Prince Consort (1819–1861), husband and consort of Queen Victoria. * Albert, King of Saxony (1828–1873), the eldest son of Prince John. * Albert Edward, Prince of Wales (1841–1910), later King Edward VII of the United Kingdom. * Albert I, Prince of Monaco (1848–1922), former head of state of Monaco. * Prince Albert Victor, Duke of Clarence and Avondale (1864–1892), son of Edward VII. * Albert, Duke of Schleswig-Holstein (1869-1931), grandson of Queen Victoria; son of Princess Helena.  * Albert I of Belgium (1875–1934), former head of state of Belgium. * Prince Albert, Duke of York (1895–1952), later King George VI of the United Kingdom. * Albert II of Belgium (born 1934), former head of state of Belgium. * Albert II, Prince of Monaco (born 1958), present head of state of Monaco. History: * Albert of Aix (c. 1100), historian of the first crusade. * Saint Albert of Montecorvino (d. 1127), Norman Bishop of Montecorvino. * Saint Albert of Chiatina – also known as Alberto di Colle (1135–1202), Italian archpriest. * Blessed Albert Avogadro (1149–1214), Italian canon lawyer, Bishop of Bobbio, Bishop of Vercelli and Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem. * Saint Albert of Louvain (ca. 1166–c.1192), Brabantine Prince-Bishop of Liège. * Saint Albert of Genoa (d. 1239), Italian lay brother and hermit. * Saint Albert of Trapani (ca. 1250–1306), Sicilian priest. * Albert Alcibiades (1522–1557), Margrave of Brandenburg-Kulmbach. * Albert L'Ouvrier (1815–1895), French socialist statesman of the French Second Republic. * Saint Albert Chmielowski (1845–1916), Polish founder of the Albertine Brothers. * Albert Einstein (1879–1955) German-born theoretical physicist. * Albert Camus (1913–1960), French philosopher and novelist. * Albert Ayler (1936-1970), American jazz saxophonist. Contemporary: * Albert Finney, (born 1936), English actor. Literature and Other Media: * Albert Tatlock, a character in Coronation Street (1960-1984). * Albert Ingalls, character in the Little House on the Prairie series. * Albert, character in "Yesterday's Child" by Barbara Wood. * Albert, character in Terry Pratchett's Discworld series. * Albert "Al" Calavicci, character in TV show "Quantum Leap. * Albert de Parmagnan, main character in French animated series "Albert the Fifth Musketeer".

Variants:

Albrecht (German), Aubert (French), Alberto (Italian, Spanish, Portuguese), Alpertti (Finnish)

Pronunciation:

Al-bət [key]

Possible diminutives:

Al, Albie, Bert, Bertie

Sibling Names:

Florence     Evelyn     Harriet     Beatrice     Elsie     Hazel  Stanley     Frederick     Arthur     Wilfred     Louis     Ralph

Name Lists:

Victorian Darlings

 

If you like Albert you may also like:   Alfred, Reginald, Percy, Francis, Walter, Hugo, Edwin, Gilbert, Victor, Franklin

Thanks to June for requesting this name.  

 

Name of the Week: Eugenie - Royal Wedding Special 2018 #2

 
 

 

Origin:

Eugénie is the French form of Eugenia, itself the feminine form of Eugene.   Eugene and Eugenia are both derived from the Ancient Greek names Eugenios (Eugenius in Latin) and Eugeneia, composed of the elements eu  "good" and genos "birth." It essentially means "well born."

Usage:

