The name is derived from the Latin perpetuus, meaning “continous; perpetual.” It was borne by a 3rd-century Christian matyr and saint, the companion of St. Felicity and it was also the name of the sister of St. Augustine of Hippo.
Perpetua and its various forms have been in sporadic use throughout the Catholic world. In Italy, it became synonymous with a priest’s housekeeper. This is due to the eponymous character in Alessandro Manzoni’s 19th-century novel, “The Betrothed.“
It experienced sporadic use in England in the 1920s after the release of the now lost 1922 film, Perpetua also known as Love’s Boomerang.
It has recently appeared in English literature as the name of minor characters in Bridget Jones’s Diary (Helen Fielding), and in the Harry Potter series (J.K. Rowling).
It was borne by Scottish landscape painter, Perpetua Pope (1916-2013).
It is the name of Cape Perpetua Oregon which was named for St. Perpetua as well as a typeface.
It’s designated name-day is February 1, March 6th and March 7th.
The name is of uncertain origin or meaning, it may derive from the Greek place-name, Ephesus or the Greek elements, εὖ (eu), meaning “good” and φύσις (physis) meaning, “nature.” It was born by a 3rd-century Sardinian saint, the patron of Cagliari on Sardinia.
It is mainly used on Sardinia.
It was borne by Sardinian scientist, Efisio Arru (1927-2000), and Sardinian scientist, Efisio Marini (1835-1900).
The name is borne in the Bible by the son of Joseph and Asenath, who is considered a patriarch, as he is a founder of one of the 12 trubes of Israel. According Genesis 41:52, he is named thus by Joseph because “God has made me fruitful in the land of my suffering.”
The name was also borne by a few early Christian saints, including St. Ephraim of Syria (4th-century, CE).
Ephraim appeared in the U.S. Top 1000 between 1880-1914, it disappeared for 99 years and reappeared in the charts in 2013. For its first centennial cycle, it peaked at #403 in 1880. As of 2023, it was the 992nd most popular male name.
Its Spanish counterparts of Efraín and Efrén have also appeared in the U.S. Top 1000, Efraín appeared between 1950 and 2014, peaking at #469 in 1981 whilst Efrén appeared between 1966-2007, peaking at #768 in 1990.
Drew is the modern English form of the Anglo-Norman Dreu(x) which ultimately comes from the Frankish, Drogo, which is likely derived from the Proto-Germanic, *draugaz (illusion, mirage), which later transformed into the Saxon drog (ghost, illusion), compare to the Old Norse word draugr, a type of vampiric supernatural being in Old Norse folklore. The name was introduced into England by the Normans. It has also been linked with the Slavic dragan (dear, precious) but this etymology is less likely.
Dreu(x) was borne by a son of Charlemagne (8th-century CE). It was also borne by a 12th-century saint of Flanders, who has the distinction of being the patron saint of coffee.
It is the progenitor of the French surname Drieux.
Dreux is also the name of a commune in France, but this has a different etymology, possibly related to the Latin Drocus (unknown meaning).
In the 20th-century, Drew was often listed as an offshoot of Andrew in many baby name books. It also was occasionally bestowed on females.
Drew currently ranks in as the 512th most popular male name in the United States (2022), and the 840th most popular female name. As of 2021, it was the 790th most popular male name.
Notable bearers are Drew Carey and Dr. Drew Pinsky.
Drogo is the name of several Hobbits in the Tolkien universe and of the name of the Dothraki lord in the George R.R. Martin book, A Throne of Ice and Fire.
The name is composed of the Germanic elements al (all) and rikr (ruler). It was most notably borne by two Gothic kings, Alaric I and Alaric II. Alaric I was known for leading a rebellion against Rome and sacking it. His Gothic name was 𐌰𐌻𐌰𐍂𐌴𐌹𐌺𐍃 (Alareiks).
An historical curiosity, Alaric has never experienced much usage, however, it has been in the U.S. Top 1000 since 2017, and currently ranks in as 915th most popular male name.
Other forms include:
Alaric (Catalan, French, English, Occitanian)
Alarich (Czech, German, Slovak)
Alareiks (Gothic)
Alarico (Italian, Portuguese, Spanish)
Alaricus (Latin)
Alariks (Latvian)
Alarikas (Lithuanian)
Alaryk (Polish)
Alarih Аларих (Russian, Ukrainian)
Alarik (Scandivanian, Slovene)
Obscure feminine forms include Alarica, Alarika and Alarice.
Both come from the Greek, θεός (theos) meaning “god” and δόσις (dosis) meaning “giving.” Both the male and female form were borne by several Christian saints and Medieval rulers. In the English-speaking world, a notable bearer was Theodosia Alston Burr (1783-1813), the daughter of Aaron Burr and an American socialite who mysteriously disappeared in a ship-wreck. Her fate has been a source of speculation for two centuries, but she most likely died in the wreck. She is also the subject of the Broadway opera song from Hamilton, My Theodosia.
