Basil

Where Basil comes from

Name of several early saints, particularly in the Orthodox Church, from Latin Basilius, from Ancient Greek Βασίλειος (Basíleios). Doublet of Vasilios and Vasily.
— Wiktionary's entry for Basil
  • Ancient Greek
  • 2 syllables
Along the way
  1. 1468
    Basil Fool for Christ born
    Eastern Orthodox Church Saint
  2. 1880
    First SSA year
    Already #571 among boys — 11 babies in the first year on record.
  3. 1892
    Basil Rathbone born
    English actor
  4. 1897
    Peak, #321
    33 babies named Basil — more than any year before or since.
In the dictionary
  • A male given name from Ancient Greek, in quiet but steady use in the UK.
Namesakes
  • Basil Rathbone · English actor, 1892–1967
  • Basil Fool for Christ · Eastern Orthodox Church Saint, 1468–1552

Sources: the origin note and dictionary entry are quoted from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 4.0); the namesakes come from Wikidata (CC0); the milestones are worked out from the SSA record.