Early European Use The Lexicon of Greek Personal Names (LGPN) has 29 examples of Eugeneia and 2 examples of Eugenia in use from the earliest Ancient Greek written records to the 6th century A.D. This puts it in the 'moderate' range of use: not especially popular - but not unheard of either.  Eugenia can also be found in inscriptions from the Roman Catacombs* and was used within the Byzantine Empire (in which Greek was the official language). Saint Eugenia of Rome (d. 258) is a semi-legendary early Christian martyr. Legend had it that she disguised herself as a man and became an abbot.  Eugenia was used in small numbers in the Middle Ages in Britain and in Spain and Italy.* Eugénie was used in France since at least the 16th century.  Royalty Eugénie became a royal name in the early 19th century. First came the birth of Princess Eugénie of Sweden and Norway (birth name Charlotta Eugenia Augusta Amalia Albertina) in 1830, the daughter of King Oscar I of Sweden. She was named in honour of her grandfather Eugène de Beauharnais, Duke of Leuchtenberg, the stepson of Napoleon I. This Princess Eugénie was active as a philanthropist, composer, painter, sculptor and writer.  Then, in 1853, Napoleon III of France married Spanish noblewoman María Eugenia Ignacia Augustina de Palafox y KirkPatrick, 16th Countess of Teba and 15th Marquise of Ardales (known as Eugénie de Montijo in France). Empress Eugénie took refuge in Britain from 1870, after her husband was deposed with France's defeat in the Franco-Prussian War, where she lived until her death in 1920, aged 94. In 1887, Empress Eugénie became the godmother of Princess Victoria Eugenie of Battenberg (1887–1969), later Queen of Spain, the daughter of Princess Beatrice and granddaughter of Queen Victoria.  In 1990, Prince Andrew, Duke of York and Sarah, Duchess of York named their second daughter Eugenie Victoria Helena.  Pronunciation The French pronunciation of Eugénie is OO-zhə-nee [key]. However, Eugenie's pronunciation is more confused in Britain. The most common pronunciation here is often yoo-ZHAY-nee, with a French-style g, but the stress on the middle syllable. Then there is also yoo-JAY-nee or yoo-ZHEE-nee.  For Princess Eugenie of York? It's YOO-zhə-nee, with the stress on the the first syllable. Her mother, Sarah Ferguson, describes it as "YOO-junnee".  Hear it said here, by Princess Eugenie herself, in her marriage vows: Princess Eugenie's name pronunciation was actually the second blog post to appear on this website way back in 2011, when there was still no consistency in the media as to how to pronounce her name. However, with her wedding, media outlets have recently been more conscious of pronouncing her name correctly.  The problem stemmed right back from her birth in 1990, with confusion from both the palace — who "requested the name be pronounced “U-jay-nay,” with a French inflection"* — and the newspapers who offered "everything from “Ur-je-knee” to “Uzhaynee.”"* The Sun Newspaper even set up a hotline offering their readers the Palace pronunciation and received 40,000 calls in two days. The 'jay-nay' part of the request from Buckingham Palace seems to have caused some of the confusion as this implies that the second part of the names has the stronger vowels.  France In 1900, Eugénie ranked #14 in France. Though we have no French name data prior to this, it is reasonable to assume that Eugénie had risen in popularity over the 19th century in France, most likely thanks to the fame of Empress Eugénie.  The name gradually declined over the 20th century, leaving the top 30 in 1910, the top 50 in 1921, and the top 100 in 1932.  It dropped out of the French top 500 in 1961, but saw a revival in the 1980s and 1990s when it plateaued at the #180 mark.  In 2017, Eugénie ranked #429 in France.  England and Wales As a deposed Empress living in Britain, Empress Eugénie became a household name from the 1850s onwards. This article from 1877 features a poem bemoaning "fanciful" names among the working classes, of which Eugenie is mentioned as one such name.   The name saw a huge boost in the second quarter of 1855 in England and Wales when Napoleon III and Empress Eugénie made a state visit to Queen Victoria.  The name went from 3 births in 1850, 5 in 1852 to 153 in 1855 alone. The visit also seemed to have an influence on the English variant, Eugenia, as well. Births in England and Wales:   Eugenie Eugenia   Eugenie  Eugenia 1840: 1850:  1860:  1870:  1880:  1890: 1900:    -- -- #192 #217 #211 #281 #293 -- -- #253 #227 #237 #301 #297 1840s: 1850s: 1860s: 1870s: 1880s: 1890s: 1900s: 1910s 1920s: 1930s: 1940s: 1950s: 1960s: 1970s: 1980s: 22 births 598 births 415 births 453 births 452 births 392 births 497 births 332 births 321 births 154 births 97 births 68 births 62 births 77 births 12 births 44 births 209 births 190 births 354 births 332 births 240 births 246 births 190 births 150 births 90 births 66 births 76 births 66 births 51 births 21 births At the time of Princess Eugenie of York's birth, the name was at it's lowest point since the 1840s. The birth of the princess saw the name rise a little in use, but not in any great number.  Since 1996, Eugenie has had no more than 11 births in any given year. Eugenia has had fewer than 8.  In 2017, Eugenie ranked #3583 (6 births) and Eugenia ranked #5765 (3 births) in England and Wales.

