CHARLES ANTHONY

From a Germanic word, karl, meaning ‘free man’, akin to Old English ceorl ‘man’. The name, Latin form Carolus, owed its popularity in medieval Europe to the Frankish leader Charlemagne (?742–814), who in 800 established himself as Holy Roman Emperor. His name (Latin Carolus Magnus) means ‘Charles the Great’. Carolus—or Karl, the German form—was a common name among Frankish leaders, including Charlemagne's grandfather Charles Martel (688–741). Charles is the French form. The name occurs occasionally in medieval Britain as Karolus or Carolus; it had a certain vogue in West Yorkshire from the 1400s, particularly among gentry families. The form Charles was chosen by Mary Queen of Scots (1542–87), who had been brought up in France, for her son, Charles James (1566–1625), who became King James VI of Scotland and, from 1603, James I of England. His son and grandson both reigned as King Charles, and the name thus became established in the 17th century both in the Stuart royal house and among English and Scottish supporters of the Stuart monarchy. In the 18th century it was to some extent favoured, along with James, by Jacobites, supporters of the exiled Stuarts, opposed to the Hanoverian monarchy, especially in the Highlands of Scotland. In the 19th century the popularity of the name was further enhanced by romanticization of the story of ‘Bonnie Prince Charlie’, leader of the 1745 rebellion.

English: from the personal name Anthony, Latin Antonius. See also Anton. This, with its variants, cognates, and derivatives, is one of the commonest European personal names. Many of the European forms have been absorbed into this spelling as American family names; for the forms, see Hanks and Hodges 1988. Spellings with -h-, which first appear in English in the 16th century and in French (as Anthoine) at about the same time, are due to the erroneous belief that the name derives from Greek anthos ‘flower’. The popularity of the personal name in Christendom is largely due to the cult of the Egyptian hermit St. Anthony (AD 251–356), who in his old age gathered a community of hermits around him, and for that reason is regarded by some as the founder of monasticism. It was further increased by the fame of St. Anthony of Padua (1195–1231), who long enjoyed a great popular cult and who is believed to help people find lost things.