MEANING & HISTORY
What does Ursula mean?
Ursula is a Roman name formed as a diminutive of Latin ursa, she-bear. The little-bear interpretation comes from that actual word structure, rather than an assumption about a famous bearer’s strength.
The legendary Saint Ursula played an important role in the name’s medieval Christian history. Her story is a devotional association, distinct from the secure animal-word formation. The Tagalog entry records borrowing through Spanish Úrsula; the unaccented local spelling can retain the same name-family ancestry.
References for this explanation
Pronunciation & syllables
Synthetic voice reading
Wiktionary / Kaikki / Wiktextract · CC BY-SA 4.0
Origin and name formation
Latin
Dictionary accounts by language
Tagalog
Borrowed from Spanish Úrsula.
a female given name from Spanish
Wiktionary: Ursula (Tagalog) ↗ · Contributors · CC BY-SA 4.0
English
From Latin Ursula, the name of a fourth century saint. Via Proto-Indo-European *h₂ŕ̥tḱos cognate with Arcady.
A female given name from Latin.
Wiktionary: Ursula (English) ↗ · Contributors · CC BY-SA 4.0
Wiktionary contributors via Kaikki/Wiktextract; common glosses translated for Filipino.
Related forms & spellings
Similar names to Ursula
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- Urbano♂From Urbanus: city dweller
- Urias♂Latin Uriah: Yahweh is my light
- Felicula·Roman feminine name in the Felix fortunate-name family