Famous Bearers:

Royalty: * Empress Eugénie (1826–1920), Empress Consort to Napoléon III. * Princess Eugenie of Sweden and Norway (1830–1889), daughter of King Oscar I of Sweden. * Princess Eugénie of Greece and Denmark (1910–1989), daughter of Prince George of Greece and Denmark. * Princess Eugenie of York (born 1990), daughter of Prince Andrew and Sarah, Duchess of York. History: * Eugénie D'Hannetaire (1746–1816), French actress. * Eugénie Servières (1786–1855), French painter. * Eugénie de Guérin (1805–1848), French writer. * Eugénie Potonié-Pierre (1844–1898), French feminist. * Eugenie Besserer (1868–1934), French silent film actress. * Eugenie Bonaparte (1872–1949), French aristocrat. * Eugenie Schwarzwald (1872–1940), Austrian philanthropist. * Eugenie Forde (1879–1940), American silent film actress. * Eugénie Söderberg (1903–1973), Swedish-American writer and journalist. * Eugenie Anderson (1909–1997), US ambassador, first woman appointed chief of mission at the ambassador level in US history. * Eugénie Henderson (1914–1989), British linguist and academic. * Eugénie De Keyser (1918–2012), Belgian writer. Contemporary: * Eugénie Le Sommer (born 1989), French female footballer. * Eugenie Bouchard (born 1994), Canadian tennis player. Literature and Other Media: * The principal character of La Philosophie dans le boudoir (1795) by the Marquis de Sade. * Eugénie Danglars, character in The Count of Monte Cristo (1844) by Alexandre Dumas.  * Eugenie Grandet, the eponymous novel by Honoré de Balzac in 1833.  * Eugenie Victoria Butler, the given name of "Bonnie Butler" in Gone with the Wind (1936).

Variants:

Eugenia (English, Italian, Spanish, Romanian, Polish), Evgenia, Zhenya (Greek, Russian, Bulgarian), Eukene (Basque), Uxía (Galician)

Pronunciation:

yoo-ZHAY-nee, yoo-JAY-nee, YOO-jən-ee (UK) ; OO-zhə-nee (French) [key]

Possible  diminutives:

Booj, Eugie, Eug, Genie, Ginny, Janie, Jennie, Una

Sibling Names:

Delphine    Ottilie     Heloise     Cosima     Felicia     Christabel  Montague     Guy     Cedric     Julius     Ambrose     Leopold

Name Lists:

EU Beauty   Victorian Darlings   Upright Elegance

 

If you like Eugenie you may also like:   Euphemia, Celestine, Eulalie, Henriette, Euphrasie, Seraphine, Eumelia, Octavia, Theodora, Sabine

Name of the Week: Eric

Origin:

Eric is the Anglicised spelling of Scandinavian Erik, the younger form of the Old Norse Eiríkr.  The first element is either the Old Norse einn "one, alone, unique," or ei "ever, always, eternity." The second element derives from ríkr "ruler, mighty."

Usage:

Erik was prolific in Scandinavia from the early Middle Ages onwards. Dating from the 9th century, there were no fewer than six Danish kings, five Norwegian kings and fourteen Swedish kings to bear the name Erik.  Some of the early Viking raiders brought the name with the over to Britain — both Eric "Bloodaxe" Haraldsson (d. 954) and Eric Haakonsson (960s–1020s) were not only governors/kings of Norway, but also the Earl of Northumberland. There are two Erics recorded in the Domesday Book as being landholders in 1066 in Lincolshire (a fortified Viking borough up until the Norman invasion). Both of these men displaced from their landholdings by Norman nobles and only one Eric is recorded as a landowner in 1086. This displacement is symbolic of what happened to the name Eric in Britain in general: it was only in limited usage in the first place, and did not survive the Norman Conquest.  It was revived in Scotland from at least the 17th century as Eric, Erick and Arick, most likely because of the close links and proximity Scotland had to Scandinavia at the time. Though it was used in small numbers before, it only came back into popular use in England and Wales in the 19th century. This was perhaps partly inspired by Frederic Farrar's highly successful novel Eric: or Little by Little (1858) though Eric also met the Victorian fashion for medieval names.  Data from the Surname Atlas (click to enlarge) Even by the 1881 UK census, Eric was still predominantly used in Scotland, especially when we look at population per 100,000 people. It is particularly notable that it was most common in the North coastal areas of Scotland which have always had strong Scandinavian ties.  Ranks and Births in England and Wales:   Rank Births 1840: 1850s: 1860: 1870: 1880: 1890: 1900: 1904: 1914: 1924: 1934: 1944: 1954: 1964: 1974: -- -- -- #264 #181 #90 #47 #35 #27 #18 #27 #39 #62 #88 -- 0 births 0 births 4 births 15 births 76 births 312 births 1347 births Despite Ferrar's novel in 1858, Eric didn't start to rise significantly until the 1890s when it reached the top 100 for the first time, rapidly rising into the turn of the century. It peaked in the 1920s and remained in the top 100 until 1974.  In Scotland, Eric ranked #78 in 1900 and was #42 in 1950. It fell out of the Scottish top 100 in 1975.  click to enlarge From 1996 to 2006, Eric's usage remained remarkably consistent in England and Wales going from #280 to #320 with no more than 123 births in any given year. It began to rise from 2009 onwards; slowly at first, but then rising more steeply from #235 (219 births) in 2013 to #189 (301 births) in 2014 which also coincides with the year that Simon Cowell named his son Eric.  In 2017, Eric ranked #127 (456 births) in England and Wales and #352 (10 births) in Scotland.

