Audifax

The best-known (and possibly the first) bearer of this name is saint Audifax, who was of noble descent and born in the Persian Empire. Somewhere between 268 and 270 AD, he went on a pilgrimage to Rome with his parents and brother, whose names were Marius, Martha and Abachum (also known as Habakkuk). Once there, the whole family was martyred for their faith and their aid to the local Christians.

Given the saint's background and the names of his immediate family, Audifax might be a latinization of his original name, which might possibly have been of Hebrew or Persian origin. If that is indeed the case, then the original form of his name appears to have been lost to time.

According to one Russian source, his name is partially Hebrew and partially Latin. The first part of the name basically means "servant of God" and as such corresponds to Abdias, whereas the second part is derived from the Latin noun fax meaning "torch".

Other sources claim that the name is actually fully Latin, which seems doubtful when you look at the saint's background. A Spanish source states that Audifax is a combination of the Latin verbs audio meaning "to hear, to listen" and facio meaning "to do", whilst a French source basically indicates that the name consists of the Latin adjective audax meaning "audacious, daring, bold, courageous" (see Audax) and the previously mentioned Latin verb facio meaning "to do".

All in all, the meaning and origin of this name is uncertain, but the few available sources at least seem to agree that Audifax is a compound name.