British Baby Names

Name of the Week: Rupert

 

 

Origin:

Rupert is the English form of Ruprecht which is itself the German form of Robert. Both derive from the Old High German name Hrodberht, from hrod- "fame, glory," and -berht "bright."

Usage:

Ruprecht itself can be found in use in Germany from the early Middle Ages, and like Robert in Britain, it was a fairly common name borne by saints and royalty. The latinised Rupertus can also be found be found alongside Robertus in French documents in the 11th century.  Two notable German saints to bear the name were Saint Rupert of Salzburg (c. 660–710) and Saint Rupert of Bingen (712–732), while Rupert of the Palatinate (1352–1410) was King of Germany.  Despite these namesakes, and its common use in Germany, the name never picked up use in medieval Britain. Why would it? We were happily using the cognate Robert which had been brought over by the Normans where it reinforced the Old English Hreodbeorht.  It wasn't until the 17th century, and the arrival of Prince Rupert of the Rhine (1619–1682) to our shores, that Rupert began to pick up use in Britain. Named after the 14th century King Rupert, Prince Rupert was the son of Frederick V, Elector Palatine and Elizabeth Stuart, sister of King Charles I. Rupert was a true Renaissance man: general, admiral, scientist, sportsman and colonial governor. He was, and still is, most famous for his prominent role as a Royalist commander during the English Civil War and was considered a Royalist icon. The name was used by his many admirers.  click to enlarge Even in 1881, we find that Rupert was most common in areas where Prince Rupert had had some involvement, such as Staffordshire and Buckinghamshire, where Rupert is known to have had military involvement during the Civil War. It was rare in Scotland and Wales which, for obvious reasons, didn't have the same links to the English Civil War. The name was never wildly popular,  however. Robert -- a name by which was also known by his contemporaries -- continually remained the dominant form in Britain. During the late 19th century, Rupert consistently ranked in the third quarter of the top 200 in England and Wales: 1860: #226 1870: #194 1880: #124 1890: #140  1900: #147 Registered births per decade in England and Wales: 1840s: 1850s:  1860s: 1870s: 1880s: 1890s: 1900s: 1910s: 1920s: 1930s: 1940s: 1950s: 1960s: 1970s:  116 births 187 births 272 birth 659 births 1470 births 1556 births 1538 births 1145 births 674 births 310 births 334 births 604 births 1728 births 1395 births Throughout the 20th century, one of the most enduring images for the name is that of Rupert Bear, a children's comic strip character created by the English artist Mary Tourtel in 1920 that later became the subject of many children's books from 1928 onwards and four television series (1967-77; 1985-88; 1991-97; 2006-08).  Jilly Cooper gave the name a rakish quality when she gave the name to the central character of her Rutshire Chronicles series (1986-2016). From 1996 to 2002 in England and Wales, Rupert gradually declined from #335 (71 birth) in 1996 to its lowest point of #586 (34 births) in 2002. Since then it has been steadily rising however, taking a big leap from #500 in 2008 to #366 in 2009 and joining the top 200 again in 2014. Some of this may be thanks to the notability of several British actors on the scene during this period named Rupert such as Rupert Everett, Rupert Grint, Rupert Penry-Jones and Rupert Friend.  In 2015, Rupert ranked #143 (396 births) in England and Wales and #529 (5 births) in Scotland.

Famous Bearers:

History: * Saint Rupert of Salzburg (c. 660–710), first bishop of Salzburg.  * Saint Rupert of Bingen (712–732), regarded as patron saint of pilgrims. * Rupert of the Palatinate (1352–1410), King of Germany.  * Prince Rupert of the Rhine (1619–1682), noted soldier, admiral, scientist, sportsman and colonial governor. * Rupert Brooke (1887–1915), English poet. * Rupert Davies (1916–1976), English actor. Contemporary: * Rupert Keegan (born 1955), English Formula One driver. * Rupert Everett (b. 1959), English actor. * Rupert Graves (born 1963), English actor. * Rupert Penry-Jones (born 1970), English actor. * Rupert Friend (born 1981), English actor. * Rupert Grint (born 1988), English actor. Literature and Other Media: * Rupert Bear, a cartoon bear created by Mary Tourtel. * Rupert Campbell-Black, the central character in the Rutshire Chronicles series by Jilly Cooper. * Rupert Giles, watcher on the television series "Buffy the Vampire Slayer".

Variants:

Ruprecht (German), Roopertti (Finnish)

Pronunciation:

ROO-pət [key]

Possible diminutives:

Rue, Rhett, Rep

Sibling Names:

Felicity    Arabella     Jemima     Aurelia    Edith     Philippa  Edmund     Barnaby     Angus     Felix     Monty     Wilfred

Name Lists:

Upright Elegance  Victorian Darlings   European Royal Names  Gilbert and Sullivan Names

 

If you like Rupert you may also like:    Hugo, Ralph, Bertram, Oscar, Hector, Benedict, Rufus, Percival, Hamish, Leonard

 

Thanks to Emma for requesting this post.

Name of the Week: Clementine

 

 

Origin:

Clementine is a feminine form of Clement, an anglicised form of the Latin Clemens. In Latin clemens meant "merciful, gentle, mild" and is the basis for the word clement in English. The Romans personified clementia "calmness, gentleness" as their goddess of clemency, leniency, mercy, forgiveness and salvation. She was often depicted with her sister Justitia "justice." Clementine is also the name of a citrus fruit -- a cross between a mandarin orange and a sweet orange -- said to have been named for Father Clement Rodier, who found the species in the garden of his orphanage in Algeria.

Usage:

