Comments
Meaning
Usage
Pronunciation
Famous
Impression
Other
I like the meaning pig. It’s unique, and pigs are very cute, in my opinion.
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Posy, Posie and Pia could be nicknames.
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Portia Oduba is the wife of Ore Oduba, a British radio and television presenter known for his appearance on the BBC show Strictly Come Dancing, which he won in 2016.
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Meh. Dated and unattractive. The meaning is kinda funny though.
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Porcia looks better.
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The popularity of the name needs to be updated. My name is Portia and I was born in 2000.
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Portia is the name of Delancy Devin’s spacey friend in Barbie’s movie Princess Charm School.
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Portia is a Latin word. In my studies I found many references and possible meanings. Not just in Shakespeare, but also historically, in the translation from Hebrew to Latin. It's been said to mean the sacrifices or offering. Also has shown the possible translation of the doorway or gateway. There also shows to be some references to Greek mythology, saying she was a goddess of justice. Portia is a very strong and powerful name.
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My middle name is Portia and I really like it. I like that it is different, I like the spelling of it and I’m a thespian so it suits me. My family use nicknames from Portia rather than my first name. I’m Porshie - Pig, PP, Porsche and Porshie. Uneducated (no offense) people, when hearing my middle name will go ‘like the car’.
I just reply, 'well my Dad can’t afford Porsche so he got a Portia instead.'
Also just for the record I’m not posh or snobby either.
I understand it’s not to everyone's taste but if you're looking for a strong, heroic, feminist and unique name I would recommend Portia.
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I just reply, 'well my Dad can’t afford Porsche so he got a Portia instead.'
Also just for the record I’m not posh or snobby either.
I understand it’s not to everyone's taste but if you're looking for a strong, heroic, feminist and unique name I would recommend Portia.
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Hello from Australia! I don't know why Portia Di Rossi chose to name herself Portia. As her birth name is far more beautiful and dreamy, Amanda meaning: Worthy of Love or Loved by Everyone. I'm extremely proud of mine and fight daily to live up to them. Carla (freeman / freewoman and Veronica which means (bringer of victory or true image). Portia's parents proudly gave her the name Amanda because they saw she was beautiful and Worthy of Love. It's sad to think that Portia De Rossi would change her name even for Hollywood.
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Anyone with the name Portia, you’re not a pig.
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There is a typo/ misspelled word in this entry: it's Shakespearean not Shakespearian.
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Would personally avoid the name Portia because of the meaning. Yes, it sounds beautiful and there is the Shakespearean association, but the meaning is perceived as negative by most and so it could lead to teasing. I actually like pigs and know they are intelligent creatures by the way, but most of society disagrees and sees them as “dirty”.
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Portia Doubleday, an American actress (known for her role as Angela on the series Mr. Robot), is a famous bearer of this name.
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I think that it's funny that Portia means pig. This is because Portia is a character from the Merchant of Venice, and I hate her. She bullies Shylock by lying to him. She also helps the others bully poor Shylock as well. She was completely biased against Shylock in court, but Antonio and the others say that "It's okay, he's a Jew". I think that it's a pretty sounding name, but I love the meaning because I think that Shakespeare knew the meaning and chose to name his bully that name. Meanwhile, bullies like Antonio got ironic names, for Antonio isn't praiseworthy in the slightest.
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The name Portia was given to 42 girls born in the US in 2015.
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A woman from Katniss Everdeen's prep team had this name in the Hunger Games.
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My first name is Portia. My father named me after the character in Merchant of Venice. It's funny to see that people think it's ugly or stuck up, and I like seeing others defend it. It was not an easy name to grow up with, but now that I'm all grown up, I love it. I love that I was named for a strong female character who is associated with justice, and I get a lot of compliments on my name. The comments about it being a stuck up, high class girl's name were especially funny. My father was a bus driver, we are a lower middle class family, and I'm hoping for a day where I don't live paycheck to paycheck. So, definitely not stuck up and I'm delighted with my name.
