Author Archives: Sebastiane

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About Sebastiane

I have studied the origin and meaning of names since I was a child. This site is a past time for me and also a passion. Since this is a hobby, and I have a full-time job, I am unable to consistently keep this site up, but please be patient with me.

Angelica

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Gender: Feminine
Origin: Latin
Meaning: “angelic.”
Eng (AN-jel-ik-ah), It/Pol (ahn-JAY-lee-kah); Germ (ahn-GAY-lee-kah); Sp (ahn-HAY-lee-lah) Swe/Nor (ahn-YAY-lee-kah); Fre (Pronunciation)

The name is derived from the Latin angelicus meaning “angelic” and is ultimately derived from the Greek, άγγελος (ángelos) meaning, “messenger.” The name was used by the 16th-century, Italian poets, Boiardo and Aristo for their Orlando poems, in which it is the name of Orlando’s love interest.

In England, Angelica has been used as a given name since the 18th-century.

Angelica is also the name of a type of herb.

As of 2010, Angelica stood as the 345th most popular female name in the United States, while the French form of Angélique came in as the 439th most popular female name in France, (2009) and the 627th most popular in the United States, (2010).

As of 2009, its Spanish form of Angélica was the 88th most popular female name in Mexico.

The name is borne by several saints, and was also borne by 18th-century Swiss painter, Angelica Kauffman (1741-1807). Other notable Angelicas include:

Italian opera singer, Angelica Catalani (1780-1849), Stand-in American First Lady, Angelica Van Buren (1818-1877), American nun and TV host, Mother Angelica (b.1923); Angelica Pickles, a popular cartoon character featured on the Rugrats; American actress, Anjelica Huston; Norwegian princess, Maud Angelica Behn (b.2003) .

The Latinate, Angelica form, is used in English speaking countries, Italy, Romania, Norway, Sweden and occasionally Poland. Other forms of the name include:

  • Angèlica (Catalan)
  • Angelika (Czech/Danish/German/Hungarian/Icelandic/Norwegian/Slovak/Swedish)
  • Angélique (French)
  • Anxélica (Galician)
  • Angeliki/Aggeliki Αγγελική (Greek: Modern)
  • Angyalka (Hungarian)
  • Angelíka (Icelandic)
  • Anjelica (Norwegian/Swedish)
  • Angelica/Angelika/Andżelika (Polish)
  • Anželika (Russian)
  • Angelìca (Sardinian)
  • Angelika Ангелика (Serbian)
  • Angélica (Spanish/Portuguese)

There is an Italian masculine form, which is Angelico, and the Late Latin masculine form, Angelicus.

Prune

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Gender: Feminine
Origin: French
Meaning: “plum.”
(Pronunciation)

The name comes directly from the French word for plum. It has been in usage since the 18th-century when it appeared on the Revolutionary Calendar under the name-days of October 5 and June 8th, coinciding with the feast of St. Flora. The name fell out of usage after the Napoleonic era, but seems to be going through a vogue again. Its recent resurgence may have something to do with the 1970s French-Swiss Soap-Opera, Prune.

She appears in the French top 500, coming in as the 446th most popular female name in France, (2009).

Not only is Prune the name of the fruit in French, but it is also used to describe a colour and it is a slang in a few French dialects. The meanings are as follows:

  • “Prune” is a slang term in Quebecois for a bruise.
  • “Prune” is also a French slang for a criminal violation describing contravention.
  • In the Plural form, “les prunes”, is a slang for testicles.

Honorine

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Gender: Feminine
Origin: French/Latin
Meaning: “honour.”
(Pronunciation)

The name is derived from the Roman family name, Honorinus, which is derived from the Latin, Honorius, meaning, “honour.”

The name was borne by a legendary Norman saint who is revered as the patron saint of boatmen. Not much else is know about her, just that she is one of Normandy’s oldest saints. She is believed to have been martyred under Diocletian.

Honorine is also the eponymous heroine of Honoré de Balzac’s 1843 novel.

