Girl · Latin · Christian · International
Beatrice
BeatriceSay it BEE-uh-tris
- Meaning today
- She who brings happiness, blessed
- Original meaning
- "traveller (Latin Viatrix), reshaped by beatus, 'happy, blessed'" Lewis & Short, s.v. viator; s.v. beo
- Say it
- BEE-uh-tris
- Other spellings
- Beatrix, Beatriz
Beatrice
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Beatrice meaning
Beatrice is a Christian and international girl's name of Latin origin.
Meaning today
She who brings happiness, blessed
Original Latin meaning
"traveller (Latin Viatrix), reshaped by beatus, 'happy, blessed'"
Source: Lewis & Short, A Latin Dictionary (1879), s.v. viator; s.v. beo · entry viator; beo · See the entry · checked 25 Oct 2026
Beatrice is usually explained as 'she who brings happiness' or 'blessed', from Latin beatus, 'happy, blessed', and the verb beo, 'to make happy'. The history is a little different. The name most likely began as Viatrix, the feminine of viator, 'a traveller', borne by a Roman martyr of the fourth century, and early Christians may have liked it as a picture of life as a journey. Later writers reshaped it to Beatrix under the influence of beatus. Dante's Beatrice made the Italian form famous, and Indian Catholic families in Kerala and Mangalore use it.
References: Lewis & Short, viator (alatius.com) · Lewis & Short, beo (alatius.com) · Wikipedia, Beatrix · Geneanet, Beatrice (Dictionary of American Family Names)
Famous namesakes
- Beatrice, Dante's guide in the Divine Comedy
Popularity abroad
- #508 United States, girls 2025 (up 71 from 579 in 2024)
US Social Security Administration - #121 England and Wales, girls 2025
Office for National Statistics
Official birth registrations. India publishes no national name statistics.
Spellings
Beatrice · Beatrix · Beatriz