Probably from Viatrix, a feminine form of the Late Latin name Viator which meant "voyager, traveller". It was a common name amongst early Christians, and the spelling was altered by association with Latin beatus "blessed". Viatrix or Beatrix was a 4th-century saint who was strangled to death during the persecutions of Diocletian. In England it became rare after the Middle Ages, but it was revived in the 19th century. A famous bearer was the British author and illustrator Beatrix Potter (1866-1943), the creator of Peter Rabbit.