Basil (name)
Basil | |
---|---|
Pronunciation | BAZ-əl, BAH-səl |
Origin | |
Word/name | Greek, Arabic |
Meaning | "royal, kingly, brave, valiant, chivalrous" in Greek; "brave, fearless, intrepid" in Arabic |
The name Basil (/ˈbæzəl/; royal, kingly) comes from the male Greek name Vassilios (Greek: Βασίλειος, female version Bασιλική), which first appeared during the Hellenistic period. It is derived from "basileus" (Greek: βασιλεύς), a Greek word of pre-Hellenic origin meaning "king", from which words such as basilica and basilisk (via Latin) as well as the eponymous herb (via Old French) derive, and the name of the Italian region Basilicata, which had been long under the rule of the Byzantine Emperor (also called basileus).
It was brought to England by the Crusaders, having been common in the eastern Mediterranean. It is more often used in Britain and Europe than in the US and is also the name of a common herb.
In Arabic, Bas(s)el (باسل, bāsil) is an indirect Quranic name for boys that means "brave, fearless, intrepid".[1] It is derived from the B-S-L root, which is used in many places in the Quran.[2]
Different derived names in different languages include Basile in French; Basilius in German; Basilio in Italian, Galician and Spanish; Basileo in Galician; Vasile in Romanian; Vasil in Bulgarian; Vasilije in Serbian; Vasily in Russian; Bazil, Bazsó, Vászoly and Vazul in Hungarian.
"Basil" has over 50 variants,[3] among them being: Bacile, Bas(s)el, Basley,[4] Baseley,[4] Bas(s)il(l),[4] Basilic, Basilides, Basileios, Basileo, Basile, Basilie, Basilio, Basilius, Basilone,[3] Bazeel, Bazeelius, Bazley,[4] Bazeley,[3][4] Bazell,[4] Bazelle,[3][4] Bazil, Bazyli, Breasal, Pasi,[5] Vasil, Vasyl, Vasile,[3] Vaseleos, Vasilchenko,[3] Vasileos, Vasilije, Vasilj, Vasko, Vasa, Vaso, Vasović,[3] Vas(s)ilios, Vasilius, Vasilus, Vassilis, Vasili, Vassili, Vasiliy, Vassilij, Vassily, Wassily, and Wasilewski.[3]
Basil may refer to the following people:
Rulers
- Basil Onomagoulos (died 717), Byzantine usurper in Sicily in 717
- Basil I (811-886) the Macedonian, Byzantine Emperor from 867
- Basil II Bulgaroktonus (958-1025), Byzantine Emperor from 976
- Basil Lekapenos (died c. 985), chief administrator of the Byzantine Empire from 945
- Basil of Trebizond (died 1340), ruled from 1332
- Fasilides (1603-1667), Ethiopian Emperor from 1603
- Basil of Naples, the first Duke of Naples from 661 to 666
Generals
- Basil Apokapes, Byzantine general of the mid-11th century
- Basil Boioannes, Catepan of Italy in 1017-1027
- Basil Mesardonites, Catepan of Italy in 1010-1017
- Basil Theodorokanos, Catepan of Italy in 1043
Religious figures
- Basil of Caesarea (330-379), also known as Basil the Great, a 4th-century bishop of Caesarea
- Basil the Elder, father of Basil the Great and saint of the Eastern Orthodox Church
- Basil of Ancyra (died 362), a 4th-century martyr
- Basil of Amasea, a fourth-century Christian bishop and martyr
- Basil Fool for Christ (born 1468 or 1469, died 1552 or 1557), a Russian saint
- Basil of Ostrog (1610-1671), bishop and saint of the Eastern Orthodox Church
- Basil the Physician (died 1118), Bogomil leader burned at the stake as a heretic
- Basil of Seleucia (died probably between 458 and 460), a metropolitan bishop of Seleucia ad Calycadnum
- Basil the Confessor (died 750), Eastern Orthodox saint
- Basil Hopko (1904-1976), bishop of the Slovak Greek Catholic Church and martyr
- Basil Hume (1923-1999), English Roman Catholic cardinal and Archbishop of Westminster
- Basil Moreau (1799-1873), French Roman Catholic priest who founded the Congregation of Holy Cross and was beatified
- variant Basilides
- Basilides (2nd century AD), Egyptian Gnostic religious teacher
First name
- Basil Arthur (1928-1985), New Zealand politician
- Basil al-Assad (1962-1994), son and heir-apparent of the late Syrian President Hafez al-Assad
- Basil Brooke, 1st Viscount Brookeborough (1888-1973), politician and third Prime Minister of Northern Ireland
- Basil Bunting (1900–1985), British modernist poet
- Basil Dearden (1911-1971), British film director
- Basil W. Duke (1838-1916), Confederate American Civil War general and historian
- Air Chief Marshal Basil Embry (1902-1977), British Royal Air Force officer
- Basil Gunasekara (born 1929), 7th Commander of the Sri Lanka Navy
- Basil Buzz Hargrove (born 1944), Canadian former labour union leader
- B. H. Liddell Hart (1895-1970), English soldier, military historian and leading inter-war theorist
- Basil Hetzel (born 1922), Australian medical researcher
- Basil Hiley (born 1935), British quantum physicist
- Basil Hood (1864-1917), British librettist and lyricist
- Basil Mott (1859-1938), British civil engineer
- Basil O'Connor (1892-1972), American lawyer and chairman and president of the American Red Cross
- Basil Charles Godfrey Place (1921-1994), British Royal Navy rear-admiral and recipient of the Victoria Cross
