Previous Names of the Day

APOLLO   m   Greek Mythology (Latinized) Jul 20th
From Greek Απολλων (Apollon), which is of unknown meaning, though perhaps related to Indo-European *apelo "strength". Another theory states that Apollo can be equated with Appaliunas, an Anatolian god whose name possibly means "father lion" or "father light".

HIDEYOSHI   m   Japanese Jul 19th
From Japanese 秀 (hide) meaning "excellent, outstanding" combined with 良 (yoshi) meaning "good, virtuous, respectable" or 吉 (yoshi) meaning "good luck". Other kanji combinations are possible. Toyotomi Hideyoshi (Hideyoshi 秀吉 being his given name) was a 16th-century daimyo who unified Japan and attempted to conquer Korea.

GLORIA   f   English, Italian, Spanish, Portuguese, German Jul 18th
Means "glory" in Latin. The name (first?) appeared in E. D. E. N. Southworth's novel 'Gloria' (1891) and subsequently in George Bernard Shaw's play 'You Never Can Tell' (1898). It was popularized in the early 20th century by American actress Gloria Swanson (1899-1983).

FLORENCE   f & m   English, French Jul 17th
From the Latin name Florentius or the feminine form Florentia, which were derived from florens "prosperous, flourishing". Florentius was borne by many early Christian saints, and it was occasionally used in their honour through the Middle Ages. In modern times it is mostly feminine.

GUIDO   m   Italian, German Jul 16th
Latinized form of WIDO. This was the name of two 11th-century saints. Other notable bearers include 11th-century music theorist Guido d'Arezzo, 13th-century poet Guido Cavalcanti, and 17th-century painter Guido Reni.

VALENTINA   f   Italian, Russian, Slovene, Croatian, Macedonian, Romanian, Spanish, Ancient Roman Jul 15th
Feminine form of Valentinus (see VALENTINE (1)). A famous bearer was the Soviet cosmonaut Valentina Tereshkova (1937-), who in 1963 became the first woman to visit space.

HASAN   m   Arabic, Turkish, Persian, Urdu, Punjabi, Bengali, Indonesian Jul 14th
Means "handsome", derived from Arabic حسن (hasuna) "to be beautiful, to be good". Hasan was the son of Ali and the grandson of the Prophet Muhammad. He was poisoned by one of his wives and is regarded as a martyr by Shia Muslims. This was also the name of two kings of Morocco.