Virginia - Meaning of Virginia

What does Virginia mean?

Pronounce
Virginia

[ 3 syll. vir-gi-nia, vi-rgin-ia ] The baby girl name Virginia is pronounced VahR-JHIHN-Yah (English), ViyR-JHIY-NYaa (Italian), or BiyR-HHIY-NYaa (Spanish) †. Virginia has its origins in the Latin language. It is used largely in English, German, Italian, Portuguese, Romanian, Scandinavian, and Spanish. The first name is from Verginia (Latin), the feminine version of the Roman family name 'Virginius' or 'Verginius', from the Latin virgo (meaning 'virgin, maiden'), genitive virginis.

The name was borne in Roman mythology by the beautiful maiden Verginia who was killed by her father Lucius Verginius to avoid the attention of the decemvir Appius Claudius; the case eventually led to an uprising against the decemviri and the re-establishment of the Roman republic. The name was first borne in America by Virginia Dare in 1587, the first baby born in the Americas to English parents; she was named after the Virginia colony on Roanoke Island in modern-day North Carolina, which was itself named after the 'Virgin Queen' Elizabeth I. The child's subsequent mysterious disappearance along with the rest of the ill-fated colony became the source of an enduring American folklore. In France and subsequently England, the name has been popularized by the Jacques-Henri Bernardin de Saint-Pierre romance tragedy novel Paul et Virginie (1787). Virginia is the feminine equivalent of the Italian Virginio.

What are the Variant Forms of Virginia?

The name Virginia is used to a great extent; it has 65 forms that are used in English and foreign languages. English forms of the name include Geena, Geenia, Genia, Genya, Ginella, Ginelle, Giniah, Ginnee, Ginni, Ginya, Jenell, Jenella, Jenelle, Jinia, Jinnie, Vergie, Verginia, Verginya, Virge, Virgeena, Virgeenia, Virgen, Virgena, Virgene, Virgenia, Virgenie, Virgenya, Virgina, Virgine, and Virginiah. Other English variants include the familiar forms Gin, Ginger, Gini, Ginia (also used in Spanish), Ginie, Ginney, Ginnie, Ginny, Giny, Jenny (also used in German), Jin, Jini, Jinny, Vinnie, Vinny, Virgie, and Vita.

Forms used in foreign languages include the French Gigi, the Spanish Ginata, the French Niní, the Hawaiian Vegenia, and the Hawaiian Wilikinia. The shortening Virna (Italian), and the familiar form Gina (Spanish) are other foreign variants.

See also the related categories, queen, romanian, english, latin, roman, maiden (maid), beautiful (fair), portuguese, virgin (pure), island, paul, fated (wealth), spanish, italian, saint, england, scandinavian, american, folklore, and german.

Virginia is an all-time favorite. Currently it is still rather popular as a baby girl name, but not to the degree it was before. At the peak of its usage in 1922, 1.535% of baby girls were named Virginia. It was #7 in rank then. The baby name has suffered a substantial decline in frequency since then, and is of only modest use in recent times. In 2018, it ranked at #540 with a usage of 0.031%, but it was nevertheless the most popular out of all girl names in its family. The name Virginia has primarily been a baby girl name, although it has also been given to boys in the last century. In 1941, 230 times more baby girls than boys were given the name Virginia.

Baby names that sound like Virginia include Virgenie, Virgine, Virgini, Bayarmaa, Breana, Breanna, Breonna, Briana, Brianna, Brianni, Brione, Brioni, Brionna, Briony, Bronia, Bryana, Bryanee, Bryani, Bryanna, and Bryoni.

† Pronunciation for Virginia: V as in "vow (V.AW)" ; AH as in "mud (M.AH.D)" ; R as in "race (R.EY.S)" ; JH as in "joy (JH.OY)" ; IH as in "it (IH.T)" ; N as in "knee (N.IY)" ; Y as in "you (Y.UW)" ; IY as in "eat (IY.T)" ; AA as in "odd (AA.D)" ; B as in "be (B.IY)" ; HH as in "he (HH.IY)"

Details of famous persons named Virginia:
Actress Virginia Madsen, born 11 September 1963, Chicago, Illinois.
Actress Fay Compton, born Virginia Lilian Emmeline Mackenzie Compton September 18, 1894 - December 12, 1978, West Kensington, London, England.
Author Virginia Woolf, born Adeline Virginia Stephen 25 January 1882 - 28 March 1941, London, England.
Country Singer Patsy Cline, born Virginia Patterson Hensley 8 September 1932 - 5 March 1963, Winchester, Virginia.
Infant Virginia Dare, Roanoke Island, Virginia.