Antony

The dashing male counterpart to the charismatic Cleopatra, Antony is one half of one the greatest love stories ever told. Dying believe his own love was dead, but really she wasn’t and then she killed herself with an Asp... wait a minute, their demise sounds slightly ‘Romeo and Juliet’ but there love we know was real and the reasons for killing themselves were much more plausible than those of star cross lovers. In any case, Antony was not only a famous lover, he was a good military leader too.

Antony (pronounced: AN-toe-nee) was the formely used English spelling of the name before the 17^th century when the ‘H’ started to be added. Coming from Etruscan origin, the name means ‘priceless, flourishing, praiseworthy’. This spelling has never been as popular as the Anthony spelling but I find something quite modern about the Antony spelling, plus it fits in with other names like Atticus, Octavian and Augustus/August which are Ancient names making a comeback.

Mark Antony is not only known thanks to his own natural place in history but also thanks to the Shakespeare plays of ‘Julius Caesar’ and ‘Antony and Cleopatra’. Many famous actors have taken on the role of Mark Antony including Marlon Brando, Richard Burton and James Purefoy. Mark Antony is not the only person to bear Antony in their name either. In Christianity, St Antony of Padua was a significant cult; there was an Egyptian Saint known as Antony the Great plus there is also a village in Cornwall that is called Antony.

In 2011, there were 146 boys given the name Antony. That is a small amount compared to Anthony which was given to 14, 181 boys in 2011. It ranked #956 in 2010 but dropped off the charts in 2011 and the name reached its peak in the 1970s. However, in France, the name currently ranks at #451 with 78 boys given the name though it reached its peak in 2000 over there at #194 and has been steadily declining ever since.

This name is a different approach to the widely used Anthony but it should be seen as a possibility, as should the feminine version – Antonia. The name is rich with history and there is something just a bit dashing of a boy with the name Antony. 

Albinia

Years ago, I discovered this wonderful blog The Duchess of Devonshire’s Gossip Guide to the18th Century and one of my favourite series of articles is called ‘Tartof the Week’. When reading about these women there was one name that drew my attention, mainly because I had not heard it before and that was Albinia.

Albinia (pronounced al-BIN-ee-uh or al-BEEN-ya) is a rare Latin name meaning ‘white; fair’. It is rather a safe meaning but has never been popular in the U.S. or anywhere in fact. In 2011, it was given to less than 5 or no girls at all. It does sound quite upper-class but to me it matches equally with names like Georgiana or Vivienne. It has a certain charm about it.

Albinia, Countess of Buckinghamshire

The name Albinia also fits with those other Alb- names that I have taken quite a fancy to, especially when going through the 1880 records for the In Retrospect features. Albinia is a more fanciful approach to those names instead of Alberta (given to #9 in 2011), Albertine, Albertha and Albertha. As a female variation of Alban and Albinius, another female variation is Albina. With one less ‘i’ in the name, it is more popular with 10 girls given the name.

As for the ‘Tart’ that I discovered this name on, her name was Albinia, Countess of Buckinghamshire. She was born the ‘lovechild’ of Lord Bertie and Anne Casey. Her mother was illegitimate as well so really, Albinia was the illegitimate child of an illegitimate child. Not good for someone in those days. She married George Hobart, 3^rd Earl of Buckinghamshire and was famous for her gambling parties and was also a bit of cheater when it came to it as well (taking in a bit more money from running the faro table than she should). Most of the ‘Tarts’ mentioned where known for their infidelity but not her so I guess that is a positive, just unfortunately her other bad attribute was gambling. Though, I don’t think this will affect a child too much. In any case, at least there is a pretty portrait of her.

I think Albinia is a name for those that prefer their Georgiana to their Georgia. I think it is a name that could be used today and while the name is a throwback to even further in the past than Edith, Lavinia or Vera, I think she would fit easily beside them. It also comes with a wide array of nicknames including Alby, Ally, Bina, Binnie, Alba etc.  

Aphrodite

I remember when we studied the Ancient Greeks for History class back in my first year of high school, it started my love of history, though it didn't fully fledge out until we studied the wonderful Tudor Dynasty the following year, but it also started my slight love of this figure - the Greek Goddess, Aprhodite.

The Ancient Greeks did have some marvelous names and many of them are popular today with the Kardashian-endorsed Penelope, Cassandra, Echo, Athena and Persephone (at least in the blogosphere) but Aphrodite (pronounced a-fra-DIE-tee) has never been endorsed as a baby name. I think though that it has more to do with the myth surrounding the iconic figure rather than anything else.

Image Credit:
http://pinterest.com/pin/88172105174721772/

Aphrodite was the Greek Goddess of love, beauty, pleasure and procreation (and the Roman equivalent in Venus). Considered the most beautiful woman of all, it would be a lot for any little girl to, it is true, but I love the name Bathsheba and I think that has equally as much to live up to, and possibly even has a worse stigma attached to it. Aphrodite features in a lot of the myths, including her love affair with Adonis (who she was also surrogate mother to) as well as the infamous judging of Paris which, thanks to her being the chosen one, led to the Battle of Troy.

She is often depicted as vain, ill-tempered and easily offended in later myths and she is actually one of the few Greek Gods and Goddesses to actually be married, though that doesn't stop her having affairs. I wouldn't see this as a deterent to using the name. Plenty of babies are born to the name 'Scarlett' after Scarlett O'Hara in Gone with the Wind, and though I love the character, she could easily be described as having these attributes as well.

Aphra also makes for an interesting nickname for her (or could even be another choice for a baby name if you don't want to outwardly state your love of Aphrodite) and that name has a positive role-model in the form of 17th century writer, Aphra Behn, the first woman in England to be a published author.

Aphrodite is one of those names that falls into the lines of Bathsheba, Cleopatra and Neferiti I suppose as infamous beauties of their time that need no other name but then all your have to say is Monroe and everyone automatically thinks of Marilyn Monroe and plenty of people are calling their child after her, and that is definately a big thing for little girls to grow up into. It might be seen as famous for one namesake but it isn't until others start to use the name as well that it will be seen as just a name - a rather beautiful name.