As of 2009, Honorine was the 455th most popular female name in France.

The designated name-day is February 27.

Other forms include:

  • Onorina (Italian)
  • Honorina (Latin)
  • Honoryna (Polish)

Karim

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Gender: Masculine
Origin: Arabic  كريم Карим
Meaning: “noble; generous.”
(KAH-REEM)

The name comes directly from the Arabic word for, “noble; generous.” In Islam, Karim is one of the 99 designations of Allah and is used to describe the Qu’ran (Al-Qur’an Al-Karim), literally meaning “the Noble Qu’ran.”

The name is used throughout the Islamic world, but is also used among Middle Eastern Christians.

The name has been occasionally used in Latin America, in Brazil, it seems to be a Portugized spelling for the Scandinavian female name Karin, but in this case it is pronounced (kah-REEN).

The name has numerous famous bearers.

As of 2009, Karim was the 260th most popular male name in France.

Other forms of the name include:

  • Kerim (Azeri/Turkish)
It is sometimes transliterated as Kareem. Feminine forms are Karima, Kerime (Turkish) or Kareema.

Ange

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Gender: Masculine
Origin: French
Meaning: “angel.”
(AWnzh)

The name comes directly from the French word for angel, and has been used as a given name since at least the 8th-century C.E.

It is techinically an epicène name, that is, one among the several names found within the French lexicon which has always been gender neutral. However, Ange by itself is more often given to males, while for females, it is usually paired with a feminine name, such as Marie-Ange. 

The name was borne by a few medieval saints. One of the most notable being St. Angelus of Jerusalem (1185-1220), a Christian convert of Jewish ancestry who left his native Palestine to join a friary in Sicily. He was eventually martyred by Berenger, a local knight, who killed him in anger after the saint rebuked him for living in an incestuous relationship.

Ange was a very common name among the early Acadians (Cajuns), of Louisiana and French-Canadians.

As of 2009, Ange was the 264th most popular male name in France.

Other forms of the name include:

  • Àngel (Catalan)
  • Angelus (English/German/Late Latin)
  • Angel (French/Romansch)
  • Angeli(n) (French)
  • Angely (French)
  • Angelo (Italian)
  • Anġlu (Maltese)
  • Àncilu (Sicilian)
  • Ángel (Spanish)
For a more comprehensive list, see Angela.

Cyprian

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Gender: Masculine
Origin: Latin
Meaning: “from Cyprus.”
Eng (SIP-ree-ən)

The name is derived from the Roman family name, Cyprianus, which means, “from Cyprus.”

The name was borne by a 3rd-century Christian theologian, writer, martyr and saint.

As of 2009, its French form of Cyprien was the 272nd most popular male name in France.

Other forms of the name include:

  • Çipriani (Albanian)
  • Cyprian (Albanian/English/German/Polish/Romansch)
  • Sybryan سيبريان (Arabic)
  • Kiprianos Կիպրիանոս (Armenian)
  • Zipriano (Basque)
  • Kiprijan Киприян (Bulgarian)
  • Cebrià (Catalan)
  • Ciprijan (Croatian/Macedonian/Serbian/Slovene)
  • Cyprián (Czech)
  • Cyprianus (Dutch/Latin)
  • Cyprien (French)
  • Ciprian (Fruilian/Romanian)
  • Cibrán (Galician)
  • Kvipriane კვიპრიანე (Georgian)
  • Kyprianόs Κυπριανός (Greek)
  • Cipriano (Italian/Portuguese/Spanish)
  • Kiprijonas (Lithuanian)
  • Kiprián Киприа́н (Russian)
  • Cebrián (Spanish)
  • Kypryan Кипріян (Ukrainian)
Feminine forms include:
  • Cyprienne (French)
  • Cipriana (Italian/Portuguese/Spanish)
  • Cypriana (Latin/Polish)
The name was borne by several other saints, another notable bearer is Polish romantic poet, Cyprian Kamil Norwid (1821-1883).

Adel, Adil

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Gender: Masculine
Origin: Arabic عادل
Meaning: “just; fair.”

