I’ve been perusing name lists recently and discovered Oriana, a name I’ve long been aware of, has a rich history that I’d never imagined!
Strong and evocative, Oriana also has an admirable literary resume. In medieval tales, she was the beloved of the knight Amadis, she appears in at least three seventeenth century plays, and there is an early Tennyson poem called The Ballad of Oriana. Oriana was also sometimes used to refer to Queen Elizabeth I. Oriana Fallaci was a feminist Italian journalist who interviewed many world leaders in the 1960s, 70s, and 80s.
That is exactly the kind of name I love - feminist, medieval, romantic and lyrical - but Oriana happens to be off limits. What are some other names of this caliber that you love, berries?
[name_f]Lavinia[/name_f] (Ancestor of the [name_m]Roman[/name_m] people in mythology; sometimes called the mother of the [name_m]Roman[/name_m] people. Also has a few other poetic/literary connections)
Themistoclea (ancient Greek philosopher, mathematician, and priestess)
[name_f]Clara[/name_f] (Clara Schumann, female composer; [name_f]Clara[/name_f] [name_m]Barton[/name_m], founder of the American [name_u]Red[/name_u] Cross; [name_f]Clara[/name_f] from The Nutcracker)
I’ll try not to do any that have already been mentioned
[name_f]Alexandrina[/name_f] (Queen Victoria’s first name)
[name_f]Asherah[/name_f] (name of a Semitic goddess)
[name_f]Beatrice[/name_f] (Dante’s muse)
[name_f]Cressida[/name_f] (a [name_m]Shakespeare[/name_m] character)
[name_f]Dido[/name_f] (a character in Virgil’s Aeneid, as well as a biracial noblewoman who influenced the abolition of slavery in England)
[name_f]Dora[/name_f] (Dora Pejačević was a female composer)
[name_f]Rosalind[/name_f] (Rosalind [name_u]Franklin[/name_u] was a chemist whose work helped discover the DNA structure)
[name_f]Zelda[/name_f] (F. [name_u]Scott[/name_u] Fitzgerald’s wife)
Marielle; it’s originally a french surname. The family was given noble status and ‘family seat’ for their contributions during a war and for their loyalty iirc. ( A familyseat , or simply a seat , was the principal manor of a medieval lord, which was normally an elegant country mansion and usually denoted that the family held political and economic influences in the area. In some cases, the family seat was a manor house. Dynasty names were sometimes derived from the name of a family seat. An example of this would be the House of Windsor, the royal family of the United Kingdom and the Commonwealth realms.) They have their own family crest and official motto (that a lot of prominent old families had back in the day). The motto was “Nos murs, nos lois” which means “Our walls, our laws” which I think is cool.
I always just thought it was a very pretty name with very interesting meanings, but I like it even more because apparently they were important and held power. It became a more powerful name for me.
Ahh, I forgot about the [name_m]Dante[/name_m] connection with [name_f]Beatrice[/name_f]! And [name_f]Dido[/name_f] solidly ticks the “important figures throughout time” criterion. It could be a great addition to my middle names list! I am constantly flip flopping with [name_f]Zelda[/name_f] - the video game association is so strong, but [name_f]Zelda[/name_f] [name_m]Fitzgerald[/name_m] was an incredible woman who practically wrote all of The Great [name_m]Gatsby[/name_m]. The story of [name_f]Griselda[/name_f] has, for the time being, swayed me against [name_f]Zelda[/name_f]. I’ll have to find another admirable [name_f]Zelda[/name_f] to remedy that! Same goes for [name_f]Cressida[/name_f], though I love the sound. Thank you for a wonderful list!
[name_f]Artemisia[/name_f] is in my top 3, and of course [name_f]Sappho[/name_f] is amazing. I think I can grow to love the others you’ve suggested as well!