Virginia (given name)

Virginia is a Germanic and Romance feminine given name derived from the Ancient Roman family name Verginius or Virginius. According to legend, Virginia was a Roman girl who was killed by her father in order to save her from seduction by the corrupt government official Appius Claudius Crassus.

The name was the 34th most common name for American women and girls, according to the census of 1990. It was the 545th most popular name given to baby girls born in the United States in 2007.

Virginia Dare was the first child born to English parents in North America. Virginia O'Hanlon wrote a letter that prompted the famous "Yes, Virginia, there is a Santa Claus" editorial in the September 21, 1897 edition of the New York Sun. The most famous Virginia is probably the English modernist author Virginia Woolf.

Variants

 * Virgy (English)
 * Virgee (English)
 * Virgie (English)
 * Virginia (Italian/Spanish)
 * Virgínia (Portuguese)
 * Virginie (French)
 * Virginija (Lithuanian)
 * Wilikinia (Hawaiian)
 * Vegenia (Hawaiian)
 * Βιργινία (Virginia or Viryinia) (Greek)
 * Virdžinija (Вирџинија) (Serbian language)

Reduced forms/nicknames

 * Ginnie (English) (see Ginny)
 * Ginna (English)
 * Ginger (English)
 * Ivy (English)
 * Nia (English)
 * Nini (English)
 * Ginny (English)
 * Jenna (English)
 * Jinny (English)
 * Ginia (Spanish)
 * Gina (Spanish/Portuguese)
 * Ginata (Spanish)
 * Gigi (French)
 * Ginni (Indian)
 * Vera (English)
 * Vivi (French)
 * Vi (French)
 * Virgi (Italian)
 * Vina (English)
 * Nina (English)
 * Gia (English)

Notable people

 * Virginia Centurione Bracelli, Roman Catholic saint
 * Virginia Apgar, American obstetrical anesthesiologist, and inventor of the Apgar score
 * Virginia Bourbon del Monte, an Italian aristocrat
 * Virginia Coffey, American civil rights activist
 * Virginia Frazer Boyle, American poet and writer
 * Virginia Crosbie, British politician
 * Virginia Mary Crawford (1862–1948), British Catholic suffragist, feminist, journalist, and author
 * Virginia Clinton, mother of former United States President Bill Clinton
 * Virginia Dare, the first child born to English parents in the Americas
 * Virginia Eriksdotter, Swedish noble
 * Princess Virginia von Fürstenberg, Italian fashion designer and artist
 * Virginia Gardner (born 1995), American actress
 * Virginia Hall, American World War II spy
 * Virginia Hamilton (1936–2002), American author
 * Virginia Hampson (born 2002), English singer
 * Virginia Kravarioti, Greek sailor
 * Virginia Lesser, American statistician
 * Virginia Madsen, American actress
 * Virginia Mauret (died 1983), American musician and dancer
 * Virginia McKenna, British actress and author
 * Virginia McLaurin (1909–2022), American activist and supercentenarian, who enlightened the Obamas during Black History month 2016
 * Virginia Miller, several people
 * Virgínia Moura (1915-1998), Portuguese anti-government activist and feminist, civil engineer
 * Virginia Norwood (1927–2023), American aerospace engineer, inventor, and physicist, "The Mother of Landsat"
 * Virginia Nyambura (born 1993), Kenyan steeplechase runner
 * Virginia Pereira Álvarez (1888-1947), first Venezuelan woman to enroll in the medicine course in the country.
 * Virginia Ridley, a woman who was imprisoned by her husband
 * Virginia Satir, American author and psychotherapist
 * Virginia Shehee, Louisiana businesswoman and former state senator
 * Virginia Sink (1913–1986), American chemical engineer, first woman automotive engineer at Chrysler.
 * Virginia Thomas, political activist, wife of Clarence Thomas
 * Virginia Thrasher, American sports shooter and Olympic gold medalist
 * Virginia Tonelli (1903–1944), Italian partisan
 * Virginia Wade (born 1945), British tennis player and three-time Grand Slam winner
 * Virginia Walker (1916–1946), American film actress
 * Virginia Woolf (1882–1941), English novelist and essayist
 * Virginia Euwer Wolff, American author
 * Virginia Zakian, American scientist and professor at Princeton University
 * Virginia Zeani (1925–2023), Romanian-born opera singer
 * Virginia “Geena” Davis (born 1956), American actress and activist
 * Virginia “Ginger” Rogers (1911–1995), American actress, born Virginia McMath

Fictional people

 * Virginia "Pepper" Potts, fictional character in Marvel Comics