Famous Bearers:

Royalty: * Jorund and Erik, legendary brothers who ruled Sweden in the 5th century. * Erik Björnsson, semi-legendary 9th century king of Sweden. * Erik Refilsson, semi-legendary 9th century king of Sweden. * Erik Anundsson, semi-legendary 9th century king of Sweden. * Eric "Bloodaxe" Haraldsson (d. 954), ruled as as King of Norway and twice as Earl of Northumbria. * Eric the Victorious (d.995), king of Sweden. * Eric Haakonsson (d.c.1020), Governor of Norway and Earl of Northumbria. * Eric and Eric, two contenders for the kingship of Sweden around 1066–67. * Eric I of Denmark (d.1103), king of Denmark. * Eric II of Denmark (d.1137), king of Denmark. * Eric III of Denmark (d.1146), king of Denmark. * Eric IX of Sweden (d.1160), king of Sweden, also called Saint Eric, Eric the Lawgiver, Eric the Saint, or Eric the Holy. * Eric X of Sweden (d.1216), king of Sweden. * Eric XI of Sweden (d.1250), king of Sweden. * Eric VI of Denmark (d.1250), king of Denmark. * Eric V of Denmark (d.1286), king of Denmark. * Eric II of Norway (d. 1299) king of Norway. * Eric VI of Denmark (d.1319), king of Denmark. * Eric XII of Sweden (d.1359), king of Sweden. * Eric III of Norway (d.1459), king of Norway, Denmark (as Eric VII) and Sweden (Eric XIII). * Eric XIV of Sweden (d.1577), king of Sweden from 1560 until he was deposed in 1568. History: * Erik "The Red" Thorvaldsson (950-1003), Norse explorer who founded Greenland. * Erik Acharius (1757-1819), Swedish botanist. * Erik Gustaf Geijer (1783-1847), Swedish writer, historian, and composer. * Erik Gustaf Boström (1842-1907), Prime Minister of Sweden. * Erik Axel Karlfeldt (1864-1931), Swedish Nobel Prize winning poet. * Erik Ivar Fredholm (1866-1927), Swedish mathematician. * Erik Satie (1866-1925), French composer. * Erik Jorpes (1894-1973), Finnish-born Swedish physician and biochemist. * Erik Axel Karlfeldt (1864-1931), Swedish Nobel Prize winning poet. * Erik Erikson (1902-1994), German-American developmental psychologist and psychoanalyst. * Eric Blair aka George Orwell (1903-1950), British novelist. * Eric Morecambe (1926-1984), British comedian. Contemporary: * Eric Sykes, CBE (1923–2012), British radio, stage, television and film writer, comedian, actor, and director. * Eric "Ricky" Nelson (1940-1985), American actor, singer/songwriter and musician. * Eric Idle (born 1943), British comedian, actor, author, singer, writer, and comedic composer * Eric Clapton (born 1945), British guitarist, vocalist, and songwriter. * Eric Roberts (born 1956), American actor. * Eric McCormack (born 1963), American actor. * Eric Benét (born 1966), American singer-songwriter and actor. * Eric Cantona (born 1966), French footballer. * Eric Bana (born 1968), Australian actor. * Eric Mabius (born 1971), American actor. Literature and Other Media: * Erik, the titular character in Gaston Leroux's 1910 novel The Phantom of the Opera. * Prince Eric, character in the Disney movie, The Little Mermaid. * Erik the Red, fictional character in the Marvel Comics comic book universe. * Erik Lehnsherr, also known as Magneto in the Marvel Universe. * Eric Matthews, a main character from the TV series Boy Meets World and its spinoff Girl Meets World. * Eric Northman, the love interest of Sookie Stackhouse in the Southern Vampire Mysteries novels and the TV series True Blood. * Eric Cartman, one of the four main characters in the TV series South Park. * Eric Jackson, character in The 100.

