Núria () is a Catalan girls' name taken from the

Virgin of Núria Virginity is a social construct that denotes the state of a person who has never engaged in sexual intercourse. As it is not an objective term with an operational definition, social definitions of what constitutes virginity, or the lack thereof ...

, a Marian shrine located in the eponymous valley, the

Vall de Núria Vall de Núria (, "The Valley of Núria") is a south-opening valley coming down from the crest of the Pyrenees within the municipality of Queralbs, province of Girona, community of Catalonia, Spain. The floor of the valley lies about above se ...

. The name also occurs in

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 countries in the Americas **Spanish cuisine **Spanish history **Spanish culture ...

without the accent as Nuria, given that the Spanish name of the valley is ''el valle de Nuria''.

Etymology and history

The placename, Núria, is believed to be of

Basque Basque may refer to: * Basques, an ethnic group of Spain and France * Basque language, their language Places * Basque Country (greater region), the homeland of the Basque people with parts in both Spain and France * Basque Country (autonomous co ...

origin according to

Joan Coromines Joan Coromines i Vigneaux (; also frequently spelled ''Joan Corominas''; Diccionario crítico etimológico castellano e hispánico, by Joan Corominas icand José Antonio Pascual, Editorial Gredos, 1989, Madrid, . Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain ...

, and related to the word ''Norra'', a variant of

Andorra Andorra, officially the Principality of Andorra, is a Sovereignty, sovereign landlocked country on the Iberian Peninsula, in the eastern Pyrenees in Southwestern Europe, Andorra–France border, bordered by France to the north and Spain to A ...

, and meaning "place between valleys." The name Nuria () has also been linked to the

Arabic Arabic (, , or , ) is a Central Semitic languages, Central Semitic language of the Afroasiatic languages, Afroasiatic language family spoken primarily in the Arab world. The International Organization for Standardization (ISO) assigns lang ...

unisex name Nur meaning

light Light, visible light, or visible radiation is electromagnetic radiation that can be visual perception, perceived by the human eye. Visible light spans the visible spectrum and is usually defined as having wavelengths in the range of 400– ...

. The name, originally Mare de Déu de Núria, derives from Marian devotion to the

Virgin of Nuria The Virgin of Nuria (Catalan ''Mare de Déu de Núria'') is a popular Roman Catholic shrine in the Valley of Nuria. The Catalan girls' name Núria () derives from the shrine.Marc Dubin The Rough Guide to the Pyrenees - Page 176 2004 - The Virgin ...

(Catalan ''Mare de Déu de Núria''). The name is very popular in Catalonia, especially in the ''comarques'' of

Ripollès Ripollès (; ) is a Comarques of Catalonia, comarca (county) in the Comarques Gironines, Girona region, Catalonia, Spain. It is located in the Vall de Ribes, Ribes and Camprodon river valleys. In 2001, its population was 25,744, about 40% of whom ...

—where the sanctuary is located in the municipality of Queralbs—

Priorat Priorat () is a comarca (county) in Camp de Tarragona, Catalonia, Spain. The region is named due to the monastery of Scala Dei which held many properties and the capital is now the town of Falset. Economy The central part of the comarca, ''Pr ...

Pallars Jussà Pallars Jussà () is a comarca (county) in Alt Pirineu, Catalonia, Spain. It was established as a ''comarca'' in 1936, out of the old county of Pallars. The name is an archaism meaning "Lower Pallars"; to the northeast and into the mountains i ...

Osona Osona () is a comarques of Catalonia, comarca situated in the Central Catalonia, central region of Catalonia, Spain. Its capital is Vic, Spain, Vic. Its population in 2001 was 129,543. Osona covers roughly the same area as the historic Catalan co ...

, Noguera,

Conca de Barberà Conca de Barberà () is a comarca (county) in the region of Camp de Tarragona, Catalonia, Spain. Its total area is , and its capital is Montblanc. At its creation in 1936, it contained 23 municipalities, but in 1990, several of these were amal ...

, and

Cerdanya Cerdanya (; , ; , ) or often La Cerdanya is a natural region, natural comarca and historical region of the eastern Pyrenees divided between France and Spain. Historically it was one of the Catalan counties, counties of Catalonia. Cerdanya has a ...

Popularity

In 2007 it was the seventh most common female name in

Catalonia Catalonia is an autonomous community of Spain, designated as a ''nationalities and regions of Spain, nationality'' by its Statute of Autonomy of Catalonia of 2006, Statute of Autonomy. Most of its territory (except the Val d'Aran) is situate ...

, with its most recent peak of popularity recorded in the decade of the 1970s.Història del nom Núria
a l'Idescat. The

Saint's day The calendar of saints is the traditional Christian method of organizing a liturgical year by associating each day with one or more saints and referring to the day as the feast day or feast of said saint. The word "feast" in this context does n ...

is September 8, for Our Lady of Nuria.

Notable people with the name

Núria Añó Núria Añó (, ; born 1973) is a Catalan writer and a translator. Añó has exhibited her work in universities and institutions giving papers on literary creation or authors like Elfriede Jelinek, Patricia Highsmith, Salka Viertel, Franz Werf ...

(1973,

Lleida Lleida (, ; ; '' see below'') is a city in the west of Catalonia, Spain. It is the capital and largest town in Segrià county, the Ponent region and the province of Lleida. Geographically, it is located in the Catalan Central Depression. It ...

) Spanish writer and novelist * Núria Aliaga-Alcalde, Spanish chemist * Nuria Cabanillas (1980) Spanish rhythmic gymnast and Olympic champion *

Nuria Bages Nuria Bages ( born Nuria Bages Romo on December 23, 1950) is a Mexican actress better known for her work in television and the stage. Active in Mexican television since the early 1980s, Bages became a household name after winning the role of S ...

