Sabrina (given name)


Sabrina is a feminine given name derived from the Romano-British name of the River Severn.
It is also the romanization of an unrelated Arabic name, صابرينا ṣābrīnā, from the root "patience".

Etymology

The name of the river is attested as latinized Sabrina in the 2nd century. The reconstructed British form is :wikt:Reconstruction:Proto-Celtic/Sabrinā|*sabrinā.
The modern Welsh form is Hafren, Habren.
Milton adopted the legend in his Comus, using the Latin form Sabrina.
Fletcher refers to the legend in The Faithful Shepherdess.
The name was not used in Britain, with the singular exception of Sabrina Sidney, an English foundling girl, named for her orphanage overlooking River Severn, prior to the 19th century, and then very rarely.
Its popularity rose, at first in the United States, in the wake of the film Sabrina, a romantic drama-comedy where the protagonist Sabrina Fairchild was played by Audrey Hepburn.

Welsh legend

According to a legend recounted by Geoffrey of Monmouth in the 12th century, Habren was the daughter of a king named Locrinus by his mistress, the Germanic princess Estrildis. Locrinus ruled England after the death of his father, Brutus of Troy, the legendary second founder of Britain. Locrinus cast aside his wife, Guendolen, and their son Maddan and acknowledged Sabrina and her mother, but the enraged Guendolen raised an army against him and defeated Locrinus in battle. Guendolen then ordered that Sabrina and her mother be drowned in the river. The river was named after Sabrina so Locrine's betrayal of Guendolen would never be forgotten. According to legend, Sabrina lives in the river, which reflects her mood. She rides in a chariot and dolphins and salmon swim alongside her. The later story suggests that the legend of Sabrina could have become intermingled with old stories of a river goddess or nymph.

Popularity

The name gained popularity following the release of the film Sabrina, based on Samuel Taylor's Sabrina Fair.
It was the 789th most popular name for girls born in the United States in 1954, and rose to the 245th most popular name in 1955.
Dunkling notes that "n the U.S. Sabrina has tended to displace since ."
Its use has continued, boosted by the popularity of the comic book character Sabrina the Teenage Witch, who debuted in 1962.
It had peaks in popularity in 1970 and 1977.
A television series featured the character in 1996, resulting in a renewed peak in 1997.
The name was ranked as the 427th most popular name for U.S.-born girls in 2018.
The name peaked in popularity in France in 1979-1981 and in Italy in 2001. In Germany, it peaked in popularity at rank 8 in 1987 and 1989.

People

Anglicization of the Arabic name صابرينا:
Pseudonyms