The name is derived from the Arabic adjective,  عدل  (adala), meaning, “just.”

The name is used throughout the Islamic world, though, the it is also used among Middle Eastern Christians.

As of 2009, Adel was the 285th most popular male name while Adil was the 378th most popular.

Other forms of the name include:

  • Adel پور (Algerian/Arabic/Coptic/Egyptian/Ethiopian/Kurdish/Lebanese/Persian/Sudanese/Syrian/Tunisian/Uyghur)
  • Adil Адиль
  • (Albanian/Azeri/Bangali/Baloch/Bashkir/Bosnian/Bulgarian/Chechen/Circassian/Dagestani/Kazakh/Moroccan/Ossetian/Pakistani/Tatar/Turkish/Turkmen/Uzbek)
  • Jedil/Yedil Эдил (Kyrgyz)

A feminine form is Adila (Arabic) and Adile (Turkish)

Hippolytus, Hippolyte

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Gender: Masculine
Origin: Greek ‘Ιππολυτος
Meaning: “freer of horses.”
Eng (hip-PAHL-ih-tus); Eng Fem (HIP-poh-LY-tee; hi-PAHL-i-tah) Fre (EEP-poh-LEET)

The name is derived from the Greek, Hippolytos (‘Ιππολυτος), which is composed of the elements, hippos (‘ιππος), meaning, “horse” and lyo (λυω) meaning, “to loosen.”

The name was borne in Greek mythology by a son of Theseus, and depending on some sources either the Amazon, Hippolyte (hence the name) or Antiope. He rejected the advances of his step-mother, Phaedra, who, when spurned, complained to Theseus that his son had raped her. In anger, Theseus cursed his own son, using of the his three wishes granted by Poseidon, Hippolytus was dragged to death by his horses after being frightened by a sea-monster. The story was retold both by Euripides in his play Hippolytus and by Seneca the Younger in his play, Phaedra.

His possible birth mother of Hippolyte was an Amazonian queen who possessed a magical girdle which denoted her rank. She appears in the legend of Hercules who seeks her girdle for the princess, Admeta. Hippolyte is so impressed with the immortal’s prowess that she gives Hercules her girdle as a gift. William Shakespeare may have based his character of Hippolyta who appears in A Midsummer’s Night Dream off of Hippolyte the Amazon queen.

The male form of Hippolytus appears several more times throughout Greek mythology as the name of minor characters.

It was also borne by some early renowned Christian saints, including Hippolytus of Rome a 3rd-century Christian theologian, writer and martyr.

In English and early Greek, Hippolyte often appears as a feminine form, but in French, it is an epicène name, that is a unisex name, however, it is more often used on males than on females. As of 2009, Hippolyte was the 286th most popular male name in France.

Other forms of the name include:

  • Ipolit Иполит (Bulgarian/Serbian)
  • Hipòlit (Catalan)
  • Hipolit (Croatian/Polish/Romanian/Slovak)
  • Hippolyt (Czech/German)
  • Hippolytus (Dutch/English/Latin)
  • Hippolyte (French)
  • Ipolite იპოლიტე (Georgian)
  • Hippolütosz (Hungarian)
  • Ippolito (Italian)
  • Hipolitas (Lithuanian)
  • Hipólito (Portuguese/Spanish)
  • Ippolit Ипполит (Romansch/Russian/Ukrainian)
  • ‘Ipołito (Venetian)
Feminine forms include:
  • Hipolita Хиполита (Albanian/Bulgarian/Serbian)
  • Ipalita Іпаліта (Belarusian)
  • Hipòlita (Catalan)
  • Hippolyta ‘Ιππολυτη (English/Greek/Latin/Romanian)
  • Hippolyte ‘Ιππολυτη (English/French/Greek)
  • Hippolüté (Hungarian)
  • Ippolita Ипполи́та (Italian/Russian/Ukrainian)
  • Hipolitė (Lithuanian)
  • Hippolita (Polish)
  • Hipólita (Portuguese/Spanish)