ALESSANDROmItalianItalian form of
ALEXANDER. A famous bearer was Alessandro Volta (1745-1827), the Italian physicist who invented the battery.
ALICEfEnglish, French, Portuguese, ItalianFrom the Old French name
Aalis, a short form of
Adelais, itself a short form of the Germanic name
Adalheidis (see
ADELAIDE). This name became popular in France and England in the 12th century. It was borne by the heroine of Lewis Carroll's 'Alice's Adventures in Wonderland' (1865) and 'Through the Looking Glass' (1871).
ANDREA (1)mItalianItalian form of
Andreas (see
ANDREW). A notable bearer of this name was Andrea Verrocchio, a Renaissance sculptor who taught Leonardo da Vinci and Perugino.
ANNAfEnglish, Italian, German, Dutch, Swedish, Norwegian, Danish, Finnish, Estonian, Latvian, Greek, Hungarian, Polish, Russian, Ukrainian, Belarusian, Czech, Slovak, Bulgarian, Icelandic, Faroese, Catalan, Occitan, Breton, Biblical, Old Church Slavic, Biblical Latin, Biblical GreekForm of
Channah (see
HANNAH) used in the Greek and Latin Old Testament. Many later Old Testament translations, including the English, use the
Hannah spelling instead of
Anna. The name appears briefly in the New Testament belonging to a prophetess who recognized
Jesus as the Messiah. It was a popular name in the Byzantine Empire from an early date, and in the Middle Ages it became common among Western Christians due to veneration of Saint Anna (usually known as Saint Anne in English), the name traditionally assigned to the mother of the Virgin
Mary. In the English-speaking world, this form came into general use in the 18th century, joining
Ann and
Anne.
... [more] CHIARAfItalianItalian form of
CLARA. Saint Chiara (commonly called Saint Clare in English) was a follower of Saint Francis of Assisi.
EMMAfEnglish, French, Italian, Spanish, Swedish, Norwegian, Danish, Icelandic, Finnish, Dutch, German, Ancient GermanicOriginally a short form of Germanic names that began with the element
ermen meaning "whole" or "universal". It was introduced to England by Emma of Normandy, who was the wife both of King Ethelred II (and by him the mother of Edward the Confessor) and later of King Canute. It was also borne by an 11th-century Austrian saint, who is sometimes called
Hemma.
... [more] GAIAfGreek Mythology, ItalianFrom the Greek word
γαια (gaia), a parallel form of
γη (ge) meaning "earth". In Greek mythology Gaia was the mother goddess who presided over the earth. She was the mate of
Uranus and the mother of the Titans and the Cyclopes.
GINEVRAfItalianItalian form of
GUINEVERE. This is also the Italian name for the city of Geneva, Switzerland. It is also sometimes associated with the Italian word
ginepro meaning "juniper".
GIUSEPPEmItalianItalian form of
JOSEPH. Giuseppe Garibaldi (1807-1882) was a military leader who united Italy in the 19th century.
LEONARDOmItalian, Spanish, PortugueseItalian, Spanish and Portuguese form of
LEONARD. A notable bearer was Leonardo da Vinci (1452-1519), an Italian artist and scientist of the Renaissance. He is also known as the inventor of several contraptions, including flying machines, as well as the painter of the 'Mona Lisa'. Another famous bearer was Leonardo Fibonacci, a 13th-century Italian mathematician. A more recent bearer is American actor Leonardo DiCaprio (1974-).
LORENZOmItalian, SpanishItalian and Spanish form of
Laurentius (see
LAURENCE (1)). Lorenzo de' Medici (1449-1492), known as the Magnificent, was a ruler of Florence during the Renaissance. He was also a great patron of the arts who employed Leonardo da Vinci, Michelangelo, Botticelli and other famous artists.
MARCOmItalian, Spanish, Portuguese, German, DutchItalian form of
MARK. During the Middle Ages this name was common in Venice, where Saint Mark was supposedly buried. A famous bearer was the Venetian explorer Marco Polo, who travelled across Asia to China in the 13th century.
MARTINAfGerman, Italian, Spanish, Catalan, Czech, Slovak, Croatian, Slovene, Hungarian, English, Swedish, Dutch, Ancient RomanFeminine form of
Martinus (see
MARTIN). Saint Martina was a 3rd-century martyr who is one of the patron saints of Rome.
SARAfGreek, Spanish, Italian, Portuguese, Catalan, Swedish, Norwegian, Danish, Icelandic, Finnish, German, French, Dutch, Slovene, Croatian, Serbian, Macedonian, Polish, English, Arabic, Persian, BosnianForm of
SARAH.
SOFIAfNorwegian, Swedish, German, Italian, Portuguese, Catalan, Greek, Finnish, Estonian, Slovak, Romanian, Russian, Ukrainian, BulgarianForm of
SOPHIA.