The name is derived from the Roman gens name, Mamilius. Its meaning is uncertain. It may relate to the Latin mamilla meaning, “breast; nip; tit” or to mar, meaning “the shining one, splendid one.” It has also been linked with the Celtic mam (strength) and hil (seed).
The most notable bearer is Saint Mamilian of Palermo (San Mamiliano), a 5th-century bishop and martyr venerated in Sicily. The designated name-day is September 15, which on the island of Giglio, there is a yearly festival held in the saint’s honor.
The name is composed of the Germanic elements naudiz (need, necessity) and burg (fortress, protection).
It was borne by a medieval Austrian saint. She was known for her devotion to the poor and performance of miracles. Legend has it that her master demanded she stay and scythe the wheat instead of attending mass. She threw the scythe in the air, and it remained suspended. This is the reason why she is depicted with a scythe.
The name is mainly used in Austria and Southern German but is now unusual.
Another spelling is Nothburga. An obscure French form is Notburge.
German diminutives include: Burgi, Burgel, Nota and Notti.
The designated name-days are January 26th and September 13th.
The name is from the classical Greek, related toApollo. It was borne by several early Christian saints. The most notable being St. Apollinaris of Ravenna, a Syrian Christian missionary to Ravenna who was martyred there and thereafter became the city’s patron saint.
The French form Apollinaire is linked to the Franco-Polish poet, Guillaume Apollinaire. He lived from 1880 to 1918. He was born Wilhelm Albert Włodzimierz Apolinary Kostrowicki.
Apolinary was common in Poland during the late 19th-century and early 20th-centuries, it is now obsolete. Diminutives include: Apolinek, Apollinek, Apolin, Apollin, Polin, Polinary, Polinarek, Polinaruś, Poli, and Polik.
In Italy, Apollinare was mainly used in the Romagna region due to it being the name of their patrion saint, but it has since fallen out of use.
Apollinaire sporadically appeared in the French Top 1000 between 1900 and 1926 and peaked at #403 in 1923. In 2024, 5 babies were given this name.
Neither its masculine form nor its feminine form had much usage in the English-speaking world. It was mostly used in families of Greek or Eastern European background during the late 19th-century.
Designated name-days include July 20th, July 23rd, and September 12th
A traditional feminine diminutive form in Russian is Polina. Polish diminutives include: Apollinka, Apollina, Apolinka, Apolla, Apola, Pola, Polka, Polcia, Polina, and Polinka. Modern Greek diminutives include: Nαρία (Naría), Πόλλα (Pólla), or Λίνα (Lina). Potential English short forms would include: Apple, Pollie, Polly, and Narey, or Narie.
The name is composed of the German elements, ger (spear), and frid (peace).
It was the name of a 9th-century saint and bishop of Münster.
The designated name-day in Austria is September 12.
Another form is Gerfrid.
Sources
S.L. Uckelman. “Gerfrid”. In S.L. Uckelman, ed. The Dictionary of Medieval Names from European Sources, Edition 2023, no. 1. http://dmnes.org/2023/1/name/Gerfrid.
Bonaventure is the French and English form of the Medieval Italian male name, Bonaventura. It is ultimately made up of the Latin words, bonus “good” and venturas “the things that will come, the future.” A 13th-century Catholic Saint bore this name. He is considered a Doctor of the Church and known for authoring the biography of St. Francis of Assisi.
The name experienced widespread use throughout Catholic Europe until it fell out of use by the early 20th-century. It was the middle name of actor, Spencer Tracy (1900-1967).
The designated name-day is July 15th and September 11 in Croatia.
In recent years, it was the name of one of the ill-fated Lisbon sisters. This character appeared in Jeffrey Eugenides’ novel, The Virgin Suicides (1993). She is referred to as “Bonnie,” for short.
J. Uckelman, S.L. Uckelman. “Bonaventure”. In S.L. Uckelman, ed. The Dictionary of Medieval Names from European Sources, Edition 2023, no. 1. http://dmnes.org/2023/1/name/Bonaventure
Theodard is a Germanic male name which is composed of the elements, diota (people, tribe) and hart (brave, hard, hardy).
The name was borne by St. Theodard of Maastricht, a 7th-century bishop who was robbed and murdered in Speyer, Germany while on his way to save his church from the confiscation of King Childeric, II. His feast-day is September 10.
Another saint with this name is St. Theodard of Narbonne, a 9th-century archbishop.
Diethard is also the name of a municipality in Germany.
Other forms include:
Tjaart (Afrikaans)
Teodard (Catalan, Polish)
Tjeerd (Dutch, Frisian)
Dodart (English)
Audard, Odard (French)
Théodard (French)
Dieuwert (Frisian)
Tjaard (Frisian)
Dethard, Diethard (German)
Dietwart, Thiethard (Old German)
Teodardo (Italian, Portuguese, Spanish)
Feminine forms include, Theodara (Old German), Théodare (French), Audarde (French), and Odarde.
Zenobia is composed of the Greek elements, Zeus (Zeus) and bios (life). It was notably borne by a 1st-century Armenian queen of Georgian descent and later a 3rd-Century Queen of Palmyra who tried to expand into Roman territory but was defeated by Emperor Aurelian.
Zenobia of Palmyra’s name might have been a Hellenized form of her birth name, Bat-Zabbai, which is from the Aramaic meaning “daughter of Zabbai.” Zabbai itself is an Aramaic male name. It seems to be a theophoric name, meaning “gift of–.” The latter part refers to an unknown deity. It may have actually been an Aramaic form of the Hebrew female name, Bathsheba.
Speculation has also linked it with the Arabic female name Zaynab, which can either mean “father’s beauty” or be from the name of a type of flowering tree.
It was borne by the 3rd-century martyrs, Ss. Zenobia and Zenobius, two early Christians who were siblings and beheaded under Emperor Diocletian. Their feast and name-day is October 30.
In the English-speaking world, it is first recorded in Cornwall and Devon, England in the 16th-century. Early English forms of Synibie, Sinobie, Senobie, Cenobie, and Cenoby (Sen-e-bee; SIN-e-bee), would make interesting revivals in the spirit of Sydney and Willoughby. A common English diminutive was Nobby.
Zenobia appeared in the U.S. Top 1000 Most Popular Female names between 1881-1925, peaking at #669 in 1909.
Zenobia is no stranger to English literature, it is the name of a character in Nathaniel Hawthorn’s The Blithedale Romance (1852); Edith Wharton’s Ethan Frome (1911); and is even used by Anne Rice in her the eighth book of her vampire series, Blood and Gold (2001).
Zenobia “Nobby” Hawthorne appears as a character in the P.G. Wodehouse series, Jeeves.
Tina Fey used this as the middle name of daughter, Alice Zenobia.
S.L. Uckelman. “Zenobia”. In S.L. Uckelman, ed. The Dictionary of Medieval Names from European Sources, Edition 2023, no. 1. http://dmnes.org/2023/1/name/Zenobia.
S.L. Uckelman. “Zenobius”. In S.L. Uckelman, ed. The Dictionary of Medieval Names from European Sources, Edition 2023, no. 1. http://dmnes.org/2023/1/name/Zenobius.
The root name is the Frankish Audomar, which is composed of the elements aud (wealth, fortune), and mari (fame).
It was borne by an 8th-century saint and monk, an abbot of St. Gall, Switzerland and a 7th-century Frankish saint, after whom the French commune of St-Omer was named.
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.
