The Rs of Medieval Tuscan and Italian names

Female names:

Richelda (I) derives from Ancient Germanic name Richild, derived from Germanic root rîcja (mighty, strong, powerful), Gothic reiks (king, ruler), Celtic rîg or rix (ruler, king), and Old Norse hildr (battle).

Romengarda (T)

Rosuccia (I) is a diminutive of Rosa (rose).

Rugiada (I)

Male names:

Rambaldo (T) derives from Ancient Germanic name Ragimbald, composed of roots ragin (advice) and bald (bold). This name was also Venetian.

Rinieri (I) derives from Ancient Germanic name Raganhar, composed of roots ragin (advice) and hari (army).

Rizardo (T) is a form of Richard, which means “brave ruler” and derives from Ancient Germanic roots ric (ruler, mighty) and hard (hardy, brave). This name was also Venetian.

Robaldo (I) derives from Ancient Germanic name Rotbald, composed of Germanic root hrôthi (fame) and Old High German bald (bold, brave).

Ruggieri (I) is a form of Roger, which means “famous spear.”

Rustico (I) means “rustic, rural.” This is the name of the male protagonist in the most famously dirty story of The Decameron. I can practically recite that story by heart.

The many forms of Raphael

Rudolph Valentino, né Rodolfo Alfonso Raffaello Pierre Filibert Guglielmi, 6 May 1895–23 August 1926

The German and English name Raphael comes from Hebrew Rafael, “God heals.” Most people are familiar with Archangel Raphael, whose primary role is as a healer. Christianity, Judaism, and Islam all recognise him and hold him as one of the most important archangels. He’s also a saint in Christianity.

Though the name has never been particularly popular in the Anglophone world, it’s a different story in other countries. Raphael was #20 in Austria in 2018, and has been in the Top 40 since at least 1990.

In Belgium, Raphael was #19 in 2018, and has been in the Top 100 since at least 2004. In Switzerland, it’s been Top 100 since at least 1998 (when it was #22), and was #84 in 2018. In France, as Raphaël, it was in the Top 100 almost every year from 1900–28, and rejoined the Top 100 in 1966. In 2018, it was #2.

Self-portrait of Italian artist Raphael (né Raffaello Sanzio), 1483–1520,
ca. 1504–06

Other forms of this name include:

1. Rafael is Hebrew, German, Hungarian, Spanish, Portuguese, Slovenian, Galician, Romanian, Catalan, Czech, Slovak, Azeri, Belarusian, Cebuano, Finnish, Macedonian, Scandinavian, Tagalog, and Croatian. The alternate form Rafaël is Dutch.

2. Raffael is German.

3. Rafail is Russian, Montenegrin, Persian, Arabic, and Greek.

4. Raffaello is Italian.

5. Raffaele is also Italian.

6. Rafel is Catalan, Aragonese, and Maltese. The alternate form Rafèl is Occitan.

7. Rafayil is Ukrainian.

8. Rafał is Polish.

9. Rafaelo is Esperanto.

10. Rapolas is Lithuanian.

1835 self-portrait of Polish artist Rafał Hadziewicz (1803–83)

11. Rafailo is Montenegrin and Serbian.

12. Rafôł is Kashubian.

13. Raiféal is Irish.

14. Rafiele is Sardinian.

15. Refoel, or Rifoel, is Yiddish.

16. Rapiel is a rare Georgian form.

17. Räffu is Swiss–German.

18. Raffaellu is Corsican.

19. Rafèu is Provinçal.

20. Rafayel is Armenian.

Russian painter and photographer Rafail Sergeyevich Levitskiy (1847–1940), painted 1878 by Ilya Repin

21. Rafaels is Latvian.

22. Rafaelis is Lithuanian.

23. Rafaäl’ is Tatar.

24. Raafael is Finnish.

25. Îsrafîl is Kurdish.

26. Arrafieli is Sardinian.

27. Arrafiele is also Sardinian.

28. Ráffo is Sami.

29. Râvfaile is Greenlandic.

30. Rafajlo is a rare Serbian form.

Italian actor Rafaela Ottiano, 1888–1942

Female forms:

1. Raphaela is German and English.

2. Rafaela is Spanish, Portuguese, Romanian, Galician, Polish, Kashubian, Czech, Greek, and Croatian.

3. Raffaela is German.

4. Raphaele is French.

5. Raphaella is English and Brazilian–Portuguese.

6. Raphiela is a rare Latin American–Spanish form.

7. Rapolė is Lithuanian.

8. Rafaella is Brazilian–Portuguese, Latin American–Spanish, and Hungarian.

9. Rafaëlle is a rare French form.

10. Raphaëlle is the more common French form.

11. Raffaella is Italian.

The many forms of Raymond

Saint Maximilian (né Rajmund) Kolbe, 8 January 1894–14 August 1941, a Polish Catholic priest and friar who volunteered to die in place of another Auschwitz prisoner. The man he saved, Franciszek Gajowniczek, lived to 93.

Raymond is a French and English name which originates in Ancient Germanic Raginmund. Its roots are ragin (advice) and mund (protector). It arrived in England via the Norman occupiers, as Reimund. Several Medieval saints had this name, such as St. Raymond Nonnatus, patron saint of midwives and expectant mothers.

In the U.S., Raymond was #87 when name popularity records began in 1880, and steadily rose into the Top 20. It was in the Top 20 from 1908–38, with a highest rank of #14 in 1919. Raymond remained in the Top 50 till 1970, and the Top 100 till 1991. In 2018, it was #299.

