Livia, Liviana, Livy

Origin: Latin
Meaning: debated
(LIV-ee-uh); (liv-ee-AH-nah)
Eng Masc (LIVE-ee)

The name Livius is a Roman family name, which has two possible meanings. One is that it is from the Latin, liveo, meaning, “to envy” and another possibility is that it is from the Latin, lividus, meaning, “blue.”

Both the masculine and feminine forms were borne by notable personages.

It was borne by Titus Livius, known in English as Livy, a famous Roman historian.

It was also borne by Livia Drusilla (circ. 14 CE), a Roman Empress and third wife of Augustus.

Currently, Livia ranks in as the 948th most popular female name in the United States, (2008). Her rankings in other countries are as follows:

• # 95 (Hungary, 2008)
• # 182 (the Netherlands, 2009)
• # 86 (Sweden, 2009)

Other forms of the feminine include:

• Lívia (Catalan/Portuguese)
• Livie (Czech: LEEV-yeh)
• Livia (Czech/Dutch/English/German/Hungarian/Italian/Romanian/Scandinavian/Slovak/Spanish)
• Livie (French: lee-VEE)
• Liviana (Italian)
• Livilla (Latin: used as a diminutive form in Ancient Rome)
• Liwia (Polish)
• Livija (Slovene)

Masculine forms include:

• Livi (Catalan)
• Livije (Croatian/Slovene)
• Livy (English)
• Live (French)
• Líviu (Extramadurian)
• Livio (Italian/Spanish)
• Liviano (Italian)
• Livianus (Latin)
• Livius (Latin)
• Līvijs (Latvian)
• Livijus (Lithuanian)
• Liviu (Romanian)
• Liwiusz (Polish)
• Lívio (Portuguese)

The designated name-days are February 12 (Hungary) and February 20 (Slovakia).

Sources

1. http://www.behindthename.com
2. www.askoxford.com
3. www.roman-emperors.org
4. Tacitus Annals. 1.3; 1.6. (The Works of Tacitus tr. by Alfred John Church and William Jackson Brodribb 1864-1877),