Photini

Girl · Ancient Greek

Photini

Say it: foh-TEE-nee

Try it with your surname

Meaning

Greek phōteinē, 'luminous, bright', from phōs 'light'.

Certainscholars agree on this meaning.

Bright

A common girls' name in modern Greece.

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

Early Christian Greek

The family of the name

Other spellings: Fotini, Photine

French	Photine
Latin	Photina

Famous bearers

Photini, name given in Orthodox tradition to the Samaritan woman of John 4

Names worth a look

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

EudokiaGirlFrom Greek eu 'good' and dokein 'to seem, think': 'good repute' or 'good will'.Early Medieval · forgotten

TheophanoGirlFrom Greek theos 'god' and phainein 'to appear'.Early Medieval · forgotten

EuphrosyneGirlFrom Greek euphrosynē 'mirth, good cheer'.Early Medieval · forgotten

GlykeraGirlFrom Greek glykys 'sweet'.Greece · forgotten

DomitillaGirlLatin, a diminutive of Domitia, from the Roman family name Domitius, whose origin is uncertain.Rome · forgotten

FotiniGirlFrom Greek phos 'light'.Middle Ages

Where this comes from

Lives of the saints and early Christian martyrologies
Calendars of saints and name days
National birth statistics of European countries source

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.