Clementina is attributed to an early saint -- one of the eleven thousand maidens who travelled, and were martyred, with Saint Ursula on pilgrimage to Rome. However, her name is very hard to find in most lists of saints.  We do find Clementina in use in small numbers in the Middle Ages on the Continent (particularly by royalty), but this was more likely thanks to the popularity of the cult of 1st century pope St Clement during the Middle Ages, resulting in more than forty churches being dedicated to him.  In fact, the most common feminine form to be found in medieval records in Britain was the Latin Clementia or Clemencia, but in actuality these women would have been known by the vernacular form Clemence. In George Redmonds rankings for 1377-81, comprising 1000 names from 10 English counties, Clemence ranks at #44 which he categorises as "infrequent."  Both Clement and Clemence gave rise to a bevy of derivative surnames, including Clem (a medieval pet-form), Clemm, Clemence, Clemans, Clemons, Clemmans and Clemmens.  The name Clemence continued in use right up until the 17th century. It appears in six out of sixteen decades in Smith Bannister's rank of top 50 names from 1538 to 1700 in England: 1550-9: #14; 1560-9: #22; 1570-9: #17; 1580-9: #32; 1600-9: #35; 1610-9: #39. After this date, it no longer appears in the rankings.  Clementina began to pick up usage in Britain in the 18th century. Writing in 1863, Charlotte Mary Yonge tells us that it was "rendered popular for a time in honour of the Italian lady in Sir C. Grandison." The History of Sir Charles Grandison is an epistolary novel by Samuel Richardson first published in February 1753. This may have had some impact on the name, but there are plenty of baptism records for Clementinas in Britain earlier in the 18th century.  More likely, Clementina was adopted thanks to Maria Clementina Sobieska (1702-1735), a Polish princess and wife of James Francis Edward Stuart, Jacobite pretender to the British throne. Certainly, even in the 19th century, we find Clementina (and Clementine) in high concentration in Scotland which had strong Jacobite links.  click to enlarge Clementine itself came into use during the 19th century, adopted from the French Clémentine, which was also in some use among European royalty. It was not as common as Clementina, as data from the 1881 census shows (right). Clementine peaked in the 1880s and contemporary newspapers at the time would suggest that this was influenced by Princess Clémentine of Orléans (1817–1907) and Princess Clémentine of Belgium (1872–1955) as they were both featured in several articles during this decade.  Births for Clementina and Clementine in England and Wales:   Clementina Clementine 1840s: 1850s: 1860s: 1870s: 1880s: 1890s: 1900s: 1910s: 1920s: 1930s:  1940s: 1950s: 1960s: 286 births 387 births 389 births 366 births 319 births 283 births 175 births 121 births 59 births 15 births 14 births 15 births 26 births 65 births 76 births 85 births 81 births 92 births 79 births 62 births 79 births 32 births 9 births 21 births 8 births 14 births One notable Clementine born at its peak was Clementine Churchill, Baroness Spencer-Churchill (1885–1977), the wife of Sir Winston Churchill who was a peeress in her own right thanks to her charitable works.  Though the name Clementine had all but died out by the 1930s, the small revival in the 1940s was most likely thanks to her.  The pronunciation of Clementine is up for debate -- those -ine names can be tricky. Some pronounce Clementine to rhyme with Josephine, in the French style ("een"), while others rhyme it with Caroline (like "line" and "fine"). In general, it is pronounced KLEM-ən-teen (rhyming with Josephine) in Britain after the French, and was the pronunciation used for Baroness Spencer-Churchill. In America, however, it is commonly KLEM-ən-tīn (rhyming with Caroline), as seen in the America folk song "Oh My Darling, Clementine." Since 1996, Clementine has been steadily rising from its lowest point of #946 (22 births) in 1997. It broke the top 500 in 2010 and by 2014 ranked #415. Clementina, on the other hand, is now rare and has been given to no more than 6 babies in any given year since 1996, well below the top 3000.  In 2015, Clementine ranked #395 (116 births) in England and Wales and #806 (3 births) in Scotland.

Famous Bearers:

History: * Princess Clémentine of Orléans (1817–1907), princess of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha. * Clementine Augusta Spencer-Churchill (1848 - 1886), daughter of the sixth Duke of Marlborough and great-aunt of Winston Churchill.  * Princess Clémentine of Belgium (1872–1955), daughter of King Leopold II of Belgium. * Clementine Churchill, Baroness Spencer-Churchill (1885–1977), the wife of Sir Winston Churchill and life peer in her own right. Contemporary: * Clémentine Célarié (b. 1957), French actress. * Clementine Ford (b. 1979), American actress. Literature and Other Media: * Clementine, the heroine of a series of children's books by Sara Pennypacker. * Clementine Kruczynski, character played by Kate Winslet in Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind. * Clementine, a Muppet character on Sesame Street.

Variants:

Clemence, Clemency; Clémentine (French), Clementina (Italian, Spanish, Portuguese), Klementyna (Polish), Klementina (Slavic)

Pronunciation:

KLEM-ən-teen / KLEM-ən-tīn (English) klem-on-TEEN (French), KLEM-ən-tee-nə (German) [key]

Possible  diminutives:

Clemmie, Clem, Citty/Kitty, Mena, Minnie, Tina

Sibling Names:

Marguerite     Rosalie     Iona      Beatrice     Arabella     Margaux    Sebastian     Gabriel     Barnaby     Hugo     Maximilian     Lucian

Name Lists:

Vintage Names  Upright Elegance

  

If you like Clementine you may also like:   Evangeline, Genevieve, Vivienne, Emmeline, Christabel, Ottilie, Cosima, Letitia, Seraphina, Albertine

 

 Thanks to Lottie for requesting this name. 

Name of the Week: Monica

 

 

Origin:

Monica is a name that came into use thanks to St. Monica (322-387), the mother of St. Augustine, who is renowned for her virtue and piety.  The origins of her name are obscure. On the surface, Monica looks to derive from the Greek monos  "one," and the suffix -ikos "of, pertaining to." Tradition has it that St. Monica came from the city of Tagaste in Numidia (present-day Algeria) however, so it is almost certain that her name was actually Numidian in origin and then Hellenised as Monika. The Greeks liked to Hellenise names so that they made sense in their own language (see Zenobia), so it is likely that this Greek meaning was only a later association. In the Middle Ages, the name was also connected with the Latin moneo "advisor." St Monica was not only the woman of her time to bear the name. The wife of Nubel, prince of Mauritania, was also Named Nonicca/Monicca, and a contemporary. Modern scholars argue that Monicca was a diminutive of Monna, the name of a local deity whose cult is found on inscriptions in modern day Tunisia.**

Usage:

The cult of St. Monica was well established by the 15th century (having taken hold initially in the 13th century) when her relics were rehoused in a new church at Rome in honour of St. Augustine. It is little wonder, then, that we find Monica in use across Europe in the 16th century, particularly in German and Spanish-speaking countries. It was during this time that the name began to be used in small numbers in Britain as well. It features in the top 100 names in Restoration Era Norfolk, but overall it was rare.  It wasn't until the 19th century that the name began to rise in use, reaching the top 100 in the early 20th century. The rise in the late 19th century may in some part be thanks to it being used for the heroines of serialised romances in the 1880s and 1890s (such as 'The Wooing of Monica', 1899 in the Manchester Times and 'Monica: A Love Story', 1883 in the Leeds Times). Most importantly, however, Monica -- being primarily a saints' name -- was principally used by Catholic families. Data from the 1881 census shows us that Monica was in highest use in the North of England and London: the areas with highest concentration of Catholics. click to enlarge Births for Monica in England and Wales: 1840s: 62 births 1850s: 82 births 1860s: 117 births 1870s: 210 births 1880s: 424 births 1890s: 785 births 1900s: 1869 births 1910s: 3561 births In terms of rankings, Monica first reached the top 200 in 1900 in England and Wales and had a steep rise shortly after before falling out of the top 100 by 1954: 1880: #253 1890: #226  1900: #197 1914: *not in top 100* 1924: #87 1934: #99 1944: #89 1954: *not in top 100* 1964: *not in top 100* This also corresponds to Leslie Dunkling's data for the number of children registered with the name Monica in every 10,000 births in England and Wales:  1900 1925  1935  1950  1955  1960  1965  1970  1975  1980  1985  1990     -    6    10    18     4    10    -     -     -     -     -    4 click to enlarge Since 1996, Monica has been declining in England and Wales. Initially, when TV sitcom Friends was at its height, Monica reached the top 300 (peaking in 1997 at #274 and 1998 at #278), but since 2005 it has ranked below the top 500. The initial drop in 1999 to #415 was most likely due to the media scandal involving White House intern Monica Lewinsky which came to light in late 1998.  The name did drop below the top 1000 in 2012, but has since seen a moderate rise.  In Scotland, Monica ranked between #200 and #370  each year between 1976 to 1995. Just like in England and Wales, the name enjoyed a peak 1997 (#124) and 1998 (#127), likely thanks to Friends, and also dropped down to #245 in 1999.  In 2015, Monica ranked #794 (48 births) in England and Wales and #806 (3 births) in Scotland.

