Francis, Frances, Francesco, Francesca

Posted on October 7, 2009 by Sebastiane

Saint_Francis_statue_in_garden Origin: Latin
Meaning: “Frenchmen.”

Francis has an interesting origin in that it seems to have first appeared in the 13th-century, the first recorded bearer being St. Francis of Assisi. Known as Francesco d’Assisi, Francesco was actually the saint’s childhood nickname, his real name being Giovanni. He was the son of a French mother and a wealthy Italian businessman, Francis was born in his mother’s homeland, and was baptized Giovanni in honor of St. John the Baptist, but as soon as his parents returned to Italy, his father started to call him Francesco (Frenchman) due to the fact that his son was born in France and also in honour of his successful business ventures in France. St. Francis of Assisi was known for his formation of the Franciscan order, and his disdain for wealth. He is said to have miraculously received the stigmata and his feast is held on October 4, traditionally a day when household pets are blessed by the priests in honor of the Saint’s love of animals. The name caught on immediately after the saint’s cult became widespread throughout continental Europe. It did not reach England till around the 16th-century. Other notable Francis bearers include St. Francis Xavier (1506-1552) , Francis Bacon (1561-1626), Sir Francis Drake (1540-1595) and Frank Sinatra (whose full name was Francis Albert). There are several other notables not mentioned here. Francis is the English form but it also occasionally used in France, pronounced (frahη-SEES).

Francis currently stands at # 656 in the U.S. Top 1000 Male Names of 2008.

Variations include: (listed alphabetically by nationality)

Françesko (Albanian)
Francho (Aragonese)
Franciskos (Armenian)
Xicu (Asturian)
Frantzisko/Patxi (Basque: latter is pronounced PAHT-shee)
Francišak (Belarusian)
Frañsez (Breton)
Frantsisk (Bulgarian)
Francesc (Catalan: diminutive forms include Cesc, Cesco and Xesc)
Francescu (Corsican)
Frano/Franjo (Croatian: latter is pronounced FRAHN-yo)
František (Czech/Slovak: pronounced frahn-TEESH-ek. Diminutive forms include Franêk, Frank, Fraño, Franta and Išek.
Franciscus (Dutch/Estonian/Late Latin)
Frank (English/Dutch/German/Scandinavian: originally a nickname for Francis, it is often used as an independent given name)
Ransu (Finnish)
François (French: pronounced frahη-SWAH, the name was particularly common among French nobility and royalty.)
Fransiskus (Frisian/Swedish/Indonesian: Swedish diminutive is Frasse)
Frans/Franz (German/Dutch/Finnish: originally a nickname, it is commonly used as an independent given name)
Franziskus (German)
Frangiskos/Fragiskos (Greek Modern)
Ferenc (Hungarian: diminutive forms are Feri and Ferkó)
Proinsias (Irish)
Francesco/Franco (Italian: pronounced frahn-CHASE-ko)
Fransisks (Latvian)
Pranciškus (Lithuanian: pronounced prahn-TSISH-koos, diminutive form is Pranas)
Francesch (Lombard/Piedmontese)
Franġisk (Maltese)
Francés (Occitanian)
Franciszek (Polish: pronounced frahn-TSEE-shek, diminutive form includes Franek)
Francisco (Portuguese/Spanish: an obscure frankinized form includes Francisque. Common Spanish diminutives include: Curro, Paco, Pancho and Paquito. Portuguese nickname is Chico)
Francisc (Romanian)
Frang/Frangag (Scottish)
Franc/Franšicek (Slovene: latter is pronounced frahn-SHEE-chek)
Ffransis (Welsh)

Of course, how could we forget the beautiful feminine forms, which include, again divided by nationality alphabetically

Frantziska (Basque)
Franseza (Breton)
Franka (Croatian/German)
Františka (Czech/Slovak)
Francien (Dutch: pronounced frahn-SEEN)
Frances (English: common nicknames include: Fran, Frannie, Fanny and Frankie)
Françoise (French: pronounced frahη-SWAHZ. Other French offshoots are Fannie, France, Francette, and Francine)
Franziska (German: diminutives and offshoots include, Fanni, Franni, Franzi, Fränzi, Sissi and Ziska)
Franciska (Hungarian: diminutive forms include Franci and Fanni)
Franca (Italian)
Francesca (Italian)
Franciszka (Polish: diminutives are Frania, Franunia, Franusia and Franka)
Francisca (Portuguese/Spanish: popular Spanish diminutive forms include Paca and Paquita. Portuguese diminutive is Chica.
Frančiška (Slovenian: diminutive form is Francka pronounced FRAHNTS-kah)

Tola

Posted on October 1, 2009 by Sebastiane

The name can either be a Polish diminutive form of Antonina, a Sanskrit name meaning “balance” or a Khmer name meaning “October.” Coincidentally, spelled Tóla, it is an Irish male name meaning “flood” or “abundance” and is the name of a Saint, also known as Tolanus or Thola.

