Virginia is a Germanic and Romance

feminine Femininity (also called womanliness) is a set of attributes, behaviors, and roles generally associated with women and girls. Femininity can be understood as socially constructed, and there is also some evidence that some behaviors considered fe ...

given name A given name (also known as a forename or first name) is the part of a personal name quoted in that identifies a person, potentially with a middle name as well, and differentiates that person from the other members of a group (typically a ...

derived from the

Ancient Roman In modern historiography, ancient Rome refers to Roman civilisation from the founding of the city of Rome in the 8th century BC to the collapse of the Western Roman Empire in the 5th century AD. It encompasses the Roman Kingdom (753–50 ...

family name ''

Verginius The gens Verginia or Virginia was a prominent family at ancient Rome, which from an early period was divided into patrician and plebeian branches. The gens was of great antiquity, and frequently filled the highest honors of the state during the e ...

'' or ''Virginius'', a name widely assumed to derive from the

Latin Latin (, or , ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic languages, Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally a dialect spoken in the lower Tiber area (then known as Latium) around present-day Rome, but through ...

word

virgo Virgo may refer to: *Virgo (astrology), the sixth astrological sign of the zodiac * Virgo (constellation), a constellation *Virgo Cluster, a cluster of galaxies in the constellation Virgo *Virgo Stellar Stream, remains of a dwarf galaxy * Virgo Su ...

, meaning ''"

maiden Virginity is the state of a person who has never engaged in sexual intercourse. The term ''virgin'' originally only referred to sexually inexperienced women, but has evolved to encompass a range of definitions, as found in traditional, modern ...

"'' or "''

virgin Virginity is the state of a person who has never engaged in sexual intercourse. The term ''virgin'' originally only referred to sexually inexperienced women, but has evolved to encompass a range of definitions, as found in traditional, modern ...

''." According to legend,

Virginia Virginia, officially the Commonwealth of Virginia, is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Southeastern regions of the United States, between the Atlantic Coast and the Appalachian Mountains. The geography and climate of the Commonwealth are ...

was a Roman girl who was killed by her father in order to save her from seduction by the corrupt government official

Appius Claudius Crassus Appius Claudius Crassus Inregillensis (or Crassinus Regillensis) Sabinus ( 471–451 BC) was a Roman senator during the early Republic, most notable as the leading member of the ten-man board (the Decemvirate) which drew up the Twelve Tables o ...

.Behind the Name
/ref> The name was the 34th most common name for American women and girls, according to the census of 1990. It was the 545th most popular name given to baby girls born in the United States in 2007.

Virginia Dare Virginia Dare (born August 18, 1587, in Roanoke Colony, date of death unknown) was the first English child born in a New World English colony. What became of Virginia and the other colonists remains a mystery. The fact of her birth is known bec ...

was the first child born to

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national ...

parents in

North America North America is a continent in the Northern Hemisphere and almost entirely within the Western Hemisphere. It is bordered to the north by the Arctic Ocean, to the east by the Atlantic Ocean, to the southeast by South America and th ...

. Virginia O'Hanlon wrote a letter that prompted the famous " Yes, Virginia, there is a Santa Claus" editorial in the September 21, 1897 edition of the ''

New York Sun ''The New York Sun'' is an American online newspaper published in Manhattan; from 2002 to 2008 it was a daily newspaper distributed in New York City. It debuted on April 16, 2002, adopting the name, motto, and masthead of the earlier New York ...

''. The most famous Virginia is probably the English modernist author

Virginia Woolf Adeline Virginia Woolf (; ; 25 January 1882 28 March 1941) was an English writer, considered one of the most important modernist 20th-century authors and a pioneer in the use of stream of consciousness as a narrative device. Woolf was born ...

Variants

*Virgy (

) *Virgee (English) *Virgie (English) *Virginia (

Italian Italian(s) may refer to: * Anything of, from, or related to the people of Italy over the centuries ** Italians, an ethnic group or simply a citizen of the Italian Republic or Italian Kingdom ** Italian language, a Romance language *** Regional Ita ...

Spanish Spanish might refer to: * Items from or related to Spain: **Spaniards are a nation and ethnic group indigenous to Spain **Spanish language, spoken in Spain and many Latin American countries **Spanish cuisine Other places * Spanish, Ontario, Can ...

) *Virgínia ( Portuguese) *Virginie (

French French (french: français(e), link=no) may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to France ** French language, which originated in France, and its various dialects and accents ** French people, a nation and ethnic group identified with Franc ...

) *Virginija ( Lithuanian) *Wilikinia ( Hawaiian) *Vegenia (Hawaiian) *Βιργινία (Virginia or Viryinia) (

Greek Greek may refer to: Greece Anything of, from, or related to Greece, a country in Southern Europe: *Greeks, an ethnic group. *Greek language, a branch of the Indo-European language family. **Proto-Greek language, the assumed last common ancestor ...

) *Virdžinija (Вирџинија) (

Serbian language Serbian (, ) is the standardized variety of the Serbo-Croatian language mainly used by Serbs. It is the official and national language of Serbia, one of the three official languages of Bosnia and Herzegovina and co-official in Montenegro and ...

)

Reduced forms/nicknames

*Ginnie (English) (see Ginny) *Ginna (English) *

Ginger Ginger (''Zingiber officinale'') is a flowering plant whose rhizome, ginger root or ginger, is widely used as a spice and a folk medicine. It is a herbaceous perennial which grows annual pseudostems (false stems made of the rolled bases of ...