Famous Bearers:

History: * St. Monica (322-387), mother of St. Augustine and Christian saint.  * Monica Naisen (d. 1626), Japanese Roman Catholic martyr, beatified in 1867. * Monica Dickens (1915-1992), British novelist.  Contemporary: * Monica Vitti (born 1931), Italian actress. * Monica Bellucci (b. 1964), Italian actress. * Monica Ali (b. 1967), British author. * Monica Seles (b. 1973), American tennis player.  * Mónica Cruz (b. 1977), Spanish actress. * Monica Arnold (b. 1980), American singer, professionally known as "Monica" Literature and Other Media: * Monica Madden, character in George Gissing's 1893 novel The Odd Women. * Monica Geller, character in TV sitcom Friends (1994-2004). * Monica, angel in the TV show Touched by an Angel.

Variants:

Monika (German, Scandinavian, Slavic, Polish), Mónica (Spanish), Mônica (Portuguese), Monique (French), Mónika (Hungarian)

Pronunciation:

MON-ee-kə [key]

Possible  diminutives:

Mona, Monnie, Nickie, Nika

Sibling Names:

Carmen      Bianca     Claudia     Cecilia     Audrey     Bridget  Laurence     Martin     Vincent     Patrick     Curtis     Timothy

Name Lists:

N/A

  

If you like Monica you may also like:   Veronica, Teresa, Stella, Lillian, Sonia, Angelica, Martina, Rosanna, Annika, Marcia

 

 Thanks to Arabella for requesting this name. 

Name of the Week: Clara

 

Origin:

Clara is a Roman name, the feminine form of the Roman cognomen Clarus meaning "clear, bright, shining, renowned, famous, upstanding."  The word clarus ultimately derives from the Proto-Indo-European *kle-ro-, from the root *kele- "to shout." The meaning originally of a distinct clear sound was transferred to that of clear bright light, and then ultimately to a figurative adjective "bright and shining" to describe a person's renown and character.

Usage:

The Latin Clarus was well used as a Roman cognomen, such as prefect Gaius Septicius Clarus (f. 2nd century AD). So too was the feminine form Clara. Aemilia Clara (fl. 2nd century AD) was the mother of Emperor Didius Julianus, and his daughter was named Didia Clara (b.153), reportedly the most beautiful woman in Rome.  Clarus was also borne by several early saints, including a 3rd century Bishop of Nantes and 7th century British-born saint who became a hermit in Normandy. The latter was known as St. Clair, and it is for him that several places in Frances are named (as well as St Cleer in Cornwall) and the origin of the surname Sinclair. Clair/Clare therefore had early use in the 12th century as a masculine name in France as the vernacular form of Clarus.  It is also in the 12th century that feminine Clara came into use in medieval Europe, which was then promoted thanks to St Clare of Assisi (1193-1253) whose cult spread quickly throughout Europe in the 13th century. Saint Clare (born Chiara Offreduccio, the Italian form of Clara) was one of the first followers of Saint Francis of Assisi who founded the Order of Poor Ladies -- known later as Poor Clares.  During the Middle Ages, Clara was invariably used in Latin records, however, in reality, these women would have been called Clare. Clare was never especially common though it was used for both genders continually from the 13th century onwards.  The Latin Clara itself was revived in the late 18th century when Latinate names -- such as Maria, Cecilia, Sophia, Olivia, Julia -- became popular in romantic literature, and inspired new mothers up and down the country. The variant form Clarissa shot to fame in the mid-18th century with the publication of Samuel Richardson's novel Clarissa (1748).  Jane Austen used the name Clara for her character Clara Brereton, described as "elegantly tall, regularly handsome, with great delicacy of complexion, soft blue eyes, sweet modest and yet graceful address," in her unfinished novel Sanditon (1817).  Over the course of the 19th century, Clara saw a rise in popularity in England, managing to stay in the top 20 of England and Wales from 1860 until 1890. Some of this usage may have been inspired by acclaimed soprano singer Clara Novello (1818-1908) from 1833 onwards. Several girls were actually named "Clara Novello" from 1844 onwards, especially in the 1860s and 1870s. The name was mostly used in England, being used little in Scotland and Wales.  The name gradually declined in at the beginning of the 20th century, falling out of the top 100 after 1914.  1850: #32 1860: #19 1870: #19 1880: #19 1890: #33 1900: #43 1904: #59 1914: #76 These statistics may be an underestimate of how popular Clara was, as there are many examples of women in the 19th century being formally registered as Clarissa but going about their lives with the name Clara. Famously, Clara Barton (1821-1912), the founder of the American Red Cross was born Clarissa.  The decline in the use of Clara in the 20th century also coincides with the rise of Clare/Claire, due to fashions swinging back in favour of French forms of names (Diane, Julie, Marie etc), as Leslie Dunkling's data for girls named Clara and Clare/Claire in every 10,000 births:   1900 1925 1935 1950 1955 1960 1965 1970 1975 1980 1985 1990 Clara   76   16    4    2    2              2   Claire        2    2   10   13   88  123  310  212  184   80 Clare      4    2     12   20   42   49  110  78   82   18 Click to enlarge From 1996 to 2006, Clara stayed consistently around the #300 mark in England and Wales, after which it began to steadily rise. From 2012-2015, popular British Sci-Fi series Doctor Who featured a feisty new companion, Clara Oswald, played by Jenna Coleman. Coleman gained overnight fame and the name Clara rose from #179 (284 births) in 2012 to #139 (381 births) in 2013, an increase of nearly one hundred births. The following year it rose significantly again to #121 and finally broke into the top 100 in 2015 at #91 (605 births).

