Beatrice’s return to the charts came in 2006 but it’s unclear what prompted her reappearance. In 2002, Sir Paul McCartney and his then-wife Heather Mills named their daughter Beatrice but this did nothing to jump start the name back on the charts. In any case, the name Beatrice pretty much retreated into the shadows and fell off the American female naming charts altogether between the mid-1990s up through 2005. You might remember her as the one who wore the funny hat to William & Kate’s royal wedding in 2012. The name did see a favorable increase in usage in 1988 when the Duchess of York Sarah Ferguson (“Fergie”) and her then husband Prince Andrew named their first daughter Princess Beatrice of York (currently the fifth in line to the English throne). By the 1970s, this name was clearly passé as her drops on the charts became more significant and she fell to levels of low usage. By the mid-1930s, though, Beatrice was on a steady decline as she slowly fell from fashion. Her highest achievement on the charts was at position #36 (1910). People appreciated this name between 19 when Beatrice was generally a Top 50 choice for girls in America. It has a lot going for it: it’s old-school, regal, charming and literary. The name Beatrice has fallen off in popularity among English speakers, but it’s still going strong in Italy where it remains a Top 20 favorite girl’s name (pronounced be-ah-TREE-che in Italian).įor the most part, Beatrice is a female name that’s fallen off the radar and we can’t imagine why. William Shakespeare also used the lovely name Beatrice as his intelligent, quick-witted heroine in “Much Ado About Nothing” (1598). Still, she remained an inspiration for some of the most important Italian literary works ever written. Dante’s intense and abiding love for Beatrice would remain unrequited and she died at the young age of 24. The poet referred to Beatrice as “la gloriosa donna della mia mente” (the glorious lady of my mind). Later, Beatrice served as Dante’s guide through Paradise in his “Divina Commedia” (1321). His chivalrous love for her is the subject of “La Vita Nuova” (1295), a text which helped establish the Tuscan dialect as the Italian standard. Beatrice Portinari was a 13th century woman who became poet Dante Alighieri’s lifelong muse after he instantly fell in love with the young girl when she was eight and he was nine. Beatrix was a popular name in England throughout the Middle Ages and eventually English-speakers adopted the French and Italian form of Beatrice. In Italy, the name was modified from Beatrix to Beatrice in order to connect it with the Latin “beatus” which means “blessed creature, happy”. Beatrix was strangled with a cord in prison for her deeds and her legend (and name usage) grew in medieval times (her Feast Day is July 29). She went on to assist other Christian victims until her neighbor Lucretius ratted on her to the Roman pagan authorities. After her brothers were tortured, killed and thrown into the Tiber River, Beatrix retrieved their bodies from the water and gave them a proper burial. Beatrix was popularized in the Middle Ages in homage to an early 4th century saint, Beatrix, the sister of saints Simplicius and Faustinus, all three of whom were martyred in Rome for their Christian beliefs under the rule of Diocletian. Beatrix in turn is a Late Latinate personal name from the feminine “Viatrix” meaning “traveler, voyager” (as in to voyage through life). Beatrice is the Italian and French (Béatrice) form of Beatrix.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |