Philomena

The comment section of this name contains some discussion and theories about the meaning and origin of Filumena and Philomena. I would like to add a theory of my own:

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Filumena is a variant spelling of Philumena, the latinized form of the Greek given name Φιλουμένα (Philoumena). In turn, Philoumena is a rare variant of Φιλουμένη (Philoumene). The latter name is derived from Greek φιλουμένη (philoumene), which is the feminine passive infinitive participle of the verb φιλοῦμαι (philoumai) meaning "to love" as well as "to kiss".

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Both Philoumena and Philoumene are Ancient Greek names. Their latinized forms Philumena and Philumene were used in the Late Roman period as a cognomen by Roman women (who might or might not have had some Greek ancestry). The Roman playwright Terence (2nd century AD) even used the name Philumena in two of his comic plays, namely "Andria" and "Hecyra".

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The spelling found on the terracotta tiles that closed off the Roman tomb (discovered in 1802) might possibly have come about due to a certain degree of illiteracy or unfamiliarity with how to properly latinize Greek names. After all, not everyone had access to proper education at the time, and those who did, might not have received the same quality of education as others.

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So, the person who engraved the name Filumena on the terracotta tiles might have been unaware that the name was actually supposed to be spelled as Philumena. They basically spelled the name as if it were a name of Latin origin, as if they exclusively had knowledge of Latin orthography. This person may have been *just* literate enough to be able to spell names as they had heard them pronounced. Since there is no difference in pronunciation between Filumena and Philumena, it makes sense that someone with limited literacy (who has only had exposure to Latin orthography) would go with the former spelling. It is more intuitive and also fits better with their knowledge of the Latin language and orthography.

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I strongly doubt that Filumena is of Latin origin and means "daughter of light" (which is what some people here have claimed). That seems like a folk etymology, one that was born out of religious beliefs and wishful thinking. This is unsurprising, when you consider that the source of this etymology is a Dominican nun by the name of Maria Luisa di Gesù (1799-1875), whose name translates to "Mary Louise of Jesus" in English.

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In addition to this, there are other things that should make you doubt the plausibility of this particular etymology. The nun claimed that the saint's parents were both Greek. Why would Greeks of that era completely abandon their cultural heritage and traditions by bestowing a non-Greek name upon their daughter? An invented one at that, too. People of that era were not in the business of inventing names in the manner that we do today. Also, the nun claimed that the second element of the name consists of Latin 'lumena' meaning "light". There is no such word in Latin! There is only 'lumen' meaning "light", which becomes 'lumina' in the plural:

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• https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/lumen#Latin (in English)
• list of Latin words starting with lum-: http://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/resolveform?type=start&lookup=lum&lang=la (in English)

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Looks like the nun's knowledge of Latin was pretty limited and inadequate, wouldn't you say?

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Anyway, so my theory is that Filumena was supposed to be Philumena, the latinized form of Φιλουμένα (Philoumena). I think that over time, the name was conflated with Φιλομένα (Philomena), due to its obviously strong resemblance. They are each independent names in their own right, though. Philomena is the younger one of the two, as it was never used in Ancient Greece. It only began to be used as a name in the Late Greek period, which started sometime in the 2nd century AD (well after the advent of Christianity). The name is not even listed in the Lexicon of Greek Personal Names (LGPN) and Trismegistos (TM), whilst both Philoumena and Philoumene are in the LGPN and only the latter at TM.

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Hmm... on second thought... since Philomena is so much younger, we should not discount the possibility that there might have been at least a few cases where it was a variant (or even a corruption) of both Philoumena and its latinized form Philumena. With such a great resemblance between the names, such a thing could have happened easily. Not to mention that people were much more used to seeing Φιλο- (Philo-) rather than Φιλου- (Philou-) in Greek names that are etymologically related to the Greek verb φιλέω (phileo) meaning "to love" as well as "to kiss". Think of names like Philodemos, Philokrates, Philotheos, Philoxenos and so forth. A name starting with Philou- was and is really a rarity (at least in comparison).

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By the way, the current version of this entry mentions the Greek adjective φιλομήνη (philomene) in the final sentence. Where did you get that from? The Perseus Digital Library does not list it, nor do Wiktionary and the Liddell, Scott, Jones Ancient Greek Lexicon (LSJ). An exact Google search of only the Greek spelling also yields only 326 results, of which this entry is among the top 5. Perhaps you actually meant to say φιλουμένη (philoumene)? [noted -ed]

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Finally... apart from Philomena, all of the relevant names mentioned are currently in the Submitted Names Database (along with sources). To save everyone some time, I shall link to them below:

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• Philoumena: https://www.behindthename.com/name/philoumena/submitted (in English; the latinized form is Philumena)
• Philoumene: https://www.behindthename.com/name/philoumene/submitted (in English; the latinized form is Philumene)
• Philumena: https://www.behindthename.com/name/philumena/submitted (in English)
• Philumene: https://www.behindthename.com/name/philumene/submitted (in English)

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You might also want to compare the following masculine names:

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• Philomenes: https://www.behindthename.com/name/philomenes/submitted (in English)
• Philomenos: https://www.behindthename.com/name/philomenos/submitted (in English; the latinized form is Philomenus)
• Philomenus: https://www.behindthename.com/name/philomenus/submitted (in English)
• Philoumenos: https://www.behindthename.com/name/philoumenos/submitted (in English; the latinized form is Philumenus)
• Philumenus: https://www.behindthename.com/name/philumenus/submitted (in English)

It means “Daughter of Light”. The original version, Filumena, contains the word Lumena, which means light, and the Fi at the beginning comes from the Filia, meaning daughter. The original version isn’t Philomena, this is just the English transcription, so it doesn’t make sense as to why the meaning would come from this spelling.
I also believe that in the private revelations that the saint made to a nun that she appeared to, she discussed the meaning of her name and mentioned that it means “daughter of light”, although I’m not 100% sure.

The name doesn't mean "friend, lover of strength," etc. The original form is Filumena, suggesting the of the word "lumena," or light. Also lumena means lamp, lantern, light of day, the eye, clearness, understanding. The name exclusively originates from the "obscure saint of the 1st century," as the description of this name indicates. It was a name invented by the Saint's parents, who were Greek, and who originally named her "Lumena" and then, at her baptism, had her name registered as "Filumena." "Filia" meaning daughter in Latin, so "daughter of light." I've submitted corrections and resources to Behind The Name.

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Philomena wasn't dropped from the Church in 1961. She wasn't listed on the martyrology, but that didn't mean that the Church didn't concede she was a martyr and a saint. Five Popes were devotees of her and approved her devotion and several Saints were devoted to her as well. Her archconfraturnity still exists, her shrine in Mugnano, Italy, still exists (I've been there, it's very beautiful), her feast day was moved, etc. Information from philomena.org and philomena.us

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That said, this is MY name and I like it a lot. Most people find it very exotic (in the US) and also don't know how to pronounce it (I have the French spelling), which opens up a lot of interesting conversations about etymology. It also makes me memorable. I like the variety of nicknames that can be derived from it, as well; they are either very cool, or very cute, and there is a large variety of them that can be made up. People have been very inventive. All in all, as someone who has this name, I can say, it has been a good experience.

Actually, Philomena comes from the Greek philomênê, which means "loved", it's the past participle of the verb philein, meaning "to love". [noted -ed]