Famous Bearers:

History: * Clara Peeters (fl. 1607-1621), Flemish still-life painter. * Clara Novello (1818-1908), acclaimed soprano singer.  * Clara Schumann (1819–1896), German pianist and composer. * Clarissa "Clara" Barton (1821-1912), the founder of the American Red Cross. * Clara Maniu (1842–1929), Romanian feminist. * Clara Schønfeld (1856–1938), Danish actress. * Clara Zetkin (1857–1933), German Marxist theorist, activist, and feminist. * Clara Immerwahr (1870–1915), German chemist. * Clara Kimball Young (1890–1960), American actress. * Clara Haskil (1895–1960), Romanian classical pianist. * Clara Bow (1905–1965), American actress. * Clara Luper (1923–2011), American civil rights leader. Contemporary: * Clara Lee (born 1985), South Korean actress. * Clara Chung (born 1987), Korean-American singer. Literature and Other Media: * Clara, protagonist in Tchaikovsky's ballet The Nutcracker. * Clara Brereton, character in Jane Austen's unfinished novel Sanditon (1817).  * Clara Oswald, Doctor Who companion.  * Clara Durrant, character in Virginia Woolf's novel Jacob's Room (1922) * Clara Clayton, wife of Doc Brown in the Back to the Future film series. Other: * 642 Clara, a minor planet orbiting the Sun.

Variants:

Clare, Claire (English, French), Chiara (Italian), Klara (German, Scandinavian, Polish, Russian)

Pronunciation:

KLAR-ə (UK) KLER-ə (US) [key]

Possible  diminutives:

Clare

Sibling Names:

Matilda     Violet     Eliza     Lydia     Flora     Martha  Gabriel     Felix     Hugo     Arthur     Miles     Albert

Name Lists:

Resonant Roman  Gorgeously Georgian  Victorian Darlings  Vintage Names  Latinate Lovelies  Jane Austen Names  Dickensian Names  Bronte Names

  

If you like Clara you may also like:   Margo, Silvia, Louisa, Lucia, Rosa, Arabella, Amelia, Nancy, Olivia, Eloise

 

 Thanks to Louise for requesting this name. 

Name of the Week: Guy

 

Origin:

Guy is the Old French form of the Old German name Wido, a hypocoristic form of Germanic names beginning with the element Wid/t- such as Widald, Widard, Witbold and Widelard.  The element itself either represents witu "wood" or wit "wide."   Wido was Latinised as Guido or sometimes Widonis/Guidonis. In France this became Guy (subjective case) and Guyon (objective case) and Wy/Why and Wyon in Norman French.

Usage:

From an early date, the name Wido became conflated and confused with the Roman name Vitus (from Latin vita "life."). St Vitus was an early 4th century saint who was martyred under Diocletian and Maximian in 303 AD. His veneration spread in the 7th and 8th century around Europe and became especially popular in Germanic and Slavic lands where it became popular to dance in front of his statue on his feast day. Veit, the medieval German form of Wido, was used as the German name for Vitus as well, and the Slavic Vid also served as the translation for both Wido and Vitus -- hence the confusion between the two names. To this day, especially in France, St Vitus is also known as St Guy.  Other saints also answered to the name "Saint Guy" or "Saint Guido" including Saint Guy of Baume (d.940), abbot of Baume; Saint Guy of Anderlecht (950-1012), a famous Belgian pilgrim of Jerusalem; and Saint Guy of Pomposa (d. 1046), Italian abbot and hermit. By the 9th century, Guy and its cognate forms were in good use on the continent, especially among the nobility. Four Dukes of Spoleto bore the name in the 9th century, numerous French dukes and counts, and Guy of Lusignan (c. 1150–1194), a French crusader, became King of Jerusalem and later King of Cyprus. It was brought to Britain by the Normans in the forms Wy and Wyon, but was superseded by the more common French Guy and Guyon by the 12th century. Both Wy and Guy gained the typical diminutive -ot suffix, creating the names Wyot and Guyot. The feminine form Guyotte/Guyette was also used on occasion. The name Guy was never especially popular in Britain in the Middle Ages but it was used consistently. The name appears once (out of 814 persons listed) in the London Subsidy Rolls of 1292, and once again out of the 1852 persons in the 1319 Rolls. Brian M. Scott's Given Names from Early 13th Century England, which ranks names from the custumals of 21 manors held by the Abbey of Bec (c.1230-1247), has three citations for the name Guy. This puts the name in the same contemporary popularity group as Jocelyn, Philip, Giles, Andrew, Matthew , Luke and the like.  It was certainly used well enough to become numerous surnames including Guy, Guye, Gye, Guis, Guyon, Gyatt, Guyot, Why, Whye, Wyatt and Wiot.  Guy of Warwick, from an illumination in Le Romant de Guy de Warwik et d'Heraud d'Ardenne, in the Talbot Shrewsbury Book (1444) The legendary Sir Guy of Warwick was a popular chivalric and romantic figure from between the 13th and 17th centuries. In order to win the hand of the woman he loves, Guy of Warwick embarks on several chivalric adventures during the reign of King Aethelstan, in order to become a knight, slaying mythical beasts and giants. He wins the heart of his lady love but later repents his violent past. His story was popular throughout France and England during the Middle Ages, retold in numerous ballads and chapbooks. He was even sometimes counted as one of the Nine Worthies, replacing Godfrey of Bouillon. Given his popularity as a figure it is easy to believe that Guy of Warwick was used as a namesake. The Earls of Warwick considered the legendary hero to be their ancestor, and when William de Beauchamp (1238-1298) inherited the title from his uncle, he named his first son Guy after the famous hero.  This Guy de Beauchamp, 10th Earl of Warwick was a mighty and influential landowner who was noted by his contempories as a man of great wisdom and learning. Today he is most famous for his part in opposing Edward II and removing his unpopular favourite, Piers Gaveston.  Spenser used the form Guyon for the name of the hero of Book II in his epic poem The Faerie Queene (1590). Sir Guyon, the Knight of Temperance, is the leader of the Knights of Maidenhead Faerie Queene who teams up with King Arthur to defeat an evil witch.  Guy also survives in folklore not only as a virtuous hero, but also a bad boy in the form of Sir Guy of Gisbourne in the Robin Hood legends. And, most notably, the name in Britain is synonymous with unfortunate Gunpowder Plotter Guy Fawkes (1570-1606), who was left to guard the gunpowder stockpiled under the House of Lords. When the establishment received a tip-off, Fawkes was caught in flagrante and promptly taken away to be interrogated under torture. His story is a famous one, commemorated every year on November 5th, known as either Bonfire Night or Guy Fawkes Night. We actually get the word 'guy' -- a generic term for a man  -- from the use of Guy Fawkes effigies on bonfires (known as "Guys") on this night. It has long been supposed that after the events of the Gunpowder Plot of 1605, the name Guy was driven out of use because of its associations with unfortunate Guy Fawkes. However, as George Redmonds points out, it remained in traditional use among the gentry families of Yorkshire. The influences of the Fairfax*, Palmes* and Wilstrop* families, in particular, had influence on numerous lower status families in the surrounding areas. In these parts, at least, the name Guy survived in use.  Widespread, Guy received a boost in the 19th century, perhaps thanks to its use in popular literature including two hugely successful best sellers Guy Mannering (1815) by Sir Walter Scott and The Heir of Redclyffe (1853) by Charlotte M. Yonge, both of which feaured principle characters named Guy.  Rankings in England and Wales during the 19th century demonstrate how the name gradually increased in use, reaching a peak in the 1890s: 1860: #235 1870: #201 1880: #169 1890: #147 1900: #170 After this, the name fell out of popular use up until the 1950s, when it suddenly picked up again in, as we can see from Dunkling's data for the number of children registered with the name Guy in every 10,000 births in England and Wales demonstrates:  1900 1925  1935  1950  1955  1960  1965  1970  1975  1980  1985  1990     3    2     2     -    12     9    12     9     12     10     2    24 What could be responsible for this leap between 1950 and 1955? The answer may be that it was thanks to American singer Guy Mitchell (1927-1999) who had six top 5 hits in the UK music charts in 1952-53, two of which went to number 1. He continued to produce top 10 hits (in the UK) up until 1959.  Officially, Guy has only ranked once in the top 100 in England and Wales: #85 in 1964, but as Dunkling's data suggests, that didn't mean it declined in use afterwards.  Since 1996, Guy has been in steady, if slightly sporadic, decline. From #168 (203 births) in 1996, the name reached its lowest point in 2011 at #580 (60 births).  In 2014, Guy ranked #544 in England and Wales with 67 births. In the same year it also ranked #587 (4 births) in Scotland.

Famous Bearers:

History: * Saint Guy of Baume (d.940), abbot of Baume. * Guy of Ivrea (940–965), Margrave of Ivrea * Saint Guy of Anderlecht (950-1012), famous Belgian pilgrim of Jerusalem. * Saint Guy of Pomposa (d. 1046), Italian abbot and hermit. * Guy of Hauteville (c. 1061–1108), Duke of Amalfi. * Guy of Lusignan (c. 1150–1194), King of Jerusalem and later King of Cyprus. * Guy Fawkes (1570-1606), English Catholic famed for his involvement in the Gunpowder Plot. * Guy de Maupassant (1850-1893), French writer and journalist. * Guy Wetmore Carryl (1873–1904), American author and poet. * Guy Mitchell (1927-1999), American singer.  Contemporary: * Guy Pearce (b. 1967), Australian actor. * Guy Ritchie (born 1968), British film director. * Guy Martin (b. 1981), British motorcycle racer, truck mechanic and TV personality. Literature and Other Media: * Guy of Warwick, a legendary English hero. * Sir Guy of Gisbourne, a character in the Robin Hood legend. * Guy Morville, character in C. M. Yonge's novel The Heir of Redclyffe (1853). * Guy Mannering, titular character in Sir Walter Scott's novel Guy Mannering (1815)

Variants:

Guido (Latin, Italian, German), Wit (Polish), Vid (Slovene, Croatian, Hungarian), Vít (Czech, Slovak)

Pronunciation:

GĪ (UK), GEE (French) [key]

Possible diminutives:

N/A

Sibling Names:

Melissa     Cara     Clare     Rhea     Hermione     Mae  Rupert     Hugh     Ralph     Marc     Laurence     Alec

Name Lists:

Medieval Favourites   Royal European Names   Slim Softies  Short and Sweet

 

If you like Guy you may also like:    Giles, Martin, Robin, Kristian, Grant, Francis, Robert, Alistair, Jarvis, Julian

 

Thanks to Victoria for requesting this post.

Name of the Week: Diana

 

Origin:

Diana is the name of an ancient Roman goddess who presided over hunting, wild animals, women and the moon, and was associated heavily with the Greek goddess Artemis.  The name most likely comes from the same sources as Zeus, Deus and Deva: the Proto-Indo-European *deywós "(a) god," which ultimately comes from the root *dyeu- "to gleam, to shine, sky, heaven."

Usage:

Diana came into general use as a given name in Europe during the Renaissance, when a fascination with the classical world was prevalent. One famous early bearer was Bl. Diana d'Andalo (1201-1236), one of the first Dominican nuns who was born to a wealthy family of Bologna. She fought against great opposition from her family to take her vows and eventually founded a convent for her order dedicated to Saint Agnes. The name became fashionable in Europe in the late 15th and 16th century. Diane de Poitiers (1499-1566) was a renowned beauty of the age who wielded great power -- even becoming the most powerful woman in France -- as the favourite of Henri II. She became a popular subject for artists who were quick to depict her as the embodiment of the goddess Diana. As Kathleen Wellman puts it: "Diane came to embody Diana, the goddess of hunting, and to epitomize the artistic glory of the French Renaissance[...] Diane remains an especially evocative figure; she has been used to romanticize Henry II, his reign, and the French Renaissance."* In Britain, Diana was first used from the mid-16th century. Some of this may have been inspired by the fashions set by the French court and some may have been inspired by Jorge de Montemayor's pastoral romance Diana (1559) or The Seven Books of the Diana, which was a 16th century bestseller and seminal work, known to have been used as inspiration by Shakespeare.  The name appears in the most popular names of Elizabethan Norfolk at #50 and later during the Restoration Period at #35.  The name became well established among the British aristocracy, and has remained so ever since. Lady Diana Cecil (d. 1658), the daughter of the 2nd Earl of Exeter who married Henry de Vere, 18th Earl of Oxford is an early example, but she is one a litany of ladies in history answering to the title "Lady Diana." It is particularly famous for having been used generation after generation in the preeminent aristocratic Spencer family. There have been three notable Lady Diana Spencers born to this family:  * Diana Russell, Duchess of Bedford (1710–1735), wife of John Russell, 4th Duke of Bedford. * Lady Diana Beauclerk (1734–1808), artist and socialite, famous for her unhappy first marriage.  * Diana, Princess of Wales (1961–1997), the first wife of Charles, Prince of Wales. The name was well used in the 18th and 19th century, though never wildly common. Data from the 1881 census shows that the name was well distributed across England and Wales, with interesting pockets of popularity in North-East Scotland.  By the mid-19th century, Diana began to decline in use, as births for England and Wales show: 1860: #158 (70 births) 1870: #174 (75 births) 1880: #216 (56 births) 1890: #230 (55 births) 1900: #273 (46 births) The name remained in good use among the peerage at the turn of the century, and it is perhaps thanks in part to this that the name was popularly revised in the 1930s. Lady Diana Manners (1892–1986), was a glamorous socialite who was a part of the famous intellectual  group known as the Coterie. Not only did she turn her hand to newspaper editing and column writing, she also acted on the stage, and even starred in several silent films, including the first British colour films. Her fame in the 1920s and 1930s may well have influenced new parents of that period.  In England and Wales, Diana shot to #80 by 1934, peaking at #51 in 1944 and then dropping to #79 in 1954. By 1964, Diana was out of the top 100. The French form Diane was hot on its heels when it hit the top 100 in the 1940s, surpassing Diana's success when it peaked at #9 in 1964.  Since 1996, Diana has been gradually rising in the rankings. From ranking #661 (36 births) in 1996, the name briefly spiked to #409 (77 births) in 1997 and #396 (79 births) in 1998 in the aftermath of the death of Diana, Princess of Wales in August 1997.  In 2014, Diana reached #304 with 154 births, and looks set to rise further if Marvel's Wonder Woman films are a success.

