Luscinia

Luscinia is the name of a genus of birds containing nightingales and other birds related to them. The name comes from Latin luscinia meaning “nightingale”, possibly a combination of luscus (“one-eyed” or “half blind”) from PIE root word *lewk- (light, bright; to shine; to see); and canō (to sing), derived from PIE root *keh₂n- (to…

Ceres

Ceres is the name of the Roman goddess of agriculture (the Roman equivalent to Greek Demeter). The name is derived from PIE root word *ḱer- (to grow, increase). Ceres is also the name of a dwarf planet. Origin: Proto-Indo-European Meaning: “to grow, increase” Usage: Roman mythology Variants:

Liber

Liber is the god of viticulture, wine, and male fertility in Roman mythology, making him the Roman equivalent of Dionysios. The origin of the name derives from Latin līber meaning “free, independent, unrestricted, unchecked” via PIE root word *h₁lewdʰ- (people). However, the name may also be related to Ancient Greek leíbō λείβω “to pour out…

Tacita

Tacita is the feminine form of Tacitus, an Ancient Roman cognomen meaning “silent, quiet, secret, unspoken, hidden” which ultimately derives from PIE root word *tak- (to be silent). In Roman mythology, Dea Tacita “the silent goddess”, is a goddess of the dead. She has been identified with the nymph Larunda (whose loquacity and inability to keep…

Rumina

Rumina is a female given name with quite a few etymologies behind it: Rumina is also a Japanese female name with a variety of meanings depending on the kanji used: Ru mi na There are other meanings depending on the kanji used. Written in hiragana it’s るみな. Rumina رومینا is also an Urdu female name…

Ventus

Ventus is a Latin word meaning “wind”. In Roman mythology, the Venti (“winds” in Latin) were the Roman equivalent to the Anemoi, the gods of the four winds in Greek mythology. The word derives from PIE root word *h₂weh₁- (to blow). Origin: Proto-Indo-European Meaning: “wind” Usage: English

Aeneas

Aeneas was the name of a Trojan hero, the son of Anchises and the goddess Aphrodite. He features in both Homer’s Iliad and Virgil‘s Aeneid in which, after fleeing from the fall of Troy, eventually settles in Italy, marries Lavinia, and founds the Roman states. His descendants would include Remus and Romulus. The name Aeneas…

Fauna

Fauna is the name of the Roman goddess of fertility, women, and healing. She is either the wife, daughter, or companion of Faunus, the horned god of fertility, forests, and agriculture (and the Roman counterpart of the Greek god Pan). Fauna is the feminine form of Faunus, a name of uncertain etymology- it may be…

Corin

Corin is the French form of Quirinus, the name of a god in Roman mythology. He seems to have originated as a Sabine god of war before being absorbed into the Roman pantheon and was even deified with Romulus, the legendary founder and first king of Rome. Quirinus later became an epithet of Janus, the god of beginnings, doorways,…

Roma

Roma is the Latin and Italian name for the city of Rome, a name of uncertain etymology though there are several possible theories regarding the name’s etymology: according to Roman mythology, Rome’s name derives from the name of its founder and first king, Romulus whose name means “of Rome”, also of unknown meaning; it may be derived…

Sol

Sol is the personification of the sun in Roman mythology (the Roman counterpart of Greek Helios) and seemed to play an important role in the later part of the Roman Empire. It seems that there have been two different sun gods, one during the early days of Ancient Rome known as Sol Indiges, who was worshipped along…

Luna

Luna is the name of the Roman goddess of the moon, the female counterpart to Sol, the Roman god of the sun (and her brother); their sister Aurora is the goddess of dawn. Her Greek counterpart is Selene. Luna is also a Spanish and Italian surname originating as a locational name for any of several places called Luna,…

Maya, Maia

Maya and Maia sound exactly the same but depending on the spelling of the name, they contain vastly different etymologies and meanings. Maya for instance is the name of the Mayan civilization and its people, a Mesoamerican civilization that once stretched across southern Mexico, Belize, Guatemala, El Salvador, and Honduras. Maya is a relatively modern term…

Roman

Roman is a male given name derived from Late Latin Romanus meaning “Roman” and “of Rome”, denoting someone who was a citizen of Rome. Rome itself is a name of uncertain origin though there are several possible theories regarding the name’s etymology: according to Roman mythology, Rome’s name derives from the name of its founder and…