Elio is an Italian male given name.[1][2][3]

Elio
PronunciationItalian: [ˈɛːljo]
GenderMale
Language(s)Italian
Other names
Related namesHélio, Eliomar

Origin edit

 
The god Helios in a painting by Anton Raphael Mengs.

A name of dual origin, Elio is primarily a revival of Elio (Helios), the Greek god of the Sun.[1][2][3] Elio derives, through the Latin Helius, from the Ancient Greek Ἥλιος (Hélios), which is taken from the noun of the same and means "Sun".[1][4][5][6] It shares the same meaning as the Italian feminine name Sole, the Romanian masculine name Sorin and the Lithuanian feminine name Saulė.

Elio is also believed to originate from the Roman cognomen Aelius (feminine Aelia), which was held by the emperor Hadrian and thus dates back to the 2nd century.[1][2][7] The origin is uncertain, perhaps Etruscan[1] or perhaps from the Latin alius, "[an] other".[7] Some sources trace its origin to the Greek Ἥλιος (Hélios),[8] a connection categorically rejected by others.[7] The patronymic name Eliano is similarly derived from the Roman cognomen.[7]

Elio may also be a hypocorism of other names such as Aurelio or Cornelio. In Italy, the name Elio occurs throughout and is promoted through the worship of saints with the name.[1] There is also a feminine form, Èlia; however, to avoid confusion with the biblical masculine name Elìa (Elijah), it is generally replaced by Elina or Eliana.[3]

Variants edit

Variants in other languages edit

Name day edit

The name day can be celebrated on October 28 in memory of saint Helios, bishop of Lyon,[9][10] or on July 18 in memory of saint Elio, deacon and bishop of Koper.[11][12]

People with the given name Elio edit

 
Elio De Angelis.
 
Elio Vittorini.

Fictional characters edit

Bibliography edit

  • Albaigès, Josep M. (1993). Diccionario de nombres de personas. Edicions Universitat Barcelona. ISBN 84-475-0264-3.
  • De Felice, Emidio (1978). Nomi d'Italia. Vol. 1. Milan: Arnoldo Mondadori Editore.
  • La Stella, T. Enzo (2009). Santi e fanti - Dizionario dei nomi di persona. Bologna: Zanichelli. ISBN 978-88-08-06345-8.
  • Sheard, K. M. (2011). Llewellyn's Complete Book of Names. Llewellyn Publications. ISBN 978-0-7387-2368-6.

References edit

  1. ^ a b c d e f g h i j (De Felice 1978, p. 158)
  2. ^ a b c "Elio". Behind the Name. Retrieved 6 September 2022.
  3. ^ a b c d e (La Stella 2009, p. 125)
  4. ^ a b c d e (Albaigès 1993, p. 135)
  5. ^ (Sheard 2011, p. 275)
  6. ^ "Helios". Behind the Name. Retrieved 25 March 2020.
  7. ^ a b c d (Sheard 2011, pp. 195–196)
  8. ^ "Aelius". Behind the Name. Retrieved 25 March 2020.
  9. ^ "Sant' Elio di Lione". Santi, beati e testimoni. Retrieved 6 September 2022.
  10. ^ "Saint Elius of Lyon". CatholicSaints.Info. Retrieved 25 March 2020.
  11. ^ "Sant' Elio di Capodistria". Santi, beati e testimoni. Retrieved 25 March 2020.
  12. ^ "Saint Elio of Kopar". CatholicSaints.Info. Retrieved 25 March 2020.

External links edit

  •   The dictionary definition of Elio at Wiktionary
  •   Media related to Elio at Wikimedia Commons