Previous Names of the Day
May 9th
Silvia f Italian, Spanish, Portuguese, Romanian, Slovak, German, Dutch, English, Late Roman, Roman Mythology
Feminine form of
Silvius.
Rhea Silvia was the mother of
Romulus and
Remus, the founders of Rome. This was also the name of a 6th-century saint, the mother of the pope Gregory the Great. It has been a common name in Italy since the Middle Ages.
May 7th
Theodoric m Gothic (Anglicized)
From the Gothic name *
Þiudareiks meaning
"ruler of the people", derived from the elements
þiuda "people" and
reiks "ruler, king". It was notably borne by Theodoric the Great, a 6th-century king of the Ostrogoths who eventually became the ruler of Italy.
May 6th
Emily f English
English feminine form of
Aemilius (see
Emil). In the English-speaking world it was not common until after the German House of Hanover came to the British throne in the 18th century; the princess Amelia Sophia (1711-1786) was commonly known as
Emily in English, even though
Amelia is an unrelated name.
May 5th
Tenskwatawa m Shawnee
Means
"open door" in Shawnee. This name was borne by the Shawnee prophet Tenskwatawa (1775-1836). With his brother
Tecumseh he urged resistance against American expansion.
May 4th
Meritxell f Catalan
From the name of a village in Andorra where there is a sanctuary dedicated to the Virgin
Mary. The name of the village may derive from Latin
meridies meaning "midday".
May 3rd
Cambyses m Old Persian (Latinized), History
Latin form of
Καμβύσης (Kambyses), the Greek form of the Old Persian name
𐎣𐎲𐎢𐎪𐎡𐎹 (Kabujiya), which is of uncertain meaning, possibly related to the geographical name
Kamboja, a historical region in Central Asia.