Una is a feminine given name with various origins. As used by Edmund Spenser in The Faerie Queene , the name is derived from the Latin unus, meaning one . [1] The Filipino word "una" meaning "first" (e.g., in Tagalog and Cebuano) is also derived from this Latin root. This is also the meaning implied for the given name of Star Trek character Una Chin-Riley, commonly called Number One.
Úna is an Irish language version that may be derived from the Irish word uan 'lamb'. [2] An alternative spelling is Oona. The Scottish Gaelic form is Ùna.
Una (Serbian Cyrillic : Уна) is furthermore a popular given name in former-Yugoslav countries (including Serbia, Croatia, Bosnia, and Montenegro), likely also deriving from the Latin unus.
Edmund Spenser was an English poet best known for The Faerie Queene, an epic poem and fantastical allegory celebrating the Tudor dynasty and Elizabeth I. He is recognized as one of the premier craftsmen of nascent Modern English verse, and he is considered one of the great poets in the English language.
The Faerie Queene is an English epic poem by Edmund Spenser. Books I–III were first published in 1590, then republished in 1596 together with books IV–VI. The Faerie Queene is notable for its form: at over 36,000 lines and over 4,000 stanzas, it is one of the longest poems in the English language; it is also the work in which Spenser invented the verse form known as the Spenserian stanza. On a literal level, the poem follows several knights as a means to examine different virtues. The poem is also an allegorical work. As such, it can be read on several levels, including as praise of Queen Elizabeth I. In Spenser's "Letter of the Authors", he states that the entire epic poem is "cloudily enwrapped in Allegorical devices", and that the aim of publishing The Faerie Queene was to "fashion a gentleman or noble person in virtuous and gentle discipline".
Blake is a surname which originated from Old English. Its derivation is uncertain; it could come from "blac", a nickname for someone who had dark hair or skin, or from "blaac", a nickname for someone with pale hair or skin. Another theory, presumably in the belief it is a Welsh patronymic in origin, for which there is no evidence, was that it is a corruption of "Ap Lake", meaning "Son of Lake".
Joyce is an Irish and French given name and surname. It is derived from the Old French masculine name Josse, which derived from the Latin name Iudocus, the Latinized form of the Breton name Judoc meaning "lord". The name became rare after the 14th century, but was later revived as a female given name, which derived from the Middle English joise meaning "rejoice".
Leir was a legendary king of the Britons whose story was recounted by Geoffrey of Monmouth in his pseudohistorical 12th-century History of the Kings of Britain. According to Geoffrey's genealogy of the British dynasty, Leir reigned around the 8th century BC, around the time of the founding of Rome. The story was modified and retold by William Shakespeare in his Jacobean tragedy King Lear.
Hilary, Hilarie or Hillary is a given name and surname, derived from the Latin hilarius meaning "cheerful", from hilaris, "cheerful, merry", which comes from the Greek ἱλαρός (hilaros), "cheerful, merry", which in turn comes from ἵλαος (hilaos), "propitious, gracious". Ilaria is the popular Italian feminine form, while Ilario is the Italian masculine one. Other male forms are Hilarion, Ilarion, and Illarion.
Brianna, Breanna, Briana, and Bryanna are feminine given names. Brianna is a feminine English language form of the masculine Irish language name Brian as "Briana" is the original spelling. The name is a relatively modern one and was occasionally used in England from about the 16th century and on; Briana is the name of a character in Edmund Spenser's The Faerie Queene. In recent years, the name has become increasingly popular, especially in the United States.
Priscilla is an English female given name adopted from Latin Prisca, derived from priscus. There is a theory that this biblical character was the author of the Letter to the Hebrews.
Melville is a surname and a given name.
Patterson is a surname originating in Scotland, Ireland, and Northern England meaning "son of Patrick". There are other spellings, including Pattison and Pattinson. Notable people with the surname Patterson include:
Gaynor is both a surname and a given name. Notable people with the name include:
Niamh is an Irish feminine given name, anglicised as Neve, Nieve, Neave, Neavh or Neeve.
Vivian is a given name, and less often a surname, derived from a Latin name of the Roman Empire period, masculine Vivianus and feminine Viviana, which survived into modern use because it is the name of two early Christian female martyrs as well as of a male saint and bishop.
Celia is a feminine given name of Latin origin, as well as a nickname for Cecilia, Cecelia, Celeste, or Celestina. The name is often derived from the Roman family name Caelius, thought to originate in the Latin caelum ("heaven"). Celia was popular in British pastoral literature in the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries, possibly stemming from the ruler of the House of Holiness in Edmund Spenser's epic poem The Faerie Queene or from a character in William Shakespeare's play As You Like It.
Emily is a feminine given name derived from the Roman family name "Aemilius", and is the feminine form of the name Emil.
Serena is a feminine given name. It is derived from the Latin word serēnus, meaning "clear, tranquil, serene". This name was borne by one of the first saints, Serena of Rome, purported wife of Emperor Diocletian.
The Spenser Mountains is a topographic landform in the northern South Island of New Zealand. Located at the southern end of the Nelson Lakes National Park and north of the Lewis Pass they form a natural border between the Canterbury and Tasman regions. Several peaks are named after characters in Edmund Spenser’s allegorical poem, The Faerie Queene. Many of the early explorers were evidently literate men. For example, Frederick Weld named Lake Tennyson; William Travers named the Spensers and Faerie Queene; Julius Haast named Mt Una.
Alma or /'ælmə/) is an English feminine given name, but has historically been used in the masculine form as well, sometimes in the form Almo. The origin of the name is debated; it may have been derived from "alma mater" . It gained popularity after the Battle of Alma in the 19th century and appeared as a fashionable name for girls and a popular place name, but it has decreased in appearance in the 20th and 21st centuries. The name Alma also has several meanings in a variety of languages, and is generally translated to mean that the child "feeds one's soul" or "lifts the spirit".
Carissa is a feminine given name of Greek origin derived from Greek χαρις (charis) meaning "grace." It can also be translated as "beloved." Coined by English poet Edmund Spenser in his epic poem "The Faerie Queene" (1590). Related names in other languages include Cara, Carys (Welsh), Cherie, and Cheryl (English).
Deirdre is a feminine given name of Celtic origin and of unknown meaning. Deirdre is the name of a tragic heroine of Irish mythology. More attention was drawn to the name during the early 20th Century in Ireland and throughout the Anglosphere after W. B. Yeats published his poem Deirdre in 1907 and playwright J.M. Synge published his play Deirdre of the Sorrows in 1910. There are a number of spelling variants and pronunciations of the name in use.