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With some research you will find that this name is derived from a Roman clan named Porcius. The feminine being Porcia. Yes in Latin it means pig but depending on how you look at it, can mean a lot more and goes back pretty far. The name Portia comes from humble beginnings, back in the old days it was common for last names to be connected to occupations. People with this last name were pig farmers. Of course as time goes by, people's occupation change but the name stays with the family (some spellings start to change too). Through history this name beautifully shows the progression one has taken to providing a better life for their family. That it means pig kinda becomes irrelevant as it no longer is describing an occupation.
Take a look at Ferdinand Porsche, his family had a humble start as Auto Mechanics, but he grew up to create the well-known German car. Now I want to point out because I often hear people say that "Porsche/Portia is a car not someone's name, how awful" YES it was turned into the name of a car but it was taken from Ferdinand's LAST NAME. AS I've explained, this name has a long history with people's surname before the car was ever invented. Now in our day it is extremely rare for that to be used as a last name.
I think it's quite lovely, although my name is spelled Porche (Por'sha), a pretty uncommon spelling of the name. I think the name in general makes sense as a first name. Growing up in the US (NW Washington) it really stood out, I was without a doubt the only Porche in all of my schools. At times when I was little I wanted a "common name" I was very shy and my name made me stand out more then I would have liked. I was never ever teased but I just wanted to fit in. By high school I LOVED my name, no more did I want to blend in. I really like how unique it is, I get loads of compliments and my name is a great conversation starter.
This might be a strange name to people who grew up in countries where this is not even considered as a first name. But like anything, when you're exposed to something you get used to it, and people adapt. People that think this name and the girl that has it are snobby, bratty, and rich people are very far from it. First a person's name does not define them, it's the character of the person as well as how they were raised. Second your putting a label on someone before even meeting them, that's called prejudice. And third, the name's background itself is far from pretentious and snobby, its quite the opposite. So anyone considering this name I would take their opinion with a grain of salt.
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Take a look at Ferdinand Porsche, his family had a humble start as Auto Mechanics, but he grew up to create the well-known German car. Now I want to point out because I often hear people say that "Porsche/Portia is a car not someone's name, how awful" YES it was turned into the name of a car but it was taken from Ferdinand's LAST NAME. AS I've explained, this name has a long history with people's surname before the car was ever invented. Now in our day it is extremely rare for that to be used as a last name.
I think it's quite lovely, although my name is spelled Porche (Por'sha), a pretty uncommon spelling of the name. I think the name in general makes sense as a first name. Growing up in the US (NW Washington) it really stood out, I was without a doubt the only Porche in all of my schools. At times when I was little I wanted a "common name" I was very shy and my name made me stand out more then I would have liked. I was never ever teased but I just wanted to fit in. By high school I LOVED my name, no more did I want to blend in. I really like how unique it is, I get loads of compliments and my name is a great conversation starter.
This might be a strange name to people who grew up in countries where this is not even considered as a first name. But like anything, when you're exposed to something you get used to it, and people adapt. People that think this name and the girl that has it are snobby, bratty, and rich people are very far from it. First a person's name does not define them, it's the character of the person as well as how they were raised. Second your putting a label on someone before even meeting them, that's called prejudice. And third, the name's background itself is far from pretentious and snobby, its quite the opposite. So anyone considering this name I would take their opinion with a grain of salt.
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My name is Portia, and like anyone else with an unusual name have heard various pronunciations of it and seen different spellings. In the 1980's when I was born it was deemed very rare. Nowadays there are a few more of us but all Portias that I've come across seem to be much much younger so the name seems to be resurfacing again. I hated my name when I was younger because people always asked me about it and I'd get embarrassed about it because no one had ever heard of it. As I've gotten older I like my name and was even considering naming my own daughter after me but decided to give her another crazy name that no one has heard of either! I also like the historical characters named Portia and the various interesting meanings- not the pig one though. People consider Portia to be the name of someone serious, selfish and stuck up. That too I would disagree with. If anything I'm the total opposite.