Famous Bearers:

History: * Bl. Diana d'Andalo (1201-1236), one of the first Dominican nuns. * Diane de France (1538– 1619), illegitimate daughter of Henry II, King of France who was much respected in the courts of both Henri III and Henri IV.  * Lady Diana Cecil (d. 1658), Countess of Oxford. * Lady Diana Russell, Duchess of Bedford (1710–1735), wife of John Russell, 4th Duke of Bedford. * Lady Diana Beauclerk (1734–1808), artist and socialite, famous for her unhappy first marriage.  * Lady Diana Manners (1892–1986), socialite, actress and author. * Diana Dors (1931–1984), British actress. Contemporary: * Diana Athill OBE (b.1917), British literary editor, novelist and memoirist. * Dame Diana Rigg (b. 1938), British actress.  * Diana Ross (1944), American singer and actress. * Diana, Princess of Wales (1961–1997), first wife of Charles, Prince of Wales. * Dianna Agron (b. 1986), American actress. Literature and Other Media: * Diana Capilet, a character in Shakespeare's All's Well That Ends Well (1604/5). * Diana Rivers, a character in Charlotte Brontë's Jane Eyre (1849). * Diana Parker, heroine of Jane Austen's final unfished novel Sanditon (1817) * Princess Diana of Themyscira /Diana Prince, the name of Marvel superhero 'Wonderwoman' * Diana, 1559 pastoral romance by Jorge de Montemayor. * Diana, a British comics series targeted at young girls, published by D. C. Thomson & Co. from 1963 to 1976. Other: * 78 Diana, an asteroid. * Diana, a crater on the Moon

Variants:

Dianna, Diane (French), Dijana (Slavic)

Pronunciation:

dī-AN-ə [key]

Possible  diminutives:

Di, Didi, Dee, Anna, Annie, Danni

Sibling Names:

Helena     Sylvia     Arabella     Julia     Marianne     Louise  Richard     Martin     Stephen     Francis     Andrew     Patrick

Name Lists:

Upright Elegance  Gods and Goddesses  Gorgeously Georgian  Jane Austen Names  Bronte Names  Gilbert & Sullivan Names  Names of Roses

  

If you like Diana you may also like:   Araminta, Dinah, Athena, Dido, Bianca, Clarissa, Lavinia, Cecilia, Dhyana, Cynthia

 

 Thanks to Arabella for requesting this name. 

Name of the Week: Levi

 

Origin:

Levi is a Hebrew name found in the Old Testament as the third son of Jacob and Leah. The meaning is not entirely certain, but it traditionally associated with the Hebrew verb lavah (לָוָה) "to be joined, attached, cleaved, associated, pledged." According to biblical tradition, Leah gave Levi this name as an expression of her hope for her marriage: "And she conceived again, and bare a son; and said, Now this time will my husband be joined unto me, because I have born him three sons: therefore was his name called Levi" (Genesis 29:34). Levi was the founder of the Levite tribe, a priestly Jewish caste. According to Numbers 3, after the Exodus of Egypt, Moses was instructed by God to gather the Levites to serve as priests. Thus the tribe were responsible for Israel's worship, either serving as priests or taking up roles in administration. In the New Testament, Levi is the name of one of the apostles: Matthew the Evangelist. It isn't clear why St. Matthew is called Levi in the books of Luke and Mark. It may be simply that he was a member of the tribe of Levi*, or that Levi was his Hebrew name and Matthew was a name he acquired while dealing with Greek-speaking Roman administration.* Levi is also found as a surname -- a variant of Leavey (also spelled Levy, Levey, Lewy, Lewey) which comes from the Old English name Leofwig, made up of the elements leof "beloved, friend," and wig "warrior."

Usage:

Levi was first used in Britain in the late 16th century when Old Testament names became more common. It was principally regarded as a Jewish name, but was also used by non-Jewish families, particularly the working classes.  It became more common by the 19th century by which time it had established itself as a biblical staple. Data from the 1881 census (see image right) shows that the name Levi was well distributed across England, particularly in the industrial North West, as well as South Wales. It was little used in Scotland, however.  Rankings of the name Levi in England and Wales shows that the name was a top 100 staple in the mid-19th century, gradually declining by the turn of the 20th century.  1860: #82  1870: #91 1880: #105  1890: #163  1900: #165 By the 1940s, the name had declined dramatically in use, to just a handful each year, and by the 1960s, the name was commonly associated with Levi's denim jeans, founded by American businessman Levi Strauss.  As the decades have moved on, however, the association with the jeans brand has loosened, and Levi is counted among the resurgence of fashionable Old Testament choices such as Noah, Isaac, Reuben and Elijah.  In the US, Levi entered the top 100 in 2009 at #85. It had already been rising, but was perhaps given a boost when Matthew McConaughey gave the name to his eldest son the previous year in July 2008.  Internationally, Levi currently ranks #8 in the Netherlands, #26 in Australia, #40 in Canada (BC), #42 in the USA and #43 in New Zealand.  In Britain, however, the name is still quite underused. Since 1996, Levi has ranked between #140 and #170 in England and Wales, peaking at #144 (415 births) in 2010. In 2014, it ranked #152 (369 births) for boys and #2862 (8 births) for girls. In Scotland, Levi has always been quite rare, never reaching the top 200 until 2005. During the 1990s, it was almost as common for girls as it was for boys. In both 1994 and 2000, for example, it was given to seven boys and seven girls. Since then, however, it has decline for girls and moderately increased for boys. In 2015, Levi ranked #206 (25 births). It did not rank for girls.

Famous Bearers:

History: * Levi Parsons Morton (1824–1920), American banker and Vice President of the United States. * Levi Strauss (1829–1902), American businessman who founded the first company to manufacture blue jeans. * Levi Eshkol (1895–1969), third prime minister of Israel, Contemporary: * Keith Valentine Graham aka Levi Roots (b.1958), British-Jamaican reggae musician, television personality and celebrity chef. * Levi Leipheimer (b. 1973), American former professional road racing cyclist. Literature and Other Media: * Levi Everdene, a character in Thomas Hardy's novel Far From the Madding Crowd (1874). * Levi Ackerman, a character in the manga series Attack on Titan.

Variants:

Leevi (Finnish)

Pronunciation:

LEE-vī [key]

Possible diminutives:

Lee

Sibling Names:

Alba     Margot     Cora     Elsa     Orla     Atarah  Jude     Asher     Elias     Arlo     Isaac     Seth

Name Lists:

Popular Biblical   Ripe Renovations   Slim Softies

 

If you like Levi you may also like:    Ezra, Lyle, Moses, Soren, Eben, Linus, Eoin, Leon, Asa, Micah

 

Thanks to Dia for requesting this post.