Ramón Novarro (né José Ramón Gil Samaniego), 1899–1969, my next-fave male actor of the silent era

Other forms of the name include:

1. Raimundo is Spanish and Portuguese.

2. Ramón is Spanish. The alternate form Ramon is Catalan.

3. Raymundo is Latin American–Spanish and Brazilian–Portuguese.

4. Raimondas is Lithuanian.

5. Rajmund is Hungarian, Polish, Slovenian, Czech, and Croatian. The alternate form Rajmùnd is Kashubian.

6. Remao is Limburgish.

7. Raymund is an English variation.

8. Raimon is Catalan.

9. Reimo is Finnish.

10. Reima is also Finnish.

American actor, vaudevillian, and stage performer Raymond Wallace Bolger (1904–87), known as Ray

11. Rajmond is Albanian and Slovenian.

12. Raimonds is Latvian.

13. Raimondo is Italian.

14. Réamann is Irish. It’s Anglicised as Redmund and Redmond.

15. Reimund is German.

16. Raymand is Belarusian.

17. Reymond is Bulgarian.

18. Ramund is Danish.

19. Raimund is Estonian and German.

20. Rejmond is Macedonian and Serbian.

Italian inventor, writer, soldier, nobleman, and scientist Raimondo di Sangro, Prince of Sansevero (1710–71), painted by Francesco de Mura

21. Raimondu is Corsican.

22. Rådmund is Norwegian.

23. Råmund is also Norwegian.

24. Reimond is Romanian.

25. Ramunder is Swedish.

26. Remondi is Yoruba.

27. Raimundas is Lithuanian.

28. Remundu is Sardinian.

29. Raymondos is Greek.

30. Raimond is Dutch and Estonian.

German businessman, art collector, and Imperial Count Raymund Fugger (1489–1535), painted by VIncenzo Catena

31. Erramun is Basque.

32. Arrammundu is Sicilian.

33. Arramon is Gascon.

Female forms:

1. Ramona is Spanish, Romanian, Galician, Italian, and English. The alternate form Ramóna is Hungarian.

2. Reymonde is French.

3. Raimonda is Italian.

4. Raimunde is German.

5. Raymonda is Dutch and English.

6. Raimunda is Lithuanian, Galician, Portuguese–Brazilian, and Medieval Catalan.

7. Raimonde is French.

8. Rajmonda is Albanian

9. Erramona is Basque.

All about Ruth

U.S. anthropologist and folklorist Ruth Benedict, 1887–1948

Ruth is an English, German, Dutch, Spanish, and Scandinavian name derived from the Hebrew Re’ut (friend), which later morphed into Rut (pronounced with a long U, not like the English word “rut”). Most people are familiar with it as the title character of the Book of Ruth. She left her homeland Moab behind to follow her mother-in-law Naomi back to Israel after a famine, and became King David’s great-grandma.

On the second day of Shavuot, this short book of the Bible is read, and many conversion certificates quote the moving words Ruth tells Naomi:

“Do not entreat me to leave you, and to return from following after you; for where you go, I will go, and where you lodge, I will lodge; your people will be my people, and your God my God; where you die, I will die, and there I will be buried; the Lord do so to me, and more, if anything but death part you and me.”

Latvian lawyer, writer, and politician Ruta Šaca-Marjaša (1927–2016)

Though the name has long been common in the Jewish world, it didn’t come into widespread usage in the Christian world till the Protestant Reformation. Ruth received a big boost of popularity several centuries later, from U.S. President Grover Cleveland’s firstborn child, born in 1891. She was born between his two non-consecutive terms, and sadly died of diphtheria in 1904.

Ruth was #93 in the U.S. when name popularity records began in 1880, and it jumped from #19 to #5 after the birth of Ruth Cleveland. In 1893, it was #3. The next two years, Ruth was #6, and it remained at #5 until 1907. It then was #4 for two years, then back to #5 again till 1922.

The name remained in the Top 10 till 1930, and was Top 20 till 1937. Ruth left the Top 50 in 1951, and left the Top 100 in 1962. In 2018, it was #265.

Ruth Cleveland

Other forms of the name include:

1. Ruta is Polish, Ukrainian, and Maori. The alternate form Rūta is Latvian and Lithuanian.

2. Rute is Portuguese.

3. Ruut is Finnish and Estonian.

4. Rut is Hebrew, Spanish, Icelandic, Scandinavian, Sorbian, Italian, Maltese, Indonesian, Afrikaans, and German. The alternate form Rút is Czech and Slovak.

5. Ruf is Russian. I’ve never been a fan of Russian names where TH is replaced by F in the middle of the name. It just sounds ugly to my ears.

6. Rutt is Estonian.

7. Hrut is Armenian.

8. Hirut is Amharic.

9. Luka is Hawaiian, and not to be confused with the entirely separate name with the same spelling which is several languages’ form of Luke.

10. Luti is Nyakyusa, a language spoken in Tanzania and Malawi.

11. Rutu is Maori and Yoruba.

The Rs of Estonian names

Male:

Rait means “colossus.”

Raivo is of unknown etymology. This is also a Latvian name.

Raoul is adopted from French, and ultimately comes from Old Norse Ráðúlfr (wolf counsel).

Remo is adopted from Italian, and is a form of Remus (of unknown etymology).

Rodion is adopted from Russian, and ultimately derives from the Greek name Heroides (song of the hero). The most familiar form of this name is Herod.

Romet, or Roomet, may be derived from the word rõõmu (joy), or be a cognate of German name Fromhold, from roots fromm (pious) and hold (sweet).

Female:

Ragne is adopted from Scandinavian name Ragna (counsel, advice).

Raissa is adopted from the Russian name Raisa, which may derive from Greek name Herais and thus ultimately Hera.

Renate, or Renata, is adopted from German, and means “born again.”

Rimma is adopted from Russian, and of uncertain etymology.

Ronja is adopted from Swedish. This name was invented by writer Astrid Lindgren.

Rosilde may derive from Germanic roots rhos (horse) and hild (battle).