indicate the level to which a name has been verified.
Gender Feminine
Usage Literature
Meaning & History
From Italian pastorella meaning "little shepherdess" or "young shepherdess". Alternatively it could be a feminine diminutive of Pastor. Edmund Spenser used this name for a minor character in his epic poem 'The Faerie Queene' (1590-1596); Pastorella is raised by shepherds, but in the last Canto of Book 6 she is revealed to be the daughter of Sir Bellamoure and Lady Claribell.