Name of the Week: Zain

 

Origin:

Zain/Zane is a multicultural name which derives from several sources: Zain (or Zayn, Zein, Zeyn) are transcript forms of the Arabic زَيْن -- a noun meaning "beauty, adornment, grace, excellence" and adjective meaning "beautiful, comely, handsome, graceful, charming, lovely, fair, radiant, good-looking, fine." It is most commonly masculine in use, but is generally considered a unisex name, and can be used for girls. Zane is an English surname which comes from the West Country. It is descended from the Old English personal name Saewine, made up of the elements sǣ "sea" and wine "friend." Zane (or Zani/Ziani) is Venetian form of Gianni, itself a pet form of Giovanni, the Italian cognate of John. According to Brian M. Scott and Joshua Mittleman's article Fourteenth Century Venetian Personal Names: "One variation typical of Venetian names is the substitution of initial Z for a soft G or Gi: Zusto for Giusto, Zanino from Gianino."

Usage:

Saewine does not seem to have been an especially common Anglo-Saxon name, though there are references to a moneyer by the name of Saewine in Shaftsbury under the reign of Æthelred II (c. 968–1016). Saintbury in Gloucestershire was originally Saewineburg "Saewine's fort." From this came the surname Sainsbury.  Data from The Surname Atlas As a surname, Zane developed specifically in the West Country -- Devon, Cornwall and Dorset. Data from the 1881 census (right) shows that, though it was rare in use, even by the late 19th century, all of the surname's use was in southern England and the majority of that was in Devon.  The Arabic Zain was not in use in pre-Islamic Arabia, and was not used itself by a Quranic figure. However, it is Muslim tradition to bestow names with 'good' meaning on children, and Zain fits this criteria.  As for the Venetian Zane, by the 14th century Zane was used as a patronymic surname. Matteo Zane (d.1605), for example, was the Patriarch of Venice from 1600 to 1605. I can find no record of Zane specifically being used as a given name officially, but it was likely used as a vernacular Venetian form, even if Gianni was used in records, much like Jack was used for John in Britain. Other forms of Giovanni, such as Zanetto and Zanetta, were certainly in use. These latter two were used in Britain from the 19th century also.  Zane was not common as a given name in Britain.The first record from 1830 to 1980 is one in Cirencester in 1840. After that Zane was not used as a first name until 1925.   Zane Zain(e)/Zayn 1920s: 1930s: 1940s: 1950s: 1960s: 1970s: 2 births 3 births 3 births 29 births 69 births 105 births 0 births 0 births 1 birth 9 births 15 births 21 births The small surge of the name's use in the 1950s may be attributed to the popularity of American Westerns, often inspired by the work of American author Zane Grey (1872–1939). There seems to have been some uncertainty about his gender though (perhaps because his full name was Pearl Zane Grey) which may have been why parents were reticent to use it.  click to enlarge In 1996, Zain ranked #241 with 123 births in England and Wales. Since then it has been gradually rising, peaking at #137 (459 births) in 2011.  Originally, Zane and Zayn both averaged between 20 and 50 births per year. Zane began to rise after 2004, peaking at #233 (208 births) in 2011 making it the more common spelling of the two. That was, of course until the great success of boyband One Direction featuring member Zayn Malik (born Zain). It began rapidly rising after 2010 and is still on an upward curve.  Zain is the only spelling to have ranked in the official data for girls, ranking just once at #4798 (3 births) in 2005. In 2014, Zain ranked #176 (316 births), Zayn ranked #239 (231 births), Zane ranked #341 (132 births), Zayne ranked #680 (49 births) and Zaine ranked #866 (34 births).  With all the different spellings combined, Zain and co. rank at #97 in the 2014 Combined Spellings rankings.

Famous Bearers:

History: * Zane Grey (1872–1939), American author. Contemporary: * Zane Radcliffe (b. 1969), British writer. * Zane Lowe (b. 1973), New Zealand radio presenter * Zane Lamprey (b. 1976), American comedian and actor. * Zane Beadles (b. 1986), American football player * Zain "Zayn" Malik (b. 1993), a British singer. * Zane Huett (b. 1997), American actor.

Variants:

Zain, Zane, Zayn, Zein, Zaine, Zayne, Zeyn

Pronunciation:

ZAYN [key]

Possible longer forms:

Zanetto, Constanzo, Florenzo, Fiorenzo, Lorenzo, Vincenzo, Zebulon, Zenone, Zolestin

Sibling Names:

Saffron     Layla     Aisha     Lyra     Calla     Amaya  River     Gulliver     Qais     Wyatt     Roscoe     Iskandar

Name Lists:

Lively Lads  Arabic Names

 

 

If you like Zain you may also like:    Rio, Greyson, Archer, Blaise, Fletcher, Blake, Rex, Quinn, Layton, Flynn

 

Thanks to Louise for requesting this post.

Name of the Week: Antonia

 

Origin:

Antonia is Latin name -- the feminine form of Antonius -- originally given to women born to the Roman gens Antonia, a family which grew to prominence in the first century BC. The origins of the name are not clear. Traditionally the gens derived their descent from Anton, a son of the demi-god Hercules, attributing to themselves a divine ancestor -- a common move in the aspiring families of Republican Rome. However, most likely, Antonius derives from the place of Antium, a great city in Latium south of Rome, which was written as Antion (Άντιον) in Ancient Greek. Alternatively, it may derive from the Latin ante "before," perhaps originally referring to a premature child.

Usage:

Being such a prominent gens, bearers of the names Antonius and Antonia is ancient Rome are numerous. The most famous member of the family is Marcus Antonius -- or Mark Antony to us -- who propelled the influence of the family to the rival the Julii. Mark Antony himself had no fewer than three daughters named Antonia: Antonia Prima, Antonia Major ("the elder") and Antonia Minor ("the younger"). All three women made influential marriages, becoming the grandmothers of emperors and queens.  The influence of the gens led to Antonius becoming a common name during the Roman Empire and later Byzantine Empire. It was borne by numerous saints, the most famous of which was Saint Antony the Great (251-356) who became much venerated in the Middle Ages from the time of the Crusades and was the popular subject of art and much invoked for healing.  This veneration launched the use of the name in Britain in the Middle Ages, augmented by the popularity of St. Anthony of Padua (1195 - 1231), who was a favoured disciple of St. Francis of Assisi.  Antony (or Anthony from the 16th century) was not very common at first, though it did lead to the surnames Anthony, Anthoney and Anthonies. It grew much more common in the 16th century, however; Smith-Bannister's top 50 rankings for 1538-1700 has Anthony ranking within the top 30 consistently throughout this period, peaking at #10 in the 1580s.  During this period, the feminine form of Anthony (or Anthonye) was not Antonia, or even the French Antoinette; the vernacular form of Antonia in Britain was Anthony. This puts Anthony in the same company as Philip, Julian and Nicholas -- late medieval unisex names in which the masculine and feminine vernacular forms were the same. Baptism records for Antonia in the 16th and 17th century are most often Latinisations or daughters born to European-immigrant (often Spanish or German-speaking) parents.  The form Antonia didn't come back into use in the 18th century in Britain. It featured as the name of the heroine in Matthew Lewis' widely popular Gothic novel The Monk (1769) and was in use among the royal houses of Europe -- Marie Antoinette (a Prussian princess born 'Maria Antonia') was one of the most famous examples.  Despite this however, the name was uncommon throughout the 19th century, as birth registrations per decade in England and Wales show: 1840s: 21 births 1850s: 40 births 1860s: 49 births 1870s: 47 births 1880s: 54 births 1890s: 86 births 1900s: 138 births Antonia continued to be used under the radar for much of the 20th century. However, curiously, short-from Toni took on a life of it's own and became moderately popular as Dunkling's data for the number of children registered with the name Antonia in every 10,000 births in England and Wales demonstrates:    1900 1925  1935  1950  1955  1960  1965  1970  1975  1980  1985  1990 Antonia     -    -     -     1     -     -     4     1     -     2     4    2 Toni             2     2    12     8     -     6    18   22 Though Antonia became more common during the 1980s, it never broke into the top 100. Toni, however, ranked at #100 in both 1984 and 1994. Tony for boys had been in the top 100 individually since 1944, but fell out after 1984.  Since 1996, Toni has been on a steady decline. Less popular Antonia, also declined, but less rapidly and has actually succeeded Toni as the more popular form since 2002.  In 1996, Antonia ranked #190 with 234 births. From that point it gradually (and slightly sporadically) fell to its nadir of #538 (74 births) in 2010. Since then it has been gradually rising, reaching #315 (147 births) in 2014.  In Scotland, Antonia ranked #318 (12 births) in 2015.

