Bice

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Girl · Italian, from Latin

Bice

Say it: BEE-cheh

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Meaning

A Tuscan short form of Beatrice.

Certainscholars agree on this meaning.

Bice was the everyday Florentine form of Beatrice in the Middle Ages.

Its wave through time

No birth counts are recorded for this name in the records loaded here: it has been given to fewer than five babies a year, or not at all, since records began.

Through the ages

Used by

Italian

Famous bearers

Bice Portinari, the Beatrice of Dante's poems

Names worth a look

ConstantiaGirlLatin constantia 'constancy, steadfastness'.Rome

LapaGirlA Tuscan feminine of Lapo, itself a short form of Jacopo (Jacob), from Hebrew Ya'aqov, traditionally explained as…Middle Ages · forgotten

ContessinaGirlA diminutive of contessa 'countess', so 'little countess'.Middle Ages · forgotten

PiccardaGirlUncertain; perhaps a feminine of Piccardo, which may refer to a man from Picardy.Middle Ages · forgotten

CaeciliaGirlFeminine of Caecilius, a Roman family name; ancient writers linked it to caecus 'blind', which is not proven.Rome

CostanzaGirlFrom Latin constantia 'steadiness, constancy'.Middle Ages · forgotten

BessieGirlPet form of Elizabeth.Victorian · peak 1889 · forgotten

BasilBoyGreek basileios, 'royal, kingly'.Early Medieval · peak 1915

Where this comes from

Medieval and Renaissance Italian records, such as the Florentine tax survey of 1427
Well-known works of literature

Meanings and histories are compiled from the study of names and their languages and checked by a second review.

Meanings and histories are drawn from the study of names and their languages, each with a confidence rating; popularity figures come from official birth records. Name histories are a living field: if you know of a correction, we would be glad to hear it.