It’s female version has experienced usage in the English-speaking world since the 15th-century. It has spun off several diminutive off-shoots, which later became independent names, such as Docie/Dosey, Doshie, Dosha, Docia and Theda.
Theodosia appeared in the U.S. Top 1000 Most Popular Female Names between 1880-1895, it peaked at number #547 in 1880. It’s offshoot of Doshie appeared in the U.S. Top 1000 between 1880-1905 and peaked at #640 in 1884 whereas Doshia peaked at #582 in 1881 and Docia at #317 in 1880.
Theda (THEE-dah) was the name of silent film actress, Theda Bara (born Theodosia Burr Goodman, 1885-1955). Theda appeared in the U.S. Top 1000 between 1880-1948 and peaked at #350 in 1916. Theda Bara may have helped sustain the usage of the name in the United States, but it seems to have been common enough long before she graced the silver screen.
In the 1988 movie For Keeps, starring Molly Ringwald, a teen couple are faced with an unexpected pregnancy, in which they name their daughter Theodosia, short form Thea, it is a last minute decision decided by the father who gets the name from his deceased grandmother of the same name.
It is the name of the main character of the R. L. LaFevers 2007 children’s novel, Theodosia and the Serpents of Chaos, which spun off a tv series.
Its pronunciation in the English-speaking world fluctuates depending on the region and personal preference, from THEE-oh-DOH-see-uh, to THEE-oh-DOH-shuh and THEE-oh-DOH-zhuh, the sky’s the limits.
Its masculine form has always been prevalent in eastern Christian countries but did not pick up the same momentum in the English-speaking world as its feminine counterpart did.
Female forms
Tayodosiya ታዮዶሲዮስ (Amharic)
Thudusya ثيودوسيا (Arabic, used by Arab Christians)
Tully is the English form of the Roman family name, Tullius, which is derived from the praenomen, Tullus, of an unknown meaning. It is likely Etruscan and its meaning has been lost. Other suggestions include that it is from the Latin, tullius (spout of water; gush of blood) or the Latin term, tollere, meaning “to lift,” allegedly referring to the act of a Roman father lifting their newborn son and claiming him.
A notable bearer is Marcus Tullius Cicero.
It was also borne by several male and female saints.
Alternately, Tully has been used on females occasionally, mainly as a diminutive form of Petula.
Male forms
Tulli (Catalan)
Tullie (French, this is a unisex name in France, though it is rare)
The name is of uncertain origin or meaning, it has been suggested to be from an Old Roman gens name, Velius, possibly meaning “concealed.” It may have also been taken from the name of an Ancient Roman city in Salerno, which possibly has the same meaning as above, and has also been suggested to be a contracted form of Evelia or Evelina. It is mainly used in Lazio and Tuscany. It was further popularized in Italy by the 1923 novel by Bruno Cicognani, La Velia.
It is also the name of a genus of aquatic insect in the family veliidae.
It appeared in the U.S. Top 1000 Popular Female Names between 1929 and 1930, peaking at #836 in 1929.
There are also the masculine forms of Velio, Velino (Italian), Velius (Latin) and the Bulgarian, Velian Велиян.
From the Medieval Italian term, villano, meaning a farmhand, countryman, peasant, ultimately from the Latin villanus, of the same above meaning.
Both its masculine form of Villano and its feminine form of Villana were in common use in Medieval Italy. Its masculine form was born by two 12th-century Italian bishops, and its feminine form was born by Bl. Villana de Botti (1332-1360), an Italian nun and penitent who is currently up for canonization by the Catholic Church.
Both names fell out of use in Italy due to the term later taking on the meaning of a rude or crass person. Villano is however, also an Italian surname. Its gallicized forms of Villain and Villaine appear in sporadic use in France between the 11th-17th centuries.
Villanella is a type of Italian music, which later spun off the Villanelle (derived from pluralized of the former word), which is the name of a type of pastoral poem that became popular in 19th-century England.
Villanelle was used as the name of a character in the 1987 Jeannette Winterson novel, The Passion. It was then used as the name of a character in the Luke Jennings’ thriller novel, Codename Villanelle, which later spun off the BBC series, Killing Eve (2018-2022). Since 2018, the name has appeared in sporadic use in the U.K. being given to 5 baby girls a year.
Theoretically, Villanella could have been a Medieval diminutive form of Villana, and it would then be possible to gallicize the name to Villanelle, but I cannot find any records for either name being used prior to the 21st-century, and Villana’s French form was Villaine, which would more likely to have lend itself to the diminutive form of Villainette.
Both names are derive from the Latin galilaeus, meaning “from Galilee,” which ultimately derives from the Hebrew, גָּלִיל, meaning “district; circle; hill; knoll.” The name was used in honor of the place name in the New Testament.
Galileo was borne by Galileo Galilei (1564-1642), he in turn was named for an ancestor.
As of 2022, its feminine counterpart of Galilea appears in the U.S. Top 1000 Most Popular Female names, coming in at #731.
