Meaning: Its source is Patricius, a Latin name meaning "Aristocrat."

Languages: This boy's name is used in French.

Narrative: St. Patrick, the patron saint of Ireland, was a Roman citizen by birth. As a young boy, he was stolen away from his British home and enslaved by Irish raiders. He escaped, but later returned to Ireland and succeeded in Christianizing the entire country.

This mystical figure inspired such reverence that for hundreds of years the Irish generally refrained from giving his name to their sons. In modern times this custom has changed, and the name has enjoyed steady popularity on both sides of the Atlantic throughout the 20th century.

Note that the Latin original, Patricius, was really a title. The aristocrat known to history as St. Patrick was known to his family by the Breton personal name Sucat.

Meaning: Its source is Patricius, a Latin name meaning "Aristocrat."

Languages: This girl's name is used in English.

Popularity: The name Patrice ranked 510th in popularity for females of all ages in a sample of the 1990 US Census.

This name is highly rated in the 1990 U.S. Census popularity survey of all ages, but after 1960 does not appear in the state data listing the most popular baby names.

Narrative: Princess Patricia, granddaughter of Britain's Queen Victoria, helped to popularize this name at the beginning of the 20th century. The nicknames Pat and Patty were soon associated with it, although, somewhat surprisingly, both originated as pet forms of Martha and Matilda.