Ginevra is a feminine given name. It was occasionally used in medieval and Renaissance Italy in reference to Queen

Guinevere Guinevere ( ; cy, Gwenhwyfar ; br, Gwenivar, kw, Gwynnever), also often written in Modern English as Guenevere or Guenever, was, according to Arthurian legend, an early-medieval queen of Great Britain and the wife of King Arthur. First ment ...

King Arthur King Arthur ( cy, Brenin Arthur, kw, Arthur Gernow, br, Roue Arzhur) is a legendary king of Britain, and a central figure in the medieval literary tradition known as the Matter of Britain. In the earliest traditions, Arthur appears as a ...

’s queen in the popular

Arthurian legends The Matter of Britain is the body of medieval literature and legendary material associated with Great Britain and Brittany and the legendary kings and heroes associated with it, particularly King Arthur. It was one of the three great Western ...

. It is the Italian version of the name

, which is a

Norman French Norman or Norman French (, french: Normand, Guernésiais: , Jèrriais: ) is a Romance language which can be classified as one of the Oïl languages along with French, Picard and Walloon. The name "Norman French" is sometimes used to descri ...

version of the Welsh name Gwenhwyfar, meaning "white" and "smooth" or "white phantom." It is also associated with the

juniper Junipers are coniferous trees and shrubs in the genus ''Juniperus'' () of the cypress family Cupressaceae. Depending on the taxonomy, between 50 and 67 species of junipers are widely distributed throughout the Northern Hemisphere, from the Arcti ...

tree in Italy, where the name for the tree is ''ginepro''.

Geneva, Switzerland Geneva ( ; french: Genève ) frp, Genèva ; german: link=no, Genf ; it, Ginevra ; rm, Genevra is the List of cities in Switzerland, second-most populous city in Switzerland (after Zürich) and the most populous city of Romandy, the French-speaki ...

is called Ginevra in Italian. It is a currently popular name for girls in

Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical re ...

, where it was among the top 10 most popular names for baby girls in 2020. It is in occasional use in other countries, including the United States, where it was given to 12 newborn girls born in 2020 and to 14 girls born in 2021 and Switzerland, where it was given to 17 girls born in 2020.

People

* Ginevra de' Benci (aristocrat) (1457–1521), Italian aristocrat *

Ginevra Cantofoli Ginevra Cantofoli (1618–1672) was an Italian painter. She was active in Bologna during the Baroque period. Career Cantofoli was born in Bologna, Italy in 1618. She trained under Giovanni Andrea Sirani, the father of Elisabetta Sirani, in Bolog ...

(1618–1672), Italian painter *

Ginevra Elkann Ginevra Elkann (born 24 September 1979) is a London-born Italian film producer and director. She is a member of the Agnelli family and granddaughter of Italian industrialist Gianni Agnelli. Early life Elkann was born in London,

(born 1979), Italian apprentice film director *

Ginevra d'Este Ginevra d'Este (24 March 1419 - 12 October 1440) was an Italian noblewoman. She and her twin sister Lucia (died 1437) were daughters of Niccolò III d'Este and his second wife Parisina Malatesta - they also had a younger brother, who died aged a f ...

(1419–1440), Italian noblewoman *

Ginevra King Ginevra King Pirie (November 30, 1898 – December 13, 1980) was an American socialite and heiress. As one of Chicago's " Big Four" debutantes during World , she inspired many characters in the novels and stories of writer F. Scott Fitzgerald ...

(1898–1980), American socialite and debutante

Fictional characters

Ginevra di Scozia ''Ginevra di Scozia'' is an opera in two acts by Simon Mayr set to an Italian libretto by Gaetano Rossi based on Antonio Salvi's ''Ginevra, principessa di Scozia'', which in turn was adapted from cantos 5 and 6 of Ludovico Ariosto's ''Orlando Fur ...

, title character of the opera by Simon Mayr *Princess Ginevra of Scotland, one of the main characters of Handel's opera ''

Ariodante ''Ariodante'' ( HWV 33) is an opera seria in three acts by George Frideric Handel. The anonymous Italian libretto was based on a work by Antonio Salvi, which in turn was adapted from Canti 4, 5 and 6 of Ludovico Ariosto's ''Orlando Furioso''. Ea ...

'' *Ginevra or

Ginny Weasley Ginevra Molly Weasley is a fictional character in J. K. Rowling's ''Harry Potter'' novel series. Ginny is introduced in the first book ''Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone'', as the youngest sibling and only girl in the Weasley family. Sh ...

in Harry Potter books *Ginevra Fanshawe in Charlotte Brontë's novel '' Villette''

Notes

{{given name Feminine given names