Gender: Feminine
Origin: Latin
Eng (an-TOH-nee-ah; AN-tuh-NEE-ah)
The name is a feminine form of Antonius. In Roman times, this name was used for the female offspring of the Antonii clan.
It was borne by several famous Roman matrons, including the daughter of Marc Antony (50 BCE-?).
Currently, Antonia is the 58th most popular female name in Germany, (2011) and the 72nd most popular in Croatia, (2010).
Other forms of the name include:
- Antonia (Catalan/Corsican/Croatian/Dutch/English/German/Greek/Italian/Polish/Romanian/Romansch/Scandinavian/Spanish)
- Antonija Антония (Croatian/Macedonian/Russian/Serbian/Slovene)
- Antonie (Czech/French)
- Antónia (Hungarian/Portuguese/Slovak)
- Antonía (Icelandic)
- Antía (Galician)
Gender: Feminine
The name could be of several different origins and meanings depending on the bearer of the name. Generally, the name is mostly used in reference to its Biblical origins, when Naomi takes the name of Mara(h) (Ruth 1:20), (which in Hebrew means “bitter”) as a way to express her grief over losing her husband and sons. The same name also appears in the Exodus as the name of one of the locations which the Torah identifies as having been travelled through by the Israelites.
It could also be from Latvian mythology, spelled Māra, being the name of the supreme goddess who was associated with all feminine aspects of life. She is sometimes believed to be one and the same as
The name could be of several different origins and meaning depending on the bearer of the name.
Gender: Feminine
The name is also borne by a very popular 3rd century saint. St. Maurice was an Egyptian by birth and a Roman citizen. He served in the Roman army and was apart of the Theban legions, which had been stationed in Switzerland at the time of the saint’s martyrdom. According to legend, Emperor Maximian ordered Maurice and his legions to destroy a local Christian community, when Maurice and his followers refused to harass fellow Christians, the emperor ordered them to be executed. The area of martyrdom is now known as Saint Maurice-en-Valais and the Abbey of Saint Maurice-en-Valais supposedly houses the saint’s relics.
The saint also gave his name to another town in Switzerland: St. Moritz, (Top of the World), is a beautiful little resort town that sits in the Valley of Engadine and the canton of Graubünden. Their coat of arms actually features the legendary saint. St. Maurice is also venerated among Coptic Christians. In fact, the names Maurice and Maurikios are fairly common among Egyptian Christians.
Gender: Masculine
Gender: Masculine
Gender: Feminine