|
||||
 [ 3 syll. bal-(t)ha-sar, ba-lthas-ar ] The boy name Balthasar is pronounced BAELTHahSer KEY. Balthasar's language of origin is Assyrian, and it is used largely in the English and German languages. The name's meaning is 'Baal protect the king'. From Baal ; scharra ; usur. The first name is derived from Belshazzar (Hebrew), a name borne by a biblical king. The king's name was taken from Belsharrausur (Babylonian) in reference to the Babylonian god Baal. The name was also borne by one of the three Magi or wise men from the east who brought gifts to the infant Jesus. It was adopted by English speakers in the Middle Ages. In literature, the name was used by Shakespeare for several of his plays, notably The Merchant of Venice (1596-1598), whereby it was the adopted name of the heiress Portia when she was under disguise as a lawyer. The Italian form has sometimes been bestowed in tribute to the 15th-century Blessed Balthasar of Chiavari, venerated in Pavia, Italy. Variations of Balthasar include the Italian Baldassare, the Italian Baldassarre, the Slavic Baldo, the Spanish Baltasar, the English Baltazar, and the Hungarian Boldizsár. Other forms of Balthasar include the Polish pet form Zarek and the English variant spelling Balthazar. Balthasar is not regularly used as a baby name for boys. It is not ranked within the top 1000 names. Baby names that sound like Balthasar include the Spanish Baltasar, the English Baltazar, the English Balthazar, the Hungarian Boldizsár, the Italian Baldassare, and the Italian Baldassarre. A famous person named Balthasar is Artist Balthus, born Balthasar Klossowski de Rola, 29 February 1908 - 19 February 2001, Paris, France. KEY: Pronunciation for Balthasar: B as in "be (B.IY)" ; AE as in "at (AE.T)" ; L as in "lee (L.IY)" ; TH as in "theta (TH.EY.T.AH)" ; AH as in "hut (HH.AH.T)" ; S as in "sea (S.IY)" ; ER as in "hurt (HH.ER.T)"   |