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I think of two things with this name.
Portia Porcupine from the Get Along Gang cartoon from the 80's.
Portia, Cinderella's step-sister, in the original version of Rogers and Hammerstein's Cinderella (who is actually supposed to be named for the Shakespeare character).
My husband vetoed this name for our girl, unfortunately.
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Portia Porcupine from the Get Along Gang cartoon from the 80's.
Portia, Cinderella's step-sister, in the original version of Rogers and Hammerstein's Cinderella (who is actually supposed to be named for the Shakespeare character).
My husband vetoed this name for our girl, unfortunately.
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We named our daughter Portia. We live in the US and a lot of people are judgey (just like the people on this thread) but we just thought it sounded pretty and has a heroine upon whom we could base it. To say that people with a certain name always have certain characteristics is frankly moronic. Babies are named near birth, and personality emerges long before they have any sense of their name's meaning. Our daughter is beautiful and so is her name.
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Portia could be derived from Latin portionem (nominative portio) "share, part, portion." Alternatively, Portia could also be derived from Latin porta "city gate, gate; door, entrance." It is a lovely name that belonged to one of Shakespeare's strongest and most brilliant female characters, the lawyer and heiress Portia in "The Merchant of Venice."
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My 4 year old daughter is named Portia. This name is not really popular here in the US.
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Portia Vries, a weightlifter who took part in the Glasgow 2014: Commonwealth Games.
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My name is Portia I have got given a load of crap about my name and I know that
A: i'm not a pig
B: i'm not rude and stuck up
C: I like being different. if there wasn't names like this we would all be the same
D: it was fun saying I was named after a godess and a heroin.
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A: i'm not a pig
B: i'm not rude and stuck up
C: I like being different. if there wasn't names like this we would all be the same
D: it was fun saying I was named after a godess and a heroin.
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My name happens to be Portia and I actually grew up very poor. I believe having this name helped me not be as shy and it helped me come out of my shell. I get complemented on my name constantly and I beleive it is a romantic name that has a lot of history behind it.
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I love the name it is usually for someone who's stuck up, a know it all, and mean. But there are other sides like intelligent, outgoing, some are shy, weird, crazy, and goofy so don't put us all in one category because of are name the name doesn't make the person the person makes the name so until you meet us all keep your negative comments to yourself thank you! And it's also a jumping spider!
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Portia is a dog villager appearing in every Animal Crossing game.
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I would have thought that if Portia is indeed the feminine form of Porcius, the ancient Romans would have spelt it Porcia. After all, the ancient Romans did not have a habit of replacing the 'c' in a male name with a 't' in the feminine version of the name. Just compare: Marcius --> Marcia and Roscius --> Roscia. All Latin names follow this kind of pattern; why would it suddenly be Porcius --> Portia instead of Porcius --> Porcia?
Isn't it more likely that Portia is the feminine form of Portius, which actually means "port, harbour"?
Portius is confused with Porcius on occasion, so it is not surprising if the same happens to Portia and Porcia. So perhaps that is the case here as well?
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Isn't it more likely that Portia is the feminine form of Portius, which actually means "port, harbour"?
Portius is confused with Porcius on occasion, so it is not surprising if the same happens to Portia and Porcia. So perhaps that is the case here as well?
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Portia is a heavy but deeply romantic name.
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I have a friend with this name and I really like it, I think it's cool and somewhat unusual. And before you ask, she is not some upper class intellectual, I think her family just like unusual names (her mum is called Hazel).
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Portia Quayne is the heroine of Elizabeth Bowen's 1938 novel, "The Death of the Heart".
She is a socially awkward teenage orphan who is sent to live with her half-brother and his wife in London. Her diary becomes a major plot device in the novel.
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She is a socially awkward teenage orphan who is sent to live with her half-brother and his wife in London. Her diary becomes a major plot device in the novel.