Variants:

Erik (Scandinavian), Eryk (Polish), Erich (German), Erick, Aric(k) (Scottish)

Pronunciation:

EH-rik [key]

Possible diminutives:

Erry, Rick, Ricky

Sibling Names:

Edith     Bonnie     Ada     Mabel     Betsy     Winnie    Rupert     Stanley     Ralph     Monty     Reggie     Chester

Name Lists:

Resurrected Retro   Short and Sweet

 

If you like Eric you may also like:   Ezra, Lloyd, Ernest, Emeric, Glenn, Broderic, Vincent, Wilfred, Leonard, Frank

Thanks to Holly for requesting this name.  

 

Name of the Week: Macsen

 

Origin:

Macsen is the Welsh form of the Roman name Maximus – from the Latin maximus "greatest." It was used as cognomen in the Roman Empire: the third name which started life as a nickname and eventually became hereditary, often used much like a surname to distinguish a certain branch of a Roman clan (gens).  Why the 'cs' in Macsen? This is simply because the Welsh language does not contain the letter 'x'. However, Maxen is sometimes found as a anglicised form.  Magnus Maximus The name Macsen is most commonly associated with Magnus Maximus (c.335-388), the Roman Emperor of the Western Empire, who is known as Macsen Wledig (wledig = "lord, king, prince, ruler") in Welsh tradition.  According to historical sources, Magnus Maximus was born in Gallicia, Spain. He cut his teeth early on in the Roman army and became a respected general. By 380, Magnus Maximus was the commander of Roman troops in Britain, defeating the Picts and Scots again in 381.  As Susan Wise Bauer point out: "At first Magnus Maximus posessed only the loyaty of the troops in Britannia: he was, in effect, king of the Britons – despite being a Roman citizen and Spaniard by birth. But it seems likely that he had exercised a king-like power in isolated Britannia for some years."* At this time, three Emperors ruled the Roman Empire: Theodosius I in the East, Valentinian II in Italy (a 12 year old boy) and Gratianus in the West of which Britannia was part. As Gratian became increasingly unpopular, Magnus Maximus' British troops proclaimed him Emperor in 383 and he quickly marched across Europe to confront Gratian's troops, many of whom he won over. Gratian was defeated and Maximus reigned as Western Emperor until he was defeated by Theodosius in 388.  Macsen: Father of the Welsh Nation Magnus Maximus's time and exploits as leader of Britain is remembered several times in Welsh folklore as the figure Macsen Wledig, many of which give him the role of the founding father of several medieval Welsh royal dynasties. John Davies describes him as a "ubiquitous lurker" in the history or mythology of the kingdoms of Wales, as well as in the stories of the saints and Cornish literature.* Gwynfor Evans argues that Macsen is second only to Arthur in Welsh legend* while others go so far as to regard him as the father of the Welsh nation.* "Macsen Wledig’s virtues as a leader and as a warrior were considered a benchmark against which the qualities of future Kings were judged, and it would seem that future royal and noble families drew legitimacy and honour from their claim as his descendants." (Alisdair Menzies*) The most famous account of Macsen is The Dream of Macsen Wledig (Breuddwyd Macsen) which was written in the 11th century and now makes up part of The Mabinogion [a collection of Twelve main tales from Welsh folklore].   According to the legend, Emperor Macsen has a dream in which he is transported over rivers, mountains and valley, finally arriving at a great castle. There he meets the most beautiful woman he has ever beheld, and, as he embraces her, he awakes.  Every night he dreams of her. Consumed with longing, Macsen sends messengers for three years to the three parts of the world to seek the maiden out.  After a year, thirteen of his messengers reach Arvon (modern day Caernarfon) – which perfectly matches Macsen's description – and the Castle of Aber Sain where they meet the beautiful Elen Luyddog (Helen of the Hosts).  When news reaches Macsen, he travels to Wales and immediately marries Elen and remains in Britain for seven years, building roads and castles, and thus becomes the forefather of the Welsh royal houses.

Usage:

