Meaning: Its source is Viatrix, a Latin name meaning "Voyager."

Nickname For: Beatrice and Beatrix

Alternative Spellings: Bee

Popularity: The name Bea ranked 1881st in popularity for females of all ages in a sample of the 1990 US Census.

Though this name appears on the 1990 U.S. Census lists, it is used by only a small percentage of the general population.

Narrative: In many people's minds, this name is inextricably linked to that of the Italian epic poet Dante Alighieri (1265-1321), who chose for his Muse an idealized woman he called Beatrice.

Though there was a real Beatrice in his life, Dante had very little contact with her. Beatrice Portinari (1266-90) first met Dante when she was eight and he was nine; they met again no more than a handful of times. Dante elaborated on this scant acquaintance and its profound effect on him in a love poem called La Vita Nuova (''The New Life''), before following Beatrice into Paradise in the poem that would immortalize them both, La Divina Commedia (''The Divine Comedy'').