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ArchivesRe: origin of Gloria as a Marian devotion name
in reply to a message by clevelandkentevans
Gloria is definitely a Catholic Marian name, and I would argue that it originated specifically in Portugal and Brazil — at least, the cult of Our Lady of Glory was particularly strong there.
You can even point out that the name seems to have become common after the birth of the Infanta Maria da Glória of Portugal (Rio de Janeiro, 1819) who was specifically named after Our Lady of Glory. Maria da Glória eventually succeeded to the Portuguese throne as Queen Maria II. She surely helped to popularise the name both at home and abroad — she spent part of her youth in Austria and Britain.
Certainly Geneall.net (normally a very comprehensive source) does not seem to list many people named "Gloria" or "Maria da Gloria", across nationalities, before 1819. (Though, to be fair, Marian names did not seem to be widely used before the 19th century.)
You can even point out that the name seems to have become common after the birth of the Infanta Maria da Glória of Portugal (Rio de Janeiro, 1819) who was specifically named after Our Lady of Glory. Maria da Glória eventually succeeded to the Portuguese throne as Queen Maria II. She surely helped to popularise the name both at home and abroad — she spent part of her youth in Austria and Britain.
Certainly Geneall.net (normally a very comprehensive source) does not seem to list many people named "Gloria" or "Maria da Gloria", across nationalities, before 1819. (Though, to be fair, Marian names did not seem to be widely used before the 19th century.)
This message was edited 3/28/2018, 5:53 AM
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Replies
Thanks for your response! I mentioned Maria II in my column and thought perhaps the name was especially common in Portugal because of her. Because of Benito Pérez Galdós's 1877 novel, though, I wanted to admit the possibility that the name Gloria could have sometimes made it to English speaking countries from Spain as well.
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