Fiamma & Fiammetta

Fiammetta by Emma Sandys

Fiamma (fee-AH-mah, FYAH-mah) and Fiammetta (fee-ah-MAY-tah, fya-MAY-tah) are medieval Italian girl's names meaning "flame," and "little flame, little fiery one." Fiamma is the actual word for flame, Latin flamma, in medieval Italian. In the U.S. it is not used at all. In Italy the name is sometimes used to express the flame of the Holy Spirit on Pentecost, and it is a very uncommon name there - not even in the top 200.

One namesake is the late fashion designer Fiamma Ferragamo, who was a member of the Ferragamo fashion house with other extremely well named women - Ginevra, Vittoria, Fulvia, and Vivia to name a few. There's also comic author Fiamma Luzzati, model Fiammetta Cicogna, journalist Fiammetta Fadda, Italian actress Fiammetta Baralla, Swiss actress Fiamma Camesi. Most recently "La Fiamma" was used as a character's nickname in the show Mozart in the Jungle. There is also an Italian singer who goes by Fiammetta.

Further back in time we have Fiammetta Frescobaldi, an Italian writer who died in 1586. She was born Brigida, but coming from a wealthy family who wanted to preserve their fortune for their son, she went to the Dominican convent and took the religious name of Sister Fiammetta. Her translations and writings covered a wide variety of topics. On the other side of the spectrum, Fiammetta Michaelis was a courtesan who died in 1512, who was tied to Cesare Borgia.

Fiamma was also the pseudonym of a love interest of 14th century writer Giovanni Boccacio, and for her he wrote Elegia di Madonna Fiammetta. Because of this, the well-read Italians gave the name some popularity, then again in the 19th century (much like the Victorians gave new life to ancient Greek, Roman and literary names). The name was also used for a narrator in Filocolo and the Decameron. In other literature, Fiamma was a character in The Evil Eye by Edgar Ravelston.