Flavia

Gender: Feminine
Origin: Latin
Meaning: “blonde.”
Classical Lat (FLAU-wee-ah); Late Lat/It (FLAH-vyah); Fre (flah-VEE)

The name is a feminine form of the Roman family name, Flavius, which is derived from the Latin, flavus (blonde; yellow-haired). Its Greek cognate is Xanthe.

Flavius was a family name of a few 1st-century Roman Emperors, notably Vespasian and Domitian. It was later adopted as a first name by several Late Roman emperors including Constantine.

Its feminine form was borne by two early Roman martyrs and saints, making the name remain popular after the dawn of Christianity.

Flavia appears as the name of a major female character in the Anthony Hope novel, The Prisonor of Zenda (1894).

As of 2010, its French form of Flavie was the 224th most popular female name in France.

Other forms of the feminine include:

• Flavie (French)
• Flávia (Hungarian)
• Flavia (Italian/Latin/Romanian/Spanish)
• Flavina (Italian)
• Flawia (Polish)
• Flávia (Portuguese)

Masculine forms include:

• Flavi (Catalan)
• Flávió (Hungarian)
• Fláviusz (Hungarian)
• Flavio (Italian/Spanish)
• Flavius (Latin)
• Flawiusz (Polish)
• Flaviu (Romanian)