Sabrina (given name)

Sabrina is a feminine given name derived from Proto-Celtic *Sabinā.

Sabina
GenderFemale
Language(s)Romano-British
Origin
MeaningFrom the name of River Severn
Look up Sabina in Wiktionary, the free dictionary.

It is also the romanization of an unrelated Arabic name, صابرين ṣābrīn, from the root sabr "patience".

Etymology

The name of the river Severn was recorded as early as the 2nd century in the Latinized form Sabrina.[1] The reconstructed British form is *sabrinā. The modern Welsh form is Hafren or Habren.

Welsh legend
Main article: Hafren

According to a legend recounted by Geoffrey of Monmouth in the 12th century, Habren was the daughter of a king named Locrinus (also known as Locrin or Locrine in English) by his mistress, the Germanic princess Estrildis. Locrinus ruled England after the death of his father, Brutus of Troy, the legendary second founder of Britain. Locrinus cast aside his wife, Guendolen, and their son Maddan and acknowledged Sabrina and her mother, but the enraged Guendolen raised an army against him and defeated Locrinus in battle. Guendolen then ordered that Sabrina and her mother be drowned in the river. The river was named after Sabrina so Locrine's betrayal of Guendolen would never be forgotten.[2] According to legend, Sabrina lives in the river, which reflects her mood. She rides in a chariot and dolphins and salmon swim alongside her.[3] The later story suggests that the legend of Sabrina could have become intermingled with old stories of a river goddess or nymph.[4]

Milton adopted the legend in his Comus (1634), using the Latin form Sabrina. Fletcher refers to the legend in The Faithful Shepherdess (1608).

Popularity

The use of Sabrina was very rare as a given name in Britain prior to the 19th century, with the singular exception of Sabrina Sidney (1757–1843), an English foundling girl, named for her orphanage overlooking River Severn.[5] Its popularity rose, at first in the United States, following the release of the film Sabrina (1954), a romantic drama-comedy based on Samuel Taylor's Sabrina Fair, in which the protagonist Sabrina Fairchild was played by Audrey Hepburn.

It was the 789th most popular name for girls born in the United States in 1954, and rose to the 245th most popular name in 1955.[6] Dunkling (1983) notes that "[i]n the U.S. Sabrina has tended to displace Sabina since [the 1950s]."[5]

Its use has continued, boosted by the popularity of the comic book character Sabrina the Teenage Witch, who debuted in 1962. It had peaks in popularity in 1970 (rank 107) and 1977 (rank 63). A television series featured the character in 1996, resulting in a renewed peak in 1997 (rank 53). The name was ranked as the 427th most popular name for U.S.-born girls in 2018.[6] The name peaked in popularity in France in 1979–1981 (rank 8) and in Italy in 2001 (rank 35). In Germany, it peaked in popularity at rank 8 in 1987 and 1989.[7]

People

Pseudonyms:

  • Sabrina Jeffries, pen name of Deborah Gonzales (born 1958), an American author
  • Sabrina Sabrok, Argentine-Mexican model, pornographic actress and host Lorena Fabiana Colotta (born 1976)

Fictional characters

See also

Notes
  1. Hanks, Patrick (2003). "Severn". Dictionary of American Family Names. Retrieved 10 December 2012. [T]opographic name from the river Severn, which flows from Wales through much of western England to the Bristol Channel. The river name is recorded as early as the 2nd century ad in the form Sabrina. This is one of Britain's most ancient river names; the original meaning is uncertain, but it may have been 'slow-moving'.
  2. The Legend of Sabrina
  3. Tidal Bore Research Society
  4. Liam Rogers (1999), Sabrina and the River Severn
  5. Dunkling, Leslie; Gosling, William (1983), The Facts on File Dictionary of First Names, New York: Facts on File Publications, p. 247, ISBN 0-87196-274-8
  6. United States Social Security Administration
  7. Behind the Name
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