Despite Macsen Wledig's fame as the progenitor of several Welsh kingdoms, Macsen itself wasn't used as a given name in the Middle Ages. It does not appear in any of the early royal Welsh houses and didn't see any use in the early modern period. It seems that the name Macsen was too attached to the legendary figure – like Vortigern, Merlin or Lear.  The surname Maxon looks to be from the same source, but it is fact a corruption of Maxton – a place name found in Kent and Roxburghshire.  In fact, Macsen was so rare, that it didn't even see a revival in the late 19th century in Wales, when many legendary Welsh names were revived and vocabulary names were created.  The first Macsen to be registered in the Birth Index of England and Wales 1838-2007 was Macsen Jay [Surname] in 1968 in Lancashire, followed by a Dominic Macsen Geraint [Surname] in 1971 in Hereford, then Macsen Jago [Surname] in 1975 in Lincolnshire. It is interesting to note that these earlier registrations for Macsen were outside of Wales, which perhaps indicates that it was first used as a legendary/historic choice (in the same vein as Guinevere, Isolde, Gawain etc) rather than as a Welsh revival.  The chart below shows births in the Birth Index of England and Wales 1838-2007 with Macsen as a first name, which I have separated into registrations in England and Wales separately. As we can see, Macsen was used more in England and Wales up until the turn of the millennium.   Wales England 1980-85 1986-90 1991-95 1996-00 2001-05 1 3 0 10 23 0 4 7 14 18 Ironically, the teenage character Macsen "Macs" White, who featured in the Welsh language soap Pobol Y Cwm from 2002 to 2004, had a somewhat anachronistic name as the approximate birth year of the character would have been around 1985 when (as we can see from the table above) Macsen was an extremely rare name in Wales. In recent years, Macsen has risen swiftly in England and Wales, as we can see from the chart below: click to enlarge However, most of the births for Macsen in recent years have been in Wales. When the data for England and Wales is separated, we get a very different picture. The following chart shows the regional data for Wales alone from 2010 to 2016: The 2013 regional data is missing, as it was not released by the ONS. However, based on the total number of births of Macsen in that year, I am estimating would have ranked around the #120 mark in Wales that year.  The chart below shows the disparity between the usage of Macsen in Wales and England individually.    Wales England E&W Combined 2014 2015 2016 #77 (44 births) #92 (37 births) #75 (50 births) #1421 (17 births) #1815 (12 births) #1498 (16 births) #583 #682 #565 Macsen looks set to continue to rise within the Welsh top 100, while it remains outside of the top 1000 in England.

Famous Bearers:

History: * Macsen Wledig, Welsh name for Magnus Maximus (c.335-388), Western Roman emperor.  Contemporary: * Macsen Lintz, American actor. Literature and Other Media: * Macsen "Macs" White, character in Welsh soap Pobol y Cwm (2002-04) played by Iwan Rheon.

Variants:

Maxen (Anglicised), Massen (Cornish)

Pronunciation:

MAKS-ən [key]

Possible diminutives:

Mac, Max

Sibling Names:

Seren     Nia     Eleri     Lowri     Cerys     Eira       Cole     Jonah     Rhys     Griffith     Rowan     Caio

Name Lists:

Cool Celtic

 

If you like Macsen you may also like:   Morgan, Jago, Myles, Rhydian, Gethin, Maxwell, Lorcan, Rex, Finlo, Jowan

Thanks to Kristin for requesting this name.  

 

Name of the Week: Sophia

 

 

 

Origin:

Sophia derives from the Ancient Greek name Σοφία meaning "wisdom, insight, intelligence" and from which we get English words sophistication and philosophy. To the ancient Greeks, Wisdom (Sophia) was personified as a goddess. Alongside  temperance, courage and justice, wisdom (sophia) was also one of Plato's four cardinal virtues — basic virtues regarded for a virtuous life.  For early Christians Hagia Sophia "Holy Wisdom" was a personification of divine Wisdom and attributed to Christ. The famous church of Hagia Sophia in Constantinople was dedicated to Christ by Constantine the Great. Veneration of a Saint Sophia and her three daughters — Faith, Hope and Charity — dates from the 6th century. Most scholars believe that this was they were allegorical figures who personified the three theological virtues and hagia sophia.

Usage:

