Comments (Meaning / History Only)

There are several ideas concerning the etymology of the ancient toponym Hadria/Adria/Atria. One theory is that it derives from the Illyrian (Venetic language) word adur “water, sea”. It was a known trade harbour. The name Hadrian is a boy's name of Latin origin in which the meaning would be "dark-haired" or "sea-dark".
I have read that the name Adria / Hadria is likely derived from the Illyrian word adur, meaning "sea" (which is how the town lent its name to the Adriatic Sea).
This is supposed to be the origin of my own name (Adrien), and I was rather disappointed in the meaning. So I did some more research, sort of. Now this is entirely speculative and I am no etymologist. There was a town in ancient Israel known as "Edrei" which is mentioned in the Old Testament portion of the Bible (written in Hebrew). With the Jewish people every name has a meaning and the meaning of "Edrei" is "Strong". In the Greek translation of the Old Testament (the Septuagint) the name becomes "Hadrianus". Considering Greek was a strong parent of Latin it seems to me that a more accurate meaning would be "Strong".

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