Valentine

• A sweet French name that should be pronounced Val-un-teen, although everyone would probably call her Val-un-tyne. Still it's a lovely and unique name.
• This is a good, strong-sounding girl's name. The Latin root of it means "strong and brave." It was a popular name in France about one hundred years ago, but is just now slowly coming back into use. I think it sounds like a good name for a historical romance novel heroine - which to me is actually a recommendation!! - As my own name is Beth, I appreciate long, romantic-sounding names!

Valentine is a form of the Latin name Valentinus, which comes from valens, meaning "worthy." The holiday St. Valentine's Day was named for a couple of different second-century saints about whom little is known. The tradition of Valentine's Day as a celebration of romantic love started with the author Geoffrey Chaucer, who wrote Parlement of Foules in 1382. This poem celebrated the first anniversary engagement of King Richard II of England to Anne of Bohemia. During Chaucer's time, the notion of courtly or romantic love flourished, and as a result many of the tales we hear of St. Valentine marrying couples in secret and all that came about.
See Also: Valentina

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