Early European Use The Lexicon of Greek Personal Names has a modest number of 23 instances of name Sophia in use in Antiquity. Empress Sophia, or Aelia Sophia (c. 530–c. 601), was the Byzantine Empress consort of Justin II and niece of the famous Empress Theodora.  The name was widely used across continental Europe in moderate numbers during the Middle Ages, particularly among the nobility. British Royalty Sophia was introduced to British royalty thanks to the marriage of James VI & I to Anne of Denmark. They named their last child Sophia after Anne's mother Sophie of Mecklenburg-Güstrow (1557–1631) Queen consort of Denmark and Norway [at this time, the German Sophie was pronounced much like we pronounced Sophia now].  Sadly, little Princess Sophia survived only for a day. However, James and Anne's eldest daughter, Elizabeth Stuart, also used her grandmother's name for her fifth daughter, Sophia of Hanover (1630–1714).  As a Protestant and granddaughter of James I, Sophia of Hanover became the heir to the throne when the English Parliament passed the Act of Settlement in 1701. It decreed that, in the event of no legitimate issue from William III or Anne, the throne of Great Britain would pass to Sophia and her Protestant heirs, cutting off the Catholic Stuart line.  So why was there no Sophia I of Great Britain? Sadly, Sophia died just less than two months before Queen Anne, so her claim to the throne passed on to her eldest son, George Louis, Elector of Hanover, who ascended as George I on 1 August 1714. By the time of his accession, George I's mother, wife, sister and daughter were all named Sophia, firmly putting the name into British royalty. Other Georgian royals also bore the name in later years. George II named his second daughter Amelia Sophia Eleanor (1711-1786), and George III's daughter Princess Sophia Matilda of the United Kingdom (1777-1848) was very close in age to her first cousin Princess Sophia Matilda of Gloucester (1773-1844), daughter of Prince William Henry, Duke of Gloucester and Edinburgh. The name became little used in British royalty when Victoria came to the throne. When her eldest daughter, Vicky, named one of her daughters Sophie in 1870 [Princess Sophie of Prussia (1870-1932)] in the German style, Queen Victoria wrote to her: "Poor good Sir C. Lewis would have been delighted at the idea of one of my grandchildren being called Sophia on account of the Electress Sophia. Else I think the name ugly."* Given Queen Victoria's legal right to approve names of all the royal children born in Britain, and the changing fashion in names, Sophia gradually fell out of use in the immediate British royal family. Pronunciation From the 18th century onward, Sophia was traditionally pronounced sə-FĪ-ə in Britain, rhyming with Mariah (as in Mariah Carey). Sophy was used as the typical short-form.  This has, in recent decades, been largely replaced by the European pronunciation sə-FEE-ə (perhaps promoted by the fame of actress Sophia Loren, whose birth name was Sofia Scicolone) though the traditional British pronunciation does survive in small pockets. Actress Sophia Myles has her name pronounced sə-FĪ-ə, for example. Even E.G. Withycombe was still listing Sophia as being pronounced sə-FĪ-ə in the third edition of The Oxford Dictionary of English Christian Names in 1977.  England and Wales Sophia did not appear at all in Smith Bannister's rank of top 50 names from 1538 to 1700 in England, but the name was in use in small numbers.  According to Leslie Dunkling, Sophia was #50 in the most popular girls names in England and Wales in 1700 — before George I ascended with all his Sophia relatives — and had risen to #21 in 1800. The name also had a literary boost. It was used in for the character Sophia "Sophy" Western ("model of virtue, beauty and all good qualities"*) in The History of Tom Jones (1749) by Henry Fielding and also a character in Oliver Goldsmith's popular novel The Vicar of Wakefield (1776) in which it was regarded as a "romantic name." Jane Austen used Sophia "Sophy" in her 1818 novel Persuasion and there is also Sophia "Sophy" Wackles in Charles Dicken's The Old Curiosity Shop (1840). Sophia stayed in the top 50 of England and Wales up until 1870, after which it began to decline, leaving the top 100 at the turn of the 20th century: 1840: 1850:  1860:  1870:  1880:  1890: 1900:   #28 #40 #44 #61 #75 #96 #127 Data from the 1881 census (see image, right) shows that Sophia was most common in the South East of England. Throughout the 20th century, Sophia was outside of the top 100 in England and Wales. The French form Sophie moved into the top 100 in England and Wales for the first time at #85 in 1974 By 1984 it was #38 and hit the top 10 at #6 in 1994, reaching #1 in 1996. It remained in the top 10 until 2014. This can be seen in Dunkling's data for the number of girls registered with the name Sophia and Sophie in every 10,000 births in England and Wales over the 20th century:    1900 1925  1935  1950  1955  1960  1965  1970  1975  1980  1985  1990 Sophia    10    2             4     2     2     2     4     20 Sophie     -    2     -     -     -     2     -     9    10     20    36   164 Sophia reentered the top 100 in 1996 when it ranked #95. It steadily rose up the top 100, reaching #49 in 2006 and #18 in 2011. It has been in the top 20 ever since.  Sofia, too, has also been rising during the same time period. It broke into the top 200 in 2000 and the top 100 in 2005 when it ranked #96. It has been in the top 30 since 2013.  In 2016, Sophia ranked #11 with 2,636 births and Sofia ranked #29 with 1,683 births in England and Wales. However, when all the different spellings are added together, Sophia/Sofia et al ranked #4 overall.

