Meaning: Its source is virgo, a Latin name meaning "Maiden."

Nickname For: Virginia

Alternative Spellings: Jinny

Popularity: The name Ginny ranked 1401st in popularity for females of all ages in a sample of the 1990 US Census.

Though this name has fluctuated in use, it has been quietly present throughout the last century.

Narrative: This name was first spelled Verginia, and was the feminine form of an ancient Roman clan name, Verginius. Over time its spelling changed due to its association with the Latin term virgo, meaning ''maiden.'' This meaning has driven the use of the name ever since.

In 1587, this was the name given the first baby born to English colonists in the New World, Virginia Dare. Both the baby and her home colony were named for Elizabeth I, the Virgin Queen of England.

The state of Virginia still proudly bears this name. Virginia Dare's fate was different. She and the rest of the colonists on Roanoke Island mysteriously disappeared within three years of her birth, creating the legend of The Lost Colony which has been reinacted in a grand pageant every summer since 1937.