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Sibilla Aleramo (born Marta Felicina Faccio; 14 August 1876 – 13 January 1960) was an Italian feminist writer and poet best known for her autobiographical depictions of life as a woman in late 19th century Italy. Aleramo's first book in particular, "Una donna", is considered a classic of Italian literature, and the first outspokenly feminist novel written by an Italian author.
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I have only met a woman with this name. Her nickname was Sibi. She was a very funny and extroverted person. I think it's an easy name to pronounce.
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In Italian it sounds like See-bee-lah.
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I imagine a Romanian variant of this name could be spelled Sibila. Any Romanians reading this, feel free to correct me.
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Sibilla has also often been used in the Netherlands and Germany.
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I would like to expand on this.
The use of Sibilla in Germany and the Netherlands dates back to the medieval period: in Germany at least as early as the 15th century, while the first documented case in the Netherlands is from the 13th century. In both countries, the name was only used among the elite at first; it would take until the 17th century for Sibilla to become mainstream. The name then enjoyed regular, consistent use until about the early 1970s, after which it practically fell into disuse: there are scarcely any millennials with the name, let alone Gen Z.
In the Netherlands, Sibilla is also the form that has been the most common over the centuries; other spellings were also in use, but never as popular. In 2017, the top 3 in the Netherlands was as follows:
1. Sibilla = 1740 bearers in total
2. Sybilla = 830 bearers in total
3. Sibylla = 354 bearers in total
In neighbouring Belgium, the top 3 was the same in 2009, but the distinction between the names is significantly less clear:
1. Sibilla = 69 bearers in total
2. Sybilla = 64 bearers in total
3. Sibylla = 57 bearers in total
This is at least partly because the French forms are more popular in Belgium: Sibylle had 517 bearers in total, whilst Sybille had 566 bearers in total. In the Netherlands, the French forms have less than 200 bearers each, so they're clearly not as popular as the latinate forms.
All in all, I would say that Sibilla isn't just the standard Italian form of Sibyl - it's also the standard Dutch form. In Germany, it seems to be more of an old variant of the much more common Sibylla and Sybilla.
SOURCES:
• https://nvb.meertens.knaw.nl/verklaring/naam/Sibylla (in Dutch; "De naam is al vroeg in gebruik, aanvankelijk vooral in vorstelijke en adellijke kringen [...] Eerste door Van der Schaar aangetroffen voorbeeld in ons land: Sibilia, Sibilla, 1282 [...] In de 17e eeuw raakt de naam in algemeen gebruik.")
• saint Sibilla of Aywières (died between 1246-1250): http://www.heiligen.net/heiligen/10/09/10-09-1250-sibilla.php (in Dutch)
• Sibilla Egen (born c. 1471, died in 1538): https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sibilla_Egen (in German)
• Sibilla von Bondorf (born c. 1450, died in 1524): https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sibilla_von_Bondorf (in German)
Sibilla in Belgium (2009) and the Netherlands (2017):
• https://nvb.meertens.knaw.nl/naam/is/Sibilla (in Dutch)
• http://www.names.be/meisjesnamen.html?met=Sibill&sort=beldesc (in Dutch)
Sibylla in Belgium (2009) and the Netherlands (2017):
• https://nvb.meertens.knaw.nl/naam/is/Sibylla (in Dutch)
• http://www.names.be/meisjesnamen.html?met=Sibyll&sort=beldesc (in Dutch)
Sybilla in Belgium (2009) and the Netherlands (2017):
• https://nvb.meertens.knaw.nl/naam/is/Sybilla (in Dutch)
• http://www.names.be/meisjesnamen.html?met=Sybill&sort=beldesc (in Dutch)
Number of records at Open Archieven ("Open Archives") for:
• Sibilla: 90,323
• Sibylla: 1,476
• Sybilla: 5,774
For this, I used the search function, which is located at: https://www.openarchieven.nl/search.php (in Dutch)
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The use of Sibilla in Germany and the Netherlands dates back to the medieval period: in Germany at least as early as the 15th century, while the first documented case in the Netherlands is from the 13th century. In both countries, the name was only used among the elite at first; it would take until the 17th century for Sibilla to become mainstream. The name then enjoyed regular, consistent use until about the early 1970s, after which it practically fell into disuse: there are scarcely any millennials with the name, let alone Gen Z.
In the Netherlands, Sibilla is also the form that has been the most common over the centuries; other spellings were also in use, but never as popular. In 2017, the top 3 in the Netherlands was as follows:
1. Sibilla = 1740 bearers in total
2. Sybilla = 830 bearers in total
3. Sibylla = 354 bearers in total
In neighbouring Belgium, the top 3 was the same in 2009, but the distinction between the names is significantly less clear:
1. Sibilla = 69 bearers in total
2. Sybilla = 64 bearers in total
3. Sibylla = 57 bearers in total
This is at least partly because the French forms are more popular in Belgium: Sibylle had 517 bearers in total, whilst Sybille had 566 bearers in total. In the Netherlands, the French forms have less than 200 bearers each, so they're clearly not as popular as the latinate forms.
All in all, I would say that Sibilla isn't just the standard Italian form of Sibyl - it's also the standard Dutch form. In Germany, it seems to be more of an old variant of the much more common Sibylla and Sybilla.
SOURCES:
• https://nvb.meertens.knaw.nl/verklaring/naam/Sibylla (in Dutch; "De naam is al vroeg in gebruik, aanvankelijk vooral in vorstelijke en adellijke kringen [...] Eerste door Van der Schaar aangetroffen voorbeeld in ons land: Sibilia, Sibilla, 1282 [...] In de 17e eeuw raakt de naam in algemeen gebruik.")
• saint Sibilla of Aywières (died between 1246-1250): http://www.heiligen.net/heiligen/10/09/10-09-1250-sibilla.php (in Dutch)
• Sibilla Egen (born c. 1471, died in 1538): https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sibilla_Egen (in German)
• Sibilla von Bondorf (born c. 1450, died in 1524): https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sibilla_von_Bondorf (in German)
Sibilla in Belgium (2009) and the Netherlands (2017):
• https://nvb.meertens.knaw.nl/naam/is/Sibilla (in Dutch)
• http://www.names.be/meisjesnamen.html?met=Sibill&sort=beldesc (in Dutch)
Sibylla in Belgium (2009) and the Netherlands (2017):
• https://nvb.meertens.knaw.nl/naam/is/Sibylla (in Dutch)
• http://www.names.be/meisjesnamen.html?met=Sibyll&sort=beldesc (in Dutch)
Sybilla in Belgium (2009) and the Netherlands (2017):
• https://nvb.meertens.knaw.nl/naam/is/Sybilla (in Dutch)
• http://www.names.be/meisjesnamen.html?met=Sybill&sort=beldesc (in Dutch)
Number of records at Open Archieven ("Open Archives") for:
• Sibilla: 90,323
• Sibylla: 1,476
• Sybilla: 5,774
For this, I used the search function, which is located at: https://www.openarchieven.nl/search.php (in Dutch)
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