Drusilla is a female

given name A given name (also known as a forename or first name) is the part of a personal name quoted in that identifies a person, potentially with a middle name as well, and differentiates that person from the other members of a group (typically a f ...

History

The name has its origin from the

Latin Latin ( or ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic languages, Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally spoken by the Latins (Italic tribe), Latins in Latium (now known as Lazio), the lower Tiber area aroun ...

cognomen A ''cognomen'' (; : ''cognomina''; from ''co-'' "together with" and ''(g)nomen'' "name") was the third name of a citizen of ancient Rome, under Roman naming conventions. Initially, it was a nickname, but lost that purpose when it became hereditar ...

(and later

praenomen The praenomen (; plural: praenomina) was a first name chosen by the parents of a Ancient Rome, Roman child. It was first bestowed on the ''dies lustricus'' (day of lustration), the eighth day after the birth of a girl, or the ninth day after the ...

) '' Drusus'' which itself derived from the

Greek Greek may refer to: Anything of, from, or related to Greece, a country in Southern Europe: *Greeks, an ethnic group *Greek language, a branch of the Indo-European language family **Proto-Greek language, the assumed last common ancestor of all kno ...

''drosos'' (

dew Dew is water in the form of droplets that appears on thin, exposed objects in the morning or evening due to condensation. As the exposed surface cools by thermal radiation, radiating its heat, atmospheric moisture condenses at a rate grea ...

). The

diminutive A diminutive is a word obtained by modifying a root word to convey a slighter degree of its root meaning, either to convey the smallness of the object or quality named, or to convey a sense of intimacy or endearment, and sometimes to belittle s ...

"illa" transforms the name into feminine form. The most notable ancient Roman women bearing the name were members of the

Julio-Claudian dynasty The Julio-Claudian dynasty comprised the first five Roman emperors: Augustus, Tiberius, Caligula, Claudius, and Nero. This line of emperors ruled the Roman Empire, from its formation (under Augustus, in 27 BC) until the last of the line, Emper ...

, empress

Livia Drusilla Livia Drusilla (30 January 59 BC AD 29) was Roman empress from 27 BC to AD 14 as the wife of Augustus, the first Roman emperor. She was known as Julia Augusta after her formal adoption into the Julia ''gens'' in AD 1 ...

(wife of emperor

Augustus Gaius Julius Caesar Augustus (born Gaius Octavius; 23 September 63 BC – 19 August AD 14), also known as Octavian (), was the founder of the Roman Empire, who reigned as the first Roman emperor from 27 BC until his death in A ...

), princesses Julia Drusilla the Elder (sister of emperor

Caligula Gaius Caesar Augustus Germanicus (31 August 12 – 24 January 41), also called Gaius and Caligula (), was Roman emperor from AD 37 until his assassination in 41. He was the son of the Roman general Germanicus and Augustus' granddaughter Ag ...

) and Julia Drusilla the Younger (daughter of Caligula). Women such as the Herodian princess Drusilla and Mauretanian princess Drusilla were named in their honor, thus spreading the name across the Roman Empire. As a name appearing in the

Bible The Bible is a collection of religious texts that are central to Christianity and Judaism, and esteemed in other Abrahamic religions such as Islam. The Bible is an anthology (a compilation of texts of a variety of forms) originally writt ...

it was adopted by English speakers in the 17th century. The name has never been very popular in the

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

where, according to Social Security Administration records, from 1880 to 1914 its highest ranking of girls' names was 612 out of 1,000 in 1886.

People

* Drusilla Modjeska (born 1946), Australian writer and editor * Drucilla Roberts Bickford (1925–2024), American politician *

Drusilla Wills Drusilla Wills (14 November 1884 – 6 August 1951) was a British stage and film actress. After making her stage debut in 1902, she played character roles in many films, including as a jury member in Alfred Hitchcock's '' Murder!'' (1930). Se ...

(1884–1951), British stage and film actress * Drusilla Wilson (1815–1908), American temperance leader and Quaker pastor

Fictional characters

* Drusilla, aka

Wonder Girl Wonder Girl is the alias of multiple list of superheroines, superheroines featured in comic books published by DC Comics. They are associated with the superheroine Wonder Woman and possess Amazons (DC Comics), Amazonian powers. The Wonder Girl a ...

, Wonder Woman's sister in the TV series ''Wonder Woman'' *

Drusilla (Buffy the Vampire Slayer) Drusilla, or Dru for short, is a fictional character on the television series ''Buffy the Vampire Slayer'' and ''Angel'', portrayed by Juliet Landau. Created by Joss Whedon and David Greenwalt, she is introduced as a main antagonist alongsid ...

, in the TV series and its spin-off ''Angel'' * Drusilla Paddock, in ''The Worst Witch'' children's novel series * Drusilla Foer, Italian entertainer played by Gianluca Gori * Drusilla Blackthorn, from Cassandra Clare's trilogy '' The Dark Artifices'' * Drusilla, a succubus in the webcomic '' Pibgorn'' * Drusilla Clack, a hypocritical Evangelist in Wilkie Collins's novel ''

The Moonstone ''The Moonstone: A Romance'' by Wilkie Collins is an 1868 British epistolary novel. It is an early example of the modern detective novel, and established many of the ground rules of the modern genre. Its publication was started on 4 January 18 ...

'' * Drusilla Sartoris, in William Faulkner's novel '' The Unvanquished'' * Drusilla Arbuckle, character from ''The Garfield Show'' * Drusilla Lamb, played by

Gillian Lewis Gillian Lewis (born 1935) is an English character actress who, after a varied stage career in the 1950s and early '60s, appeared in a number of television drama series until the late 1970s. Notable roles were as the runaway heiress Geraldine Me ...

in the 1960s television series '' Mr. Rose''. * Drusilla Sickle, the Escort for District 12 in

Suzanne Collins Suzanne Collins (born August 10, 1962) is an American author and television writer who is best known as the author of the young adult literature, young adult Dystopian fiction, dystopian book series ''The Hunger Games''. She is also the author ...

' novel Sunrise on the Reaping.

Notes

{{given name Latin feminine given names Feminine given names

History

People

Fictional characters

See also

Notes