Basil isn’t a name you hear much nowadays. Not in English at least, though it’s a little more popular in its French form. Perhaps it would be more popular if people knew what it meant.
It comes from the Ancient Greek Basileios (kingly, royal), itself derived from the word basileus (king). Not so shabby now, eh? Other related words include the plant, basil, so called because it may have been used in making royal perfumes. Basilica has similar origins, coming from the Latin word basilica (building of a court of justice, or church modelled on such a building), which came from the Greek basilike (royal portal). In Ancient Rome, basilica was used to refer to the seven principal churches founded by Constantine. Fantasy and role-playing-game enthusiasts might also be familiar with the basilisk: a mythical lizard whose name means little king, apparently because it had a crest that looked like a crown. Apparently, because they’ve never existed.
If you’re still not sold on Basil, perhaps one of these other common regal English names (i.e. used commonly by native speakers) will be more to your liking. All of them have the meaning of a royal title such as king, queen, prince, or princess from various:
Brendan
Candace
Donald (sigh)
Eric
Frederick
Harold
Henry
Leroy
Oswald
Rhiannon
Roy
Ryan
Sarah
Tallulah
Walter
King Oswald and Queen Tallulah, sounds quite regal, no?
In U.S. data, Basil appears as a unisex name. I suppose the girls are named after the plant?
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That’s interesting, it would make sense, considering how many girls’ names are based on flowers.
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There is a trend, which seems particularly strong in America, for boys’ names to become unisex names and then girls’ names. Ashley and Lindsey, for example, started off as boys’ names and are now almost solely given to girls.
https://nameberry.com/blog/unisex-baby-names-names-that-morphed-from-blue-to-pink
This never seems to happen the other way around.
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That’s true actually, I wonder why that is. Perhaps an inherent sexism in the language whereby male names are good enough for everyone, but female names are for girls only!
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Thanx for the list of names of all my new batches of kittens. I actually love the name Basil but have never known (personally) someone named that. I eat a lot of basil, does that count? ~~dru~~
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I think it does: eating enough will surely give you a regal perfume!
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