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I do not agree with the comments whereby people state the name is "ugly". The name has been in use for ages and is a romantic name with history. The name is unique and I feel it lends a sophisticated air without being pretentious. I think of creative, intelligent, worldly women when I hear this name. I have also heard it pronounced as Por-tee-uh which I believe is the Latin pronunciation if I am not mistaken.
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I think Portia is a pretty, delicate name. I first ran across it in Julius Caesar by Shakespeare, and really liked it. It makes me think of a strong girl (like the namesake Porcia Catonis).
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I don't get why the rest of the people seem to think this is a snobby name; I imagine a girl who's awkward around people who she doesn't really know well but is really bubbly and funny around her friends and family. I know that you can't tell what a person will be like by their name, but I really like the image this name creates. Also, I like that it's an ancient Roman name and that it's a Shakespearean name as well.
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Portia is the wife of Brutus who commits suicide in Shakespeare's play "Julius Caesar."
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My math teacher pronounces this name as "por-tee-uh".
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Just so everybody knows there are more than two ways to spell the name PORTIA, PORSHE. My name is spelled PORCIA. Just thought I would add that in for anyone who may be interested in the name.
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I think Portia sounds like a beautiful name. You think that only people who are rich, stuck-up, and egotistical can have the name, and that is -so- stereotypical. I happen to have a friend whose middle name is Portia, and she is the nicest girl I've ever met.
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In Shakespeare's "The Merchant of Venice," Portia is a beautiful heiress who saves Bassanio's friend Antonio by disguising herself as a doctor of law and outwitting Shylock.
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You think of Portia and you imagine a stuck up, know-it-all, who is most likely posh and well-off. She thinks she's better than everyone else, most likely because she is better. And doesn't she know it!
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UGLY name!
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I agree it sounds really pretentious, like you were trying to name your daughter after an expensive car. I know it's a different name but it sounds that way.
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It's a beautiful sounding name. As to meaning pig, there was after all an entire Roman genus with the name, and it almost bears more connection to that for me than its actual meaning. But really, a lot of people seem to disregard meanings these days. One of the possible meanings of Rebecca (it's not listed here, but the origin is in some uncertainty) is "cow" which is not much better. A lot of people name based on sounds rather than meanings, and enough people "create" their own names.
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Ugly is the only word that I can use to describe this name. To add to that, it also means Pig. Lovely, name your child pig. Honestly people, think of your child when you name them, not yourself.
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Portia Bellefleur was the name of a character in the Sookie Stackhouse series of books by Charlaine Harris.
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Portia was originally an Ancient Roman name as spelt Porcia, used by girls born in the Porcii Catonii family.
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Porcia Catonis (sometimes spelt Portia) was the daughter of Cato the Younger and wife to Marcus Junius Brutus, Caesar's most famous assassin. She was reputedly beautiful, steadfast and extremely intelligent, possessing many qualities that were considered masculine in Rome. Her love for her husband was so intense that upon being falsely told of his death in the first battle of Philippi, she succumbed to despair, driven to insanity; she swallowed a burning coal in a desperate attempt to kill herself. Brutus killed himself following her death after his defeat at the second battle of Philippi.
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It's only nice if you spell in "Portia" not in any of the other ways, because it looks awful then. I personally wouldn't use the name but it is very interesting. Plus, it doesn't mean "pig" it also means "offering".
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This name screams pretentious/snobby when used on a child.
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I thought it was a really nice name with a very nice sound, but 'pig'? Let's hope any Portias' friends don't find the meaning of it. Some teasing potential there, definitely.
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From the first time I came across the name Portia in a novel it's grown on me. It's something different and I have yet to meet anyone bearing the name. When I picture a girl bearing this name I think of someone who is stubborn and who openly speaks her mind.
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Portia can also mean "offering" or so I have learned from several resources.
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A famous bearer of the name is Australian actress Portia DeRossi, formerly known as Amanda Ross.
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