This is a reply within a larger thread: view the whole thread

Re: Name Origin? ? ?
It's not related to Bryce, but is a respelling of Briseida. Briseida is the Spanish form of Briseis, Greek “daughter of Briseus.” Briseus possibly meant “weighty, strong.” In the Greek legends of the Trojan War, Briseis was a young Trojan widow taken as a spoil of war by Achilles. In romantic versions of the story, she is often presented as being in love with him. Though Briseida has never been extremely common in Latin America, it has certainly been used more often there than Briseis has been in English-speaking countries.
vote up1vote down

Replies

Briseis is certainly unexpected in English! But isn't that because, in literature, Chaucer used Criseyde and Shakespeare used Cressida? And they were the versions that caught on ... I wouldn't be surprised to meet an English Cressida, though it would be even less surprising to see Cressida as a type of car; perhaps a Toyota, I'm vague about cars.
vote up1vote down