(1955,

Monterrey Monterrey (, , abbreviated as MtY) is the capital and largest city of the northeastern Mexican state of Nuevo León. It is the ninth-largest city and the second largest metropolitan area, after Greater Mexico City. Located at the foothills of th ...

) Mexican actress * Nuria Benzal (1985) Spanish handball player * Nuria Bermúdez (1980) Spanish football agent and actress * Núria Camón (1978,

Terrassa Terrassa () is a city in central-eastern Catalonia and in the province of Barcelona (Spain). It is one of the two capitals of Vallès Occidental county, being the larger in both area and population. The name ''Terrassa'' derives from Latin ''Te ...

) Spanish field hockey player who competed in the 2000 Summer Olympics. *

Nuria Domínguez Nuria Domínguez Asensio (born 30 January 1974 in Toronto, Ontario) is a female competition rower from Spain, who was born in Canada. A bronze medal winner at the 2005 Mediterranean Games she represented Spain at three Summer Olympics T ...

(1974,

Toronto Toronto ( , locally pronounced or ) is the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, most populous city in Canada. It is the capital city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Ontario. With a p ...

) Canadian-born Spanish competition rower *

Núria Espert Núria Espert Romero (born 11 June 1935 in L'Hospitalet de Llobregat, Catalonia, Spain) is a Spanish theatre and television actor, and theatre and opera director. When she was 19 years old, she married the actor :es:Armando Moreno, Armando M ...

(1935,

Barcelona Barcelona ( ; ; ) is a city on the northeastern coast of Spain. It is the capital and largest city of the autonomous community of Catalonia, as well as the second-most populous municipality of Spain. With a population of 1.6 million within c ...

) Spanish actress *

Nuria Fernández Nuria Fernández Domínguez (born 16 August 1976 in Luzern, Switzerland) is a Spanish middle-distance runner. She specialises in the 1500 metres and is the Spanish record holder in the mile run and the 1500 m indoors. Career Fernández ha ...

(1976,

Lucerne Lucerne ( ) or Luzern ()Other languages: ; ; ; . is a city in central Switzerland, in the Languages of Switzerland, German-speaking portion of the country. Lucerne is the capital of the canton of Lucerne and part of the Lucerne (district), di ...

Switzerland Switzerland, officially the Swiss Confederation, is a landlocked country located in west-central Europe. It is bordered by Italy to the south, France to the west, Germany to the north, and Austria and Liechtenstein to the east. Switzerland ...

) Spanish middle-distance runner * Nuria Fernández Gómez, "Nuria Fergó," (

Nerja Nerja () is a municipality on the Costa del Sol in the province of Málaga in the autonomous community of Andalusia in southern Spain. It is part of the comarca of La Axarquía. It is on the country's southern Mediterranean coast, about east of ...

, 1979) Spanish singer and actress * Nuria González (1962,

Málaga Málaga (; ) is a Municipalities in Spain, municipality of Spain, capital of the Province of Málaga, in the Autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of Andalusia. With a population of 591,637 in 2024, it is the second-most populo ...

) Spanish actress *

Nuria Gorrite Nuria Gorrite (born 6 July 1970) is a Swiss-Spanish politician and museum curator. A member of the Social Democratic Party of Switzerland, she was the first woman to be elected President of the Council of State of Vaud. Early life and education ...

(born 1970), Swiss-Spanish politician *

Nuria Llagostera Vives Nuria Llagostera Vives (; born 16 May 1980) is a Spanish former tennis player. In June 2005, she reached her best singles ranking of world No. 35. In November 2009, she peaked at No. 5 in the WTA doubles rankings. Professional career Llagoster ...

(1980,

Majorca Mallorca, or Majorca, is the largest of the Balearic Islands, which are part of Spain, and the List of islands in the Mediterranean#By area, seventh largest island in the Mediterranean Sea. The capital of the island, Palma, Majorca, Palma, i ...

) Spanish tennis player * Núria López, Spanish chemistry professor * Nuria Lopez Bigas, Spanish biologist * Núria Madruga (1980) Portuguese actress and model *

Nuria Martínez Nuria Martínez Prat (born February 29, 1984) is a Spanish professional basketball player for Spar CityLift Girona. Club career Martínez made her debut in the Spanish top tier Liga Femenina in hometown club UB-Barça in 2002, soon signing ...

(1984) Spanish professional basketball player in the WNBA * Nuria Moreno (1975,

Madrid Madrid ( ; ) is the capital and List of largest cities in Spain, most populous municipality of Spain. It has almost 3.5 million inhabitants and a Madrid metropolitan area, metropolitan area population of approximately 7 million. It i ...

) Spanish field hockey player * Nuria Olivé (1968, Barcelona) Spanish field hockey player *

Nuria Párrizas Díaz Nuria Párrizas Díaz (born 15 July 1991) is a Spanish people, Spanish professional tennis player. She has been WTA rankings, ranked as high as world No. 45 in singles by the Women's Tennis Association (WTA), which she first achieved in March 2 ...

(born 1991, Spanish tennis player * Nuria Quevedo (born 1938), Spanish-German painter * Nuria Piera (born 1960), Dominican Republic investigative journalist. *

Núria Pradas Núria Pradas i Andreu (born 1 September 1954) is a Spanish Catalan philologist and writer. She began her literary career in the field of children's and youth literature. She is the author of an extensive literary production in this field as we ...

(born 1954), Spanish philologist and writer * Nuria Pomares (Madrid) Spanish ballet dancer * Núria Rial, Spanish soprano * Nuria Roca, Spanish TV presenter * Nuria Torray (1934–2004) Spanish film, television, and theatre actress * Nuria Zufía Spanish footballer

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Nuria Spanish feminine given names Feminine given names