How popular is the baby name Spartacus in the United States right now? How popular was it historically? Use the popularity graph and data table below to find out! Plus, see all the blog posts that mention the name Spartacus.
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In yesterday’s post I mentioned that, up until the 1960s, the citizens of France were forced to obey a restrictive baby name law that was enacted in 1803.
Why did that law exist?
In order to curb the very non-traditional baby naming practices that had evolved during the years of the French Revolution.
It all started in September of 1792, one day before the French National Convention abolished the monarchy. On that day, a decree was issued. The decree allowed the citizens of France to change their forenames quite easily — all they had to do was “make a simple formal declaration before the registrar of their local municipality.”
Many people took advantage of this decree and chose new names with a revolutionary flavor (i.e., names that referred to nature, to the new republican calendar,* to republican virtues, to republican heroes, or to antiquity).
And, of course, they started giving their children revolutionary names as well.
Examples of these names include…
Name
Translation/Significance
Abeille
“Bee” / refers to the date Germinal 15 (Apr. 4)
Abricot
“Apricot” / refers to the date Thermidor 13 (Jul. 31)
“Poplar” / refers to the date Pluviôse 9 (Jan. 28)
Philippe Thomas Ve de bon coeur pour la République
Philippe Thomas “Go with a good heart for the Republic”
Phytogynéantrope
according to one source, it’s “Greek for a woman giving birth only to warrior sons”
Pomme
“Apple” / refers to the date Brumaire 1 (Oct. 22)
Porte-arme
“Weapon-holder”
Racine de la Liberté
“Root of Freedom”
Raifort
“Horseradish” / refers to the date Frimaire 12 (Dec. 2)
Raison
“Reason”
Régénérée Vigueur
“Regenerated Strength”
Rhubarbe
“Rhubarb” / refers to the date Floréal 11 (Apr. 30)
Robespierre
refers to politician Maximilien Robespierre
Sans Crainte
“Without Fear”
Scipion l’Africain
refers to ancient Roman general Scipio Africanus
Seigle
“Rye” / refers to the date Messidor 1 (Jun. 19)
Simon Liberté ou la Mort
Simon “Freedom or Death”
Spartacus
refers to ancient Roman gladiator and military leader Spartacus
Sureau
“Elderberry” / refers to the date Prairial 17 (Jun. 5)
Thermidor
based on thermon, Greek for “summer heat” / one of the summertime months of the republican calendar
Travail
“Work”
Tubéreuse
“Tuberose” / refers to the date Fructidor 6 (Aug. 23)
Unitée Impérissable
“Imperishable Unity”
Vengeur Constant
“Constant Avenger”
Victoire Fédérative
“Federal Victory”
Though it’s impossible to estimate just how many revolution-era babies got revolutionary names, the number seems to be well into the thousands, judging by statements like these:
“[I]n the winter and spring of 1794 at least 60 per cent of children received revolutionary names in Marseilles, Montpellier, Nevers, and Rouen.”
“[I]n Poitiers…only 62 of 593 babies born in the year II [1793-94] were named after saints in the ancien régime manner. Instead, they were given names reflecting the contrasting sources of political inspiration.”
About a decade later, however, all this creative naming came to an end.
Under Napoleon Bonaparte, the French government enacted a law that restricted French given names to “names used in various calendars” (that is, the names of Catholic saints) and “names of persons known from ancient history.” In essence, the law was meant to “put an end to citizens bearing absurd names that signified inanimate objects, forms of vegetation, membership of the animal kingdom and abstract concepts.”
….And this was the law that gave the Manrot-le Goarnic family so much difficulty when they tried to give their children Breton names a century and a half later.
*The French republican calendar, in use from 1793 to 1806, was a secular take on the Catholic Church’s calendar of saints. The months “were named after natural elements, while each day was named for a seed, tree, flower, fruit, animal, or tool.”
The buffalo herd at Shelby Farms in Memphis welcomed eight calves this year.
The names of the baby buffalo, chosen via online poll, were officially announced on Saturday. The calves will now be known as Atticus, Bosco, Buckley, Cocoa, Mike Byson, Rufus, Rushmore and Spartacus. (The “overwhelming winner” in the poll was Mike Byson.)
Names that did not make the cut include Biscuit, Brutus, Conan, Echo, Otis, Rockefeller, Ruby, and Stephen Colbison.
So far, the baby name Varinia has appeared in the U.S. baby name data just three times. The first two appearances were in the early 1960s:
1963: unlisted
1962: 7 baby girls named Varinia
1961: 5 baby girls named Varinia [debut]
1960: unlisted
1959: unlisted
What put this rare name on the onomastic map?
The 1960 film Spartacus, which starred Kirk Douglas as rebellious Thracian slave Spartacus. Varinia, played by Jean Simmons, was a slave girl from Britannia who become Spartacus’ wife.
The movie was based on the 1951 novel of the same name by Howard Fast. The author invented the character Varinia (originally Germanic, not Britannic) for the book.
Though we know that the real-life Spartacus had a wife — she’s mentioned by Plutarch — we don’t know what her name was. The name chosen by Fast is a form of the Roman name Varinius, which might be based on the Latin word varius, meaning “various, variegated.”
Incidentally, this wasn’t the first time that Jean Simmons played a name-influencing character. In 1954, she was appearing in theaters as both Désirée Clary and Corby Lane.
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