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1: Basil is used mostly in English and German, and it is of Old Greek origin. Basil has the meaning royal, kingly. From the element 'basileus' with the meaning king. Old forms of the name include the Old Greek Basileios and the Latin Basilius. Saint Basil the Great was a well known 4th century bishop of Caesarea whose fame contributed to the popularity of the name among early Christians. The name was also borne by two Byzantine emperors. It was later introduced into Western Europe by the returning Crusaders and subsequently adopted by English speakers in the Middle Ages. The popularity of the name saw a substantial revival in the 19th century, promoted by the plant name, which is derived from the same root word 'basileus' for its excellent medicinal qualities. As a first name, Basil shares the same etymology as Rex, which is from the Latin cognate of the same root word. In Britain, the name has in recent times been made known by the anthropomorphic fox puppet Basil Brush which appeared on children's television show in the 1960s, and the character Basil Fawlty from the iconic British sitcom Fawlty Towers (1975-1979). Basil has 21 variant forms that are used in both English and other languages. Bazil is a variant form of Basil that is used in English. Other English variants include the short form Bas, and the pet form Baz. Variant forms of Basil used in other languages include the French Basile, the Basque, Italian, and Spanish Basilio, the German Basilius, the Ukrainian Basilla, the Polish Bazyli, the Finnish Pasi, the Slavic Vasil, the Romanian Vasile, the Greek Vasileos, the Russian Vasili, the Slavic Vasilije, the Greek Vasilios, the Greek Vasilis, the Russian Vasiliy, the Russian Vasily, the Russian Vassily, the Ukrainian Vasyl, and the Russian Wassily. 2: Basil's origin and use are both in the Arabic language. Basil's meaning is valiant, brave. See also the related form, the English and German Rex. Basil is a rare baby name for boys. At the modest peak of its usage in 1911, 0.029% of baby boys were given the name Basil. It ranked at #328 then. The baby name has since suffered a steep loss in popularity, and is now used on an infrequent scale. In 2007, out of the group of boy names directly linked to Basil, the English and German Rex was the most commonly used. Baby names that sound like Basil include the French Basile, the English Bazil, the Ukrainian Basilla, the Polish Bazyli, and the Basque, Italian, and Spanish Basilio. KEY: English pronunciation for Basil: B as in "be (B.IY)" ; AE as in "at (AE.T)" ; Z as in "zee (Z.IY)" ; AH as in "hut (HH.AH.T)" ; L as in "lee (L.IY)" Details of famous persons named Basil:
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