(English) *Ivy (English) *Nia (English) *Nini (English) * Ginny (English) *

Jenna Jenna is a female given name. In the English-speaking world it is a variation of Jenny, which is itself a diminutive of Jane, Janet, Jennifer and is often used as a name in its own right.Katie Martin-Doyle, ''The Treasury of Baby Names'', Worth P ...

(English) * Jinny (English) *Ginia (Spanish) * Gina (Spanish/Portuguese) *Ginata (Spanish) * Gigi (French) *Ginni (Indian) *Vera (English) *Vivi (French) *Vi (French) *Virgi (Italian) *Vina (English) *Nina (English) *Gia (English) *Dingle (English)

Notable people

* Virginia Centurione Bracelli, Roman Catholic saint * Virginia Apgar, American obstetrical anesthesiologist, and inventor of the Apgar score *

Virginia Bourbon del Monte ''Donna'' Virginia Bourbon del Monte dei principi di San Faustino (Rome, 24 May 1899 – Pisa, 30 November 1945) was the wife of Edoardo Agnelli (industrialist), Edoardo Agnelli and the mother of Gianni Agnelli. Biography She was the daughter of ...

, an Italian aristocrat * Virginia Coffey, American civil rights activist *

Virginia Frazer Boyle Virginia Frazer Boyle (February 14, 1863 – December 13, 1938) was an American author of prose and poetry. Interested in the Confederacy, she wrote several novels and more than 100 poems that took up various aspects and presented inspirational an ...

, American poet and writer * Virginia Crosbie, British politician * Virginia Mary Crawford (1862–1948), British Catholic suffragist, feminist, journalist, and author * Virginia Clinton, mother of former United States President

Bill Clinton William Jefferson Clinton (né Blythe III; born August 19, 1946) is an American politician who served as the 42nd president of the United States from 1993 to 2001. He previously served as governor of Arkansas from 1979 to 1981 and again ...

, the first child born to English parents in the Americas * Virginia Eriksdotter, Swedish noble * Princess Virginia von Fürstenberg, Italian fashion designer and artist *

Virginia Hall Virginia Hall Goillot DSC, Croix de Guerre, (April 6, 1906 – July 8, 1982), code named Marie and Diane, was an American who worked with the United Kingdom's clandestine Special Operations Executive (SOE) and the American Office of Stra ...

, American World War II spy * Virginia Hamilton (1936–2002), American author * Virginia Hampson (born 2002), English singer * Virginia Kravarioti, Greek sailor *

Virginia Lesser Virginia, officially the Commonwealth of Virginia, is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Southeastern regions of the United States, between the Atlantic Coast and the Appalachian Mountains. The geography and climate of the Commonwealth are s ...

, American statistician *

Virginia Madsen Virginia Gayle Madsen (born September 11, 1961) is an American actress and film producer. She made her film debut in ''Class'' (1983), which was filmed in her native Chicago. After she moved to Los Angeles, director David Lynch cast her as Pr ...

, American actress * Virginia Mauret (died 1983), American musician and dancer *

Virginia McKenna Dame Virginia Anne McKenna, (born 7 June 1931) is a British stage and screen actress, author and wildlife campaigner. She is best known for the films ''A Town Like Alice'' (1956), ''Carve Her Name with Pride'' (1958), ''Born Free'' (1966), and ...

, British actress and author * Virginia Miller, several people * Virginia Nyambura (born 1993), Kenyan steeplechase runner * Virginia Ridley, a woman who was imprisoned by her husband * Virginia Satir, American author and psychotherapist * Virginia Shehee, Louisiana businesswoman and former state senator *

Virginia Thomas Virginia "Ginni" Thomas ( Lamp; born February 23, 1957) is an American attorney and conservative activist. In 1987, she married Clarence Thomas, who became an Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States in 1991. Her conservative ...

, January 6 insurrectionist, wife of

Clarence Thomas Clarence Thomas (born June 23, 1948) is an American jurist who serves as an associate justice of the Supreme Court of the United States. He was nominated by President George H. W. Bush to succeed Thurgood Marshall and has served since 1 ...

* Virginia Thrasher, American sports shooter and Olympic gold medalist * Virginia Tonelli (1903–1944), Italian partisan *

Virginia Wade Sarah Virginia Wade (born 10 July 1945) is a British former professional tennis player. She won three Major tennis singles championships and four major doubles championships, and is the only British woman in history to have won titles at all ...

(born 1945), British tennis player and three-time Grand Slam winner *

Virginia Walker Virginia May Walker Hawks (July 31, 1908 – December 23, 1946) was an American model and film actress. Born in Cambridge, Massachusetts, she studied Japanese art at the School of the Museum of Fine Arts and pursued a modeling career in national ...

(1916–1946), American film actress *

(1882–1941), English novelist and essayist *

Virginia Euwer Wolff Virginia Euwer Wolff (born August 25, 1937) is an American author of children's literature. Her award-winning series ''Make Lemonade'' features a 14-year-old girl named LaVaughn, who babysits for the children of a 17-year-old single mother. There ...

, American author * Virginia Zakian, American scientist and professor at Princeton University *

Virginia Zeani Virginia Zeani (born Virginia Zehan; 21 October 1925), Commendatore OMRI is a Romanian-born opera singer who sang leading soprano roles in the opera houses of Europe and North America. As a singer, she was known for her dramatic intensity and ...

, Romanian-born opera singer * Virginia “Ginger” Rogers (1911–1995), American actress

Fictional people

* Virginia "Pepper" Potts, fictional character in Marvel Comics

Variants

Reduced forms/nicknames

Notable people

Fictional people

Notes

See also