Bianca

  • [ BYAHN-kah (Romanian) ]
  • Italian, Romanian
Italian cognate of BLANCHE. Shakespeare used characters named Bianca in 'Taming of the Shrew' (1593) and 'Othello' (1603).

BLANCHE   female   French, English
From a medieval French nickname meaning "white, fair". This name and its cognates in other languages are ultimately derived from the Germanic word blanc. An early bearer was the 12th-century Blanca of Navarre, the wife of Sancho III of Castile. Her granddaughter of the same name married Louis VIII of France, with the result that the name became more common in France.
EQUIVALENTS
CROATIAN: Blanka
CZECH: Blanka
ENGLISH: Blanch, Blanche
FRENCH: Blanche
GALICIAN: Branca
GERMAN: Bianka
HUNGARIAN: Bianka, Blanka
ITALIAN: Bianca
POLISH: Bianka, Blanka
PORTUGUESE: Branca
ROMANIAN: Bianca
SLOVAK: Blanka
SPANISH: Blanca