Gender Feminine
Scripts Θέκλα(Greek)

Meaning & History

From the ancient Greek name Θεόκλεια (Theokleia), which meant "glory of God" from the Greek elements θεός (theos) meaning "god" and κλέος (kleos) meaning "glory". This was the name of a 1st-century saint, appearing (as Θέκλα) in the apocryphal Acts of Paul and Thecla. The story tells how Thecla listens to Paul speak about the virtues of chastity and decides to remain a virgin, angering both her mother and her suitor.

Related Names

Rootstheos + kleos
VariantThecla(Late Greek)
Other Languages & CulturesTheokleia(Ancient Greek) Thecla(Dutch) Tekla(Georgian) Tekla(Hungarian) Tecla(Italian) Tekla(Latvian) Tekla(Polish) Fyokla(Russian) Tecla(Spanish) Tekla(Swedish)

Popularity

People think this name is

classic   formal   upper class   natural   wholesome   strong   strange   serious  

Name Days

Austria: September 23
Austria: September 28
Greece: September 24

Images

11th-century Russian fresco depicting Saint Thekla11th-century Russian fresco depicting Saint Thekla

Categories

Sources & References

  1. Lexicon of Greek Personal Names, available from https://search.lgpn.ox.ac.uk/browse.html?facet-nymRef=Θέκλα.
Entry updated October 6, 2024