Grazina, Grażyna

Posted on September 30, 2009 by Sebastiane

Planty-Grazyna-Mickiewicza Gender: Feminine
Origin: Lithuanian/Polish
Meaning: “beautiful; pretty”
Lit (grah-ZHEE-nah); Pol (grah-ZHIH-nah).

The name come directly from the Lithuanian word for beautiful. It was said to have been created by Polish-Lithuanian poet Adam Mickiewicz in 1823. Grażyna recounts the exploits 0f a Lithuanian princess who tried to defeat the Teutonic knights. The name itself is derived from the Lithuanian word grażus meaning “beautiful” “pretty.” The name was often translated to Grace by Polish and Lithuanian immigrants who settled in the United States. Common nicknames include Grazia, Grasia, Grażynka and Grażka. The name-day in Poland is July 26 while in Lithuania it takes place on September 26. The name was borne by Polish-Lithuanian composer and violinist, Grażyna Bacewicz (1909-1969)

Ariadne, Ariadni, Ariadna

Posted on September 26, 2009 by Sebastiane

waterhouse_ariadne Gender: Feminine
Origin: Greek
Meaning: “most holy; most chaste.”

The name is composed of the Cretan elements ari meaning “most” and adnos meaning “holy.” Other sources argue that it is composed of the ancient Greek elements ari meaning “most” and hagne meaning “chaste.”

In Greek mythology the name is borne by the daughter of King Minos and his wife Pasiphaë of Crete. Ariadne is most known for helping the hero Theseus overcome the minotaur and find his way back through the labyrinth by giving him a ball of red yarn. Ariadne was in love with Theseus and ran off with him after he had killed the minotaur, but Theseus had abandoned her while she was sleeping, on the isle of Naxos. This part of the myth has been popularly rendered in paintings. It is said that Ariadne later married the god Dionysus. Many scholars suggest that Ariadne was originally a pre-Olympian Cretan goddess.

The name was also borne by an early Christian martyr, a Christian slave who refused to participate in the regulatory libations to the local gods, legend says that she was hunted down by the authorities until she ran into a chasm that miraculously swallowed her up. Her feast is held on September 17 and she is a popular saint in the Greek Orthodox Church. In modern Greece, where the it is rendered in the conventional form of Ariadni, the name is still relatively common. It is growing in popularity in Spain and Poland as Ariadna. The Latin and Italian rendition of the name is Arianna, also a common name in Greece.

The name is borne by Greek-American author and syndicated columnist Arianna Huffington (b. 1950).

In recent years, its Italian form of Arianna has become quite prevalent in the U.S. coming in at # 66 among the top 1000 female names of 2008. The French form is Ariane and the more obscure Arienne. Another more modern version is Ariana, which comes in as the 81st most popular female name in the United States ( 2008). There is also an ancient Etruscan form Areatha.

Other forms include:

Arijadna (Croatian)
Ariadné (Hungarian)
Ariadnė (Lithuanian)

Aurelia, Aurelius

Posted on September 25, 2009 by Sebastiane

Origin: Latin
Meaning: “golden”

Originally a Roman gens name, Aurelius is from the Latin meaning, “golden; gilded.”

The name is borne by several famous personages throughout history, the earliest being the Roman Emperor Marcus Aurelius and its feminine form, by his daughter Annia Aurelia Galeria Lucilla. Aurelia is also the name of the mother of Julius Caesar, (Aurelia Cotta), Tacitus proclaimed her the ideal Roman Matron. The Via Aurelia was named for an ancestor of her’s, Aurelius Cotta. The Via Aurelia is an ancient road that runs through Rome. Other famous Aurelias include Portuguese painter Aurélia de Souza (1867-1922), famous Romanian gymnast Aurelia Dobre (b.1972) and the mother of famed poetess, Sylvia Plath.

The Latinate form is popular in all the Latin based countries: Italy, Portugal and Spain including South America, as is its masculine counterpart, Aurelio. Aurelia is also quite prevalent in Poland. In addition, Aurelia shares her name with a genus of jellyfish, an asteroid and it is also used as a synonym for a chrysalis.

