- A feminine version of the name Eugene
- Famous in the 21st century for Princess Eugenie, daughter of Great Britain’s Prince Andrew (see more royal baby names for girls here)
The history of the name Eugenie
Born to queenly honors is she who bears the name of Eugenie. Its origin is in the Greek language, where it is derived from a word meaning “well-born.”
Its modern adaptation by the French into Eugenie is famous throughout the world, since it was borne by one of the most illustrious women of history, the former Empress Eugenie who was the wife of Napoleon III. The first name’s popularity in France was enormous, and its Anglicized version, Eugenia, has great vogue in England and America.
Its history dates back from Eugenes, a very old Greek writer, but Eugenias was the name most popular in classical times. It was carried on as Eugenius by the Romans.
St Eugenius was a confessor and another Eugenius was Bishop of Toledo in 646. Indeed, it has always been a favorite as a masculine name, and has been borne by men of power and prominence.
Eugenio was the name of that high-spirited Savoy called “Le petit Abbe du Roi,” who was later the Prince Eugene, dear to England and Austria, and terrible to France and Turkey, yet, curious to relate, foe that he was, his name enjoys greater popularity in France than in his native country.
The first and only Eugenia that history records before the birth of the great Eugenie, was a virgin Roman martyr, about whom there is very little known.
The Empress Eugenie’s poignant grief over the loss of Alsace and Lorraine has made her one of the world’s tragic figures.
It was she who said that when she was dead, if her heart could be removed from her body, the names of those two beloved provinces would be found engraved there.
Eugenia’s talismanic stone is that regal jewel, the diamond, which denotes victory over enemies, when it is dreamed of. Worn by Eugenia it is an antidote from poison, since the stone itself was believed by old superstition to be a deadly poison.
The stone also affords protection from plague and set forth in verse is its prophecy:
The Evil Eye shall have no power to harm
Him that shall wear the diamond as a charm.
No monarch shall attempt to thwart his will,
And e’en the gods his wishes shall fulfill.
Saturday is Eugenia’s lucky day and 1 is her lucky number. The daisy, signifying innocence, is her flower.