Famous Bearers:

Royalty: * Antonia of Balzo (1355–1374), queen consort of Sicily. * Antonia of Württemberg (1613–1679), princess of the Duchy of Württemberg. * Marie Antoinette / Maria Antonia (1755–1793), Archduchess of Austria and Queen of France. * Antónia of Portugal (1845–1913), Infanta (princess) of the House of Braganza. * Antonia of Luxembourg (1899–1954),the last Crown Princess of Bavaria. * Antonia of Prussia (b. 1955), Duchess of Wellington, Duchess of Ciudad Rodrigo, Princess of Waterloo. History: * Julia Antonia (104 BC-after 39 BC), mother of Mark Antony. * Antonia Prima (b. 50 BC) daughter of Mark Antony. * Antonia Major (b. 39BC), daughter of Mark Antony and grandmother of Roman Emperor Nero. * Antonia Minor (b. 36 BC), daughter of Mark Antony and mother of Roman Emperor Claudius. * Antonia Tryphaena (10 BC - 55), a Princess of the Bosporan, Pontus, Cilicia, Cappadocia and a Roman Client Queen of Thrace. Granddaughter of Antonia Prima.  * Blessed Antonia of Florence (1401-1472) * Antonia Maury (1866–1952), an American astronomer. * Blessed Antonia Mesina (1919-1935) Contemporary: * Antonia Fraser (b. 1932), British historian and novelist. * Dame Antonia  Duffy, DBE (b. 1936), an English novelist, poet and Booker Prize winner, known as A. S. Byatt. * Antonia Kidman (b.1970), Australian journalist. * Antonia Thomas (b. 1986), British actress. * Antonia (Iacobescu) (b.1989), popular Romanian singer. Literature and Other Media: * Antonia, heroine in the Gothic novel The Monk (1769). Other: * 272 Antonia, an asteroid.

Variants:

Antoinette (French), Antonella, Antonietta (Italian diminutives), Antonie (Czech), Antónia (Portuguese, Slovak, Hungarian)

Pronunciation:

an-TŌ-nee-ə [key]

Possible  diminutives:

Annie, Anna, Nia, Noa, Toni, Tonya, Tia

Sibling Names:

Valentina     Helena     Sabina     Tatiana     Alexandra     Claudia  Maximilian     Felix     Augustus     Magnus     Oscar     Casper

Name Lists:

Resonant Roman   Upright Elegance  Operatic Appellations  Butterfly Names

  

If you like Antonia you may also like:   Aurelia, Victoria, Marina, Renata, Clarissa, Octavia, Cecilia, Livia, Regina, Eulalia

 

 Thanks to Lottie and Bree for requesting this name. 

'Twas Ever Thus: Victorian Hero Names

 

The following article appeared in the Dundee Evening Telegraph on Thursday 11 June, 1885, concerning the use of hero-names for Victorian children. 

 

During the Russian war Raglan and Arnand (sic) became numbered among English Christian names ; so did Garibaldi at the times of that hero's prominence. When the struggle was going on at Plevna, Osman was often given to our children ; and Suleiman appeared as a British praenomen about the same time.  Later still the appellations of Sir Garnet and sometimes Garnet Wolseley have commemorated in the the registers the prowess of the living British General.  But neither is the heroism of the past entirely forgotten in naming, for the writer has met with the registered appellations Alcibiades, Julius Caesar, Boadicea, William the Conqueror, Richard Coeur de Lion, Peter the Great &c. ~ The desired qualities may have been exhibited in the lives of religious characters, and here, perhaps, the past is more resorted to that the present. The following may all be found in English registers of recent years : — Simon Peter, Jos. Arimathaea, Tabitha, Cyprian, Martin Luther, Melancthon, John Bunyan, Selwyn, and Morley Punshon. Luther has been a good deal used in England since the recent four hundredth anniversary of the reformer's birth.                                                                            Dundee Evening Telegraph                                                          11 June 1885

.

Raglan
For FitzRoy Somerset, 1st Baron Raglan (pictured) who was commander of the British troops sent to the Crimea in 1854. The name was first registered in England and Wales in the fourth quarter of 1854 when it was given to five children. This most likely followed the Battle of Balaclava in October 1854. The following year fourteen children were registered, and the name continued to be used intermittently up until 1971. 

Arnand
This is seemingly a spelling mistake or typing-error. It is most likely meant to be Arnaud for General Jacques St. Arnaud, the French colleague of Lord Raglan with whom he jointly commanded an Anglo-French force in the Crimean war. St Arnaud died shortly after commanding at the Battle of the Alma in September 1854. Arnaud (and spelling variants Arnand, Arnauld and Arnard) were -- like Raglan -- first registered in the fourth quarter of 1854. One girl was even named Arnauda Isabella. 

Osman
Osman Pasha was an Ottoman field marshal and the hero of the Siege of Plevna in 1877. Though Osman had been registered occasionally before this date (averaging one registration per year), in 1877 alone 27 children were given the name, followed by 90 children in 1878. Many were boys but there was at least one girl (Osman Clara). Others were named Osman Plevna, Osman Pasha or Osman Sulieman. 

Sir Garnet / Garnet Wolseley
Named for Garnet Wolseley, 1st Viscount Wolseley who is considered one of the most influential and admired British generals having served in Burma, the Crimean War, the Indian Mutiny, China, Canada and widely throughout Africa. Two boys were named Sir Garnet in 1883. Garnet Wolseley was registered 31 times from 1874 to 1900 with the peak year in 1882.