Lucia
St. Lucia’s Day — also known as St. Lucy’s Day — is celebrated on December 13th each year. This Christian feast day commemorates Saint Lucia of Syracuse, a 4th-century martyr. According to legend, St. Lucia brought food and aid to Christians seeking refuge in the Roman Catacombs, wearing a candle-lit wreath on her head to light the way.
This festival of light is celebrated in Italy, the island nation of St. Lucia, and various Scandinavian countries. In Norway, Denmark, Sweden, and parts of Finland, young girls dress as St. Lucia wearing a candle-lit wreath and a white gown to carry cookies and saffron buns in procession.
Lucia has multiple accepted pronunciations (which may add a tad of confusion), including “loo-SEE-a”, “loo-CHEE-a”, and “LOO-sha”.
Various forms of the luminescent name Lucy — which fittingly means “light” — are stylish today. Lucy ranks at #48 in the US, and is also in the Top 100 in the UK, Ireland, Australia, and New Zealand. The Latinate Lucia has been rising steadily since the early 2000s, now at #126.
Other variations in the US Top 1000 include Lucille and Luciana for girls, and Luca, Luciano, and Lucian for boys. For something more rare, Lucinda, Lucita, and Lucienne are lovely.