- Basil Radford (1897-1952), British actor
- Basil Rathbone (1892-1967), British actor
- Basil Spence (1907-1976), Scottish architect
- Basil Wolverton (1909–1978), American cartoonist, illustrator, comic book writer-artist
- Basil Zaharoff (1849-1936), Greek arms trader and financier, and chairman of the Vickers munitions company during World War I
- variant Bassel
- Bassel al-Assad (1962–1994), the eldest son of the late Syrian President Hafez al-Assad
Surname
- Steve Basil (1893–1962), American baseball umpire
- Toni Basil (b. 1943), American musician, video artist, actress, and choreographer
- Richard Basil (b. 1967), American former college football coach
- variant Bacile
- Giovanni Bacile (1880–1941), Italian Roman Catholic priest
- variant Baseley
- Godfrey Baseley (1904–1997), American radio executive
- William Baseley, English politician, member of the Parliament of England in 1554 and 1555
- variant Basile
- see Basile#Surname
- variant Basilio
- see Basilio#Surname
- variant Basilius
- Basilius is a Greek nobility title and names bearing this title are excluded here
- István Basilius (1549–1581), Hungarian Unitarian minister
- variant Basilone
- John Basilone (1916–1945), American soldier, recipient of the Medal of Honor
- variant Bassil
- Gebran Bassil (b. 1970), Lebanese politician
- Ray Bassil (b. 1988), Lebanese athlete
- variant Bazeley
- see Bazeley
- variant Bazell
- Josh Bazell (b. 1970), American author and physician
- Robert Bazell (20th Century), American academic
- variant Bazil
- Louis Bazil (1695–1752), French merchant and militia officer
- Ezekiel Bazil (b. 1965), Dominican politician
- variant Bazley
- Margaret Bazley (b. 1938), New Zealand public servant
- Robert W. Bazley (1925–2012), American military commander
- Sir Thomas Bazley, 1st Baronet (1797–1883), British industrialist and Liberal politician
- variant Pasi
- Riccardo Pasi (b. 1990), Italian footballer
- Geeta Pasi (21st Century), American diplomat
- variant Vasil (excluding Vasil')
- Adria Vasil (21st Century), Canadian journalist
- variant Vasilchenko
see Vasilchenko
- variant Vasile
- variant Vasili
- Laert Vasili (b. 1974), Greek Albanian actor and director
- Petrit Vasili (21st Century), Albanian politician
- variant Vasilj
- Mario Vasilj (b. 1983), Swedish professional footballer
- Vladimir Vasilj (b. 1975), former Croatian professional footballer
- variant Vasko (excluding Vaskó and Vaško)
- Elmer Vasko (1935–1998), Canadian ice hockey player
- Rick Vasko (b. 1957), Canadian ice hockey player
- variant Vasović
- see Vasović
- variant Vassili
- Amaury Vassili (b. 1989), French singer
- Vassilis Vassili (b. 1964), Greek sculptor
- variant Wasilewski
- see Wasilewski
Fictional characters
- Basil, protagonist of Wilkie Collins' 1852 Basil (novel)
- Basil of the Basil of Baker Street novels and the movie The Great Mouse Detective
- Basil, a character in the television series Fraggle Rock
- Basil Fawlty, the main character in Fawlty Towers
- Basil Brush, a glove puppet fox popular on children's television in the UK
- Basil (Sesame Park), main character of the Canadian children's show Sesame Park
- Basil, a character in the anime and manga series Reborn!
- Basil, a character on the Playhouse Disney TV series Johnny and the Sprites
- Basil Wombat, a character on SeeMore's Playhouse
- Basil, a character in the breeding and farming game, Harvest Moon
- Basil Hallward, the artist that paints the haunting portrait of Dorian Gray in Oscar Wilde's The Picture of Dorian Gray
- Basil the Bat Lord, an enemy racer in Lego Racers (video game)
- Basil Stag Hare, member of the Fur and Foot Fighting Patrol in Brian Jacques' Redwall
- Basil Hawkins, a character in a popular manga One Piece
- Basil Exposition, a character in the film Austin Powers: International Man of Mystery
- Basil, Alex Delarge's snake from the film A Clockwork Orange (film)
- Basil Brightberry, the gentlemouse sommelier in the children's Brambly Hedge series
- Basil Ransom, a Mississippi lawyer in Henry James's 1886 novel The Bostonians
- Basil, a Pirate in the film Chitty Chitty Bang Bang
- Basil, the main villain in the novel The Timekeepers
References
- ↑ Wehr, Hans (1979). Cowan, J. Milton, ed. A Dictionary of Modern Written Arabic. p. 73.
- ↑ "Basel". QuranicNames.com. QuranClub. Retrieved 23 May 2015.
- 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 "Last Name: Basil". The Internet Surname Database. Retrieved 23 May 2015.
- 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Reaney, PH; Wilson, RM (1991). A Dictionary of English Surnames (reprint). Psychology Press. p. 198. ISBN 9780415057370 – via Google Books.
- ↑ "Pasi". Behind the Name. Retrieved 23 May 2015.
External links
- Basil - Origin of Baby Names
- Basil (English) - House of Names
- Basil (French) - House of Names
- (Arabic) - Quaric Names