Other feminine forms of the names and cognates are:

Aorell (Breton)
Aurelija (Croatian/Lithuanian)
Aurélie (Czech: ow-REL-yeh)
Zlata. Zlatka, Zlatica (Czech/Slovakian: these names are often used as cognates for the Latin Aurelia, but literally mean “gold” in Czech and Slovakian)
Aurélie (French: the name came in as the 74th most popular female name in Belgium in 2006 and the 89th most popular female in France in 2003. oh-hray-LEE)
Aureliane/Auriane (French: obscure)
Aranka (Hungarian: this is another one that literally means “gold” in Hungarian but is used as a form of Aurelia)
Aurélia (Hungarian/Portuguese/Slovakian)
Rella/Relli (Hungarian: originally diminutive forms, now used as independent given names, they even have their own name day, which is October 15).
Auksė (Lithuanian: literally means “gold” in Lithuanian but is often used as a cognate)
Aura/Aurelia/Aurica (Romanian)

Hungarian diminutive forms are: Aura, Aurácska and Aurika.

Its masculine forms include:

Aurelian (English/Romanian)
Aurèle (French)
Aurélien (French: in France, he came in as the 88th most popular male name in 2006).
Aurel (German, Romanian and Czech)
Aurél (Hungarian/Romansch/ Bavarian)
Aurelianus (Latin)
Auksys (Lithuanian)
Aureliusz (Polish)
Oral (Romansch)
Aureliano (Spanish)

Its designated name-day in some countries is September 25, and the name is borne by several saints.

Thecla, Tekla

Posted on September 25, 2009 by Sebastiane

Saint_Thecla Gender: Feminine
Origin: Greek
Meaning: “glory to God.”
(TEK-lah)

She is a bit clunky and technical sounding. I had a great grandmother by this name and grew up near a parish that bore the name St. Thecla. Apparently it was a popular name in Poland at the turn of the century, spelled Tekla, my great-grandma anglicized her name to Tilly, after settling in the United States.

According to the Acts of St. Paul, Thecla also known as Taqla, was a young noblewoman who decided to live a life of chastity after hearing St. Paul’s discourse on virginity. Her mother and fiancé were very upset with her, and ordered her and Paul to be burnt at the stake, only to be miraculously rescued by a storm. Disowned by her family, Thecla had no other choice but to travel with Paul to Turkey. There she caught the eye of another nobleman, but when she refused his advances he tried to rape her, when Thecla managed to beat him off, she was accused by the local authorities of assaulting an innocent nobleman and was sentenced to be torn apart by wild beasts, also from which she was miraculously rescued. In the Eastern Churches, St. Thecla is considered equal to the Apostles and is regarded as a proto-martyr. She was used as an ascetic role model for women. Her feast is held on September 23 in the Roman Catholic Church and on September 24 in the Eastern Orthodox Church. St. Thecla is particularly venerated among Middle Eastern Christians, especially in Syria, Lebanon and Egypt, where she is known as Taqla or Takla. In fact, there is an ancient nunnery dedicated to St. Thecla in Syria, known as Deir Ma Takla it is said to be built upon the cave where Thecla’s tomb is allegedly located. According to local legend, the cave was created when Thecla was escaping persecution, the mountain opened up miraculously to hide Thecla in the depths of the newly formed cave. In Tarragona Spain, she is considered the patron saint and each year a large festival is held in her honor. Her name also happens to coincide with the Spanish and Catalan word for “key” on the computer keyboard, so in recent years, she has been regarded as the patron saint of computers. As for the etymology of the name, it is supposedly derived from the Greek Theoclea or Theoklea which is composed of the elements theo meaning “god” and clea meaning “glory.” Other forms include the Slavic Tekla, the French Thècle, the Arabic Taqla and Takla, and the Spanish/Italian Tecla.

Rimgailė

Posted on September 16, 2009 by Sebastiane

Gender: Feminine
Origin: Lithuanian
Meaning: “quiet or calm and strong.”
(reem-GUY-lay)

The name is a feminine form of the masculine, Rimgailas, which is composed of the ancient Lithuanian elements rimti meaning “serious; be calm” and gailas meaning “strong.” Its designated name day in Lithuania is September 15th. Sometimes rendered as Rymgajla or Ryngalla, (Polish adaptations), was the daughter of Kestustis and Birute of Lithuanian and the sister of Vytautas the Great (circ. 1300s-1400s). She became princess of Moravia by marriage and princess of Moldovia upon her second marriage. Her Christian name was Elisabeth.