Famous Bearers:

Royalty: * Sofia of Bavaria Wittelsbach (1376–1425), Queen of Bohemia. * Sophia Palaiologina (1455–1503), Grand Duchess of Moscow. * Sophia of Hanover (1630–1714), the Electress of Hanover from 1692 to 1698; granddaughter of James I and heir to the English throne. * Sophia Alekseyevna (1657–1704), Russian regent. * Sophia Dorothea of Celle (1666–1726), Duchess of Brunswick-Lüneburg, wife of George I of Great Britain. * Sophia Charlotte of Hanover (1668–1705), Queen consort in Prussia, sister of George I. * Sophia Dorothea of Hanover (1687–1757), Queen consort of Prussia, daughter of George I of Great Britain. * Sophia Magdalen of Brandenburg-Kulmbach (1700–1770), Queen consort of Denmark-Norway. * Princess Sophia Dorothea of Prussia (1719–1765), daughter of Frederick William I of Prussia and Sophia Dorothea of Hanover. * Margravine Sophia Dorothea of Brandenburg-Schwedt (1736–1798), Duchess of Württemberg. * Sophia Frederica of Mecklenburg-Schwerin (1758–1794), Princess and Duchess of Mecklenburg-Schwerin. * Princess Sophia of the United Kingdom (1777–1848), daughter of George III. * Princess Sophia of Gloucester (1773–1844), daughter of Prince William Henry, Duke of Gloucester and Edinburgh and niece of George III. * Sophia of Nassau (1836–1913), Queen consort of Sweden and Norway. * Countess Sophia Ignatyeva (1850–1944), Russian noble. * Sophia of Prussia (1870–1932), Queen consort of Greece. * Princess Sophie of Greece and Denmark (1914-2001), later Princess of Hesse, Princess of Hannover. * Queen Sofía of Spain (born 1938), Queen consort of Spain. * Princess Sofia, Duchess of Värmland (born 1984), wife of Prince Carl Philip, Duke of Värmland. * Infanta Sofía of Spain (born 2007), second child of King Felipe VI and Queen Letizia. History: * Saint Sophia of Milan, 2nd century saint. * Saint Sophia of Rome, 4th century martyr, often conflated with the above. * Sophia Brahe (1556–1643), Danish astronomer. * Sophia Baddeley (1745–1786), English actress. * Sophia Lee (1750–1824), English novelist. * Sophia Dussek (1775–1831), Scottish composer. * Sophia Peabody Hawthorne (1809–1871), American painter. * Sophia Jex-Blake (1840–1912), British physician. * Sofia Kovalevskaya (1850–1891), Russian mathematician. * Sophia Karp (1861–1904), Romanian actress. * Sophia Eckerson (1880-1954), American botanist and microchemist. * Sophia Yakovlevna Parnok (1885–1933), Russian poet. * Zofia Kossak-Szczucka (1889–1968), Polish writer. Contemporary: * Sophia Loren [born Sofia Scicolone](born 1934), Italian actress. * Sofia Shinas (born 1968), Canadian artist. * Sofia Milos (born 1969), Swiss actress. * Sofia Coppola (born 1971), American actress and director. * Sofía Vergara (born 1972), Colombian model and actress. * Sophia Bush (born 1982), American actress. * Sofia Essaïdi (born 1984), Franco-Moroccan singer. * Sophia Abrahão (born 1991), Brazilian actress. * Sofia Vassilieva (born 1992), American actress. * Sofia Richie (born 1998), American fashion model, daughter of Lionel Richie. Literature and Other Media: * Sophia Western, main heroine of Henry Fielding's novel The History of Tom Jones (1749). * Sophia Primrose, a character in Oliver Goldsmith's novel The Vicar of Wakefield (1776). * Sophia Croft, a character in Jane Austen's Persuasion (1818). * Sophia Wackles, a character in Charles Dicken's The Old Curiosity Shop (1840). * Princess Sofia, main character from the Disney Junior television series Sofia the First. * Sofia Serrano, a character from the film Vanilla Sky (2001). * Sofia Dupre, a character on the American soap opera The Young and the Restless.

Variants:

Sofia (Spanish, Italian, Ger,an, Scandinavian, Russian, Slavic, Portuguese), Sofiya (Russian, Ukrainian, Bulgarian), Sofija (Serbian, Croatian, Macedonian, Lithuanian, Latvian), Sophie (French, German, Dutch), Zofia (Polish)

Pronunciation:

sə-FEE-ə ; sə-FĪ-ə  [key]

Possible  diminutives:

Soph, Sophie, Sosie, Fee, Fifi

Sibling Names:

Olivia     Amelia     Bella     Eliza     Isabella     Esme  George     Noah     Leo     Oliver     Max     Theo

Name Lists:

Gorgeously Georgian   Royal Names of Europe   Latinate Lovelies   Names from Jane Austen   Dickensian Names

 

If you like Sophia you may also like:   Emilia, Lucia, Eva, Clara, Lydia, Julia, Mia, Sienna, Thea, Freya

Thanks to Danielle for requesting this name.