Ctibor

Posted on September 15, 2009 by Sebastiane

Gender: Masculine
Origin: Slovak
Meaning: “honour battle.”

The name is composed of the old Slavonic elements chest meaning “honour” and bor meaning “battle.” The name is borne by Ctibor Turba, a famous Czech mime and choreographer. The Polish form is Czcibor, in Polish history, Czcibor was the brother of Mieszko I of Poland. Its Hungarian form is Stibor. Its designated name day in Slovakia and Poland is September 13th. Nicknames include Ctisia, Ctisek and Borek.

Athene, Athena, Athina

Posted on September 7, 2009 by Sebastiane

Gender: Feminine
Origin: Greek
Meaning: debated
Αθηνα
Eng (uh-THEE-nah; uh-THEE-nee); Mod Grek (ah-THAY-nah; ah-THEE-nah).

The name is of debated origin, but is speculated to be composed of the elements ather meaning “sharp” and aine meaning “praise.” Others suggest that it is composed of pre-Greek elements, possibly constructed from the Lydian word ati meaning “mother” and combined with the name of a Hurrian goddess: Hannahanna or Ana. Plato himself claimed the name was derived from Atheonoa, a compound of the Greek theos meaning “the gods” and nous meaning “mind.”

In Greek mythology, the name is borne by the goddess of wisdom, reason, warfare and peace. She was also the patron goddess of the region of Attica and the city of Athens, which was named for her. I don’t believe I can do justice to the role Athena played for the ancient Greeks. But to be to the point, the Greeks so admired Athena that she appears as a recurrent figure in many Greek tragedies and epics. Athena was also the goddess of weaving and handicrafts. It is interesting to note, that unlike the other Greek goddesses, Athena remained a virgin, and was celebrated for her chastity. Though Greece no longer worships the ancient pantheon of Mt. Olympus, the names Athena and Athina still prevail in the small mediterranean country.

The name is borne by the grand-daughter of Greek shipping magnate, Aristotle Onassis, Athina Onassis Rousel (b. 1985).

In Greece, its designated name day is September 1st. Other interesting forms include: the Ancient Attic Athenaia and the Doric Athana.

Other modern forms include:

Atenea (Asturian/Spanish)
Afina (Azeri/Russian)
Atena (Catalan/Italian/Polish/Portuguese/Romanian/Serbo-Croatian/Slovene)
Athéna (Czech)
Athene (Danish/French/German)
Athéna/Athéné (French)
AÞena (Icelandic)
Atēna (Latvian)
Atėnė (Lithuanian)
Atene/Athene (Norwegian)
Aténa (Slovakian)

Hermione, Ermioni

Posted on September 7, 2009 by Sebastiane

Gender: Feminine
Origin: Greek
Ερμιόνη
Eng (/hərˈmaɪ.ɵniː/ hər-MYE -o-nee); mod Grk (air-MYOH-nee)

She probably reminds you of Hermione Granger, the character from J.K. Rowling’s Harry Potter series. The name is of ancient Greek origin and it is derived from the masculine name Hermes.

In Greek mythology, Hermione was the only daughter of Helen and Menelaus. The name is also found in the calender of Saints, Hermione of Ephesus was an early martyr, and as an interesting side note, the Hermione of Harry Potter is named for the saint and not for the maiden of Greek Legend.

Hermione of Sicily is a character featured in Shakespeare’s Play, A Winter’s Tale (1610).

The name, though quirky and a bit extravagent, seems to have been a common moniker in Britain prior to Harry Potter fame. It is borne by several British actresses, Hermione Baddeley (1906-1986), Hermione Cockburn (b.1973) Hermione Gulliford, Hermione Hannen (1913-1983) and Hermione Norris (b.1968). It is also borne by British painter, Hermione Hammond (1910-2005).

It is also the name of an Opera, based on the Hermione of Greek Mythology.

In modern Greece, the name is often transliterated as Ermioni and Ermione where its designated name day is September 4th. It is also the name of a town in the Peloponnese.

In Italy, Ermione is the prefered form.

Despite the charming associations with Harry Potter, the name has not ranked in the US top 1000. In Britain, it does not appear in their top 100, but I have seen many instances of babies with the middle name or even the first name of Hermione in the British birth announcements. Other forms Herminie and Hermia. To hear the way the name is pronounced in Italian, you can listen to it here: http://www.forvo.com/search/Ermione/