The baby name Vesper combines a night sky name with powerful pop culture associations.
Thanks to Shelby for suggesting our Baby Name of the Day.
WHAT DOES THE NAME VESPER MEAN?
Vesper is the Latin word for the evening star. And the evening star? That was actually the planet Venus.
But wait, you say, the Roman god Vesper is masculine. In Greek, he’s Hesperos or Hesperus. In both traditions, he’s the son of the dawn, the brother of the morning star.
There’s a case that Vesper should be considered a masculine name.
Maybe.
But there are also the Hesperides, nymphs of the sunset and the evening. The Greeks believed that they lived in a garden somewhere on the edge of the world. Sometimes there are just three; other accounts list more. Heracles visited the garden for his eleventh labor, to steal the apples they tended.
The Hesperides became popular in Renaissance art, and their garden is mentioned by everyone from Milton to Shakespeare.
Hesperia is sometimes used as a given name, and that puts Hesper and Vesper back on the list of baby girl names.
JAMES BOND
Modern use makes Vesper feminine, too – thanks to a fictional super spy.
Ian Fleming introduced James Bond in 1953’s Casino Royale. He wrote more than a dozen novels about the suave secret agent.
Fleming created the character Vesper Lynd for Bond’s first adventure. Her name is a play on West Berlin. In Casino Royale, Lynd serves as a double agent – as divided as the city. Vesper proves herself loyal to James in the end. The book was adapted for the big screen for the second time in 2006, with Eva Green as the double agent.
It’s said that Fleming based Vesper on a real life spy, Poland’s Krystyna Skarbek. Resourceful Skarbek organized couriers to bring intelligence reports from Warsaw to Budapest during World War II. She escaped the Gestapo in Hungary. In France, she once cajoled, threatened and bribed Gestapo agents into releasing two of her male colleagues.
Her real life story is arguably more intriguing than the fictional character she inspired.
VESPERS
The baby name Vesper has another special meaning, this one spiritual rather than spycraft.
Vespers – add an ‘s’ – is also known as evensong, an evening prayer service in several religious traditions. Mozart and Vivaldi are among those who have composed musical accompaniments.
Evening prayer services date back to the earliest days of the church in the ancient world. St. Benedict may have been the first to use the term Vespers, back in the sixth century. Specifics vary over the centuries and by faith tradition, but it has traditionally been one of the more important and solemn prayer services of the day.
THE NAME VESPER IN POPULAR CULTURE
Pop culture references include:
- Lloyd Alexander gave the name to the adventurous orphan in a series of young adult novels.
- It’s a surname for one of the families in the 39 Clues series of bestselling adventure books, and the character Damien Vesper is a key player.
- The Batman comics includes a minor character named Vesper Fairchild. She was a love interest for Bruce Wayne. There’s also a Vesper in Marvel’s Genetix series. It feels like a potential superhero name.
- In 2022, a Lithuanian-French-Belgian sci fi film titled Vesper focused on a teenage girl surviving in a postapocalyptic world.
If you’re thinking of the Italian scooter, it’s a Vespa, not a Vesper. It comes from the Italian word for wasp.
HOW POPULAR IS THE NAME VESPER?
There have been a handful of newborn boys and girls given the name over the years. But Vesper’s use has recently increased. Parents chose the name for 81 girls in 2023, along with seven boys. This represents a new high.
Vesper is increasingly popular with Dutch parents, too, ranking in the Top 200 in the Netherlands in recent years.
It fits with so many trends:
- Vesper fits with night sky names like Luna, Stella, and Orion.
- R ending names have been a trend for boys and girls. Vesper follows Harper, Oliver, and Asher into the mainstream.
- The letter V has powered for popular names, from Ava and Olivia to Levi and Everett.
- Nature names, including those , are very much in vogue.
SHARP and STYLISH
There’s something sharp and stylish about the name Vesper. It carries a certain strength, and an intriguing mix of meanings – heroic and spiritual at the same time. It’s potentially unisex, though the numbers give this one to the girls so far.
Overall, if you’re looking for something distinctive and different, but with a story to tell, Vesper could be the perfect name for your family.
What do you think of the baby name Vesper?
This post was originally published on December 24, 2009. It was revised on August 17, 2015 and December 13, 2024.
Huh…I’m Eastern Orthodox, so all I think of is Vespers (evening prayer service). It’d be like naming a kid Liturgy or Mass. 🙂
Oh no — I only see two sentences of this entry! And I so want to find out more about Vesper. 🙁
What about Vespertine? I love Vesper, but my husband says it sounds like the whispers of a Vespa…which make me think of hot nights in Italy and what’s not to love about that?! He doesn’t seem to agree. Anyway, for a middle I feel I need three syllables so maybe adding the tine…
Hetta, I love Vespertine, or Versperinia or Vesperina or Vespera. Let’s not forget about the “Batman comic series as a TV and radio newscaster named Vesper Fairchild, who had a romantic relationship with Bruce Wayne.” – https://www.onceuponatimebabynames.com/2012/12/vesper-vespera-or-vespertine.html . But on a side-note Hespertine, Hespera, HHesperina and Hesperinia would also make great option without having to use the V and still get the same meaning.
After reading this post, I am finding myself in love with the name Vesper! I never would have thought (my husband owns Casino Royale and I’ve watched it several times). After thinking about it more though, I think it’s really pretty and yet has a hip vibe to it too. Could be a contender for baby #2…
LOL Kelleita – there is far more to Vesper than I thought at first, too.
Is no one else picturing a wee motorbike in their heads the whole time reading this? I love the name and especially the meaning but don’t think I could ever use it, even in the middle. Vesper / Vespa is just too close for me!
You’re right, Bevin – though vespa is Italian for wasp.
I love Vesper. . . in the middle.
a) I LOVE that you used the corect spelling of hiccough! I used it recently and got ridiculed.
b) I don’t care much fo Vesper, but you mentioned Seren, and this one is very interesting. Vesper also reminds me of the Vespa, a motor-scooter.
Want to do Seren fo NotD? I’d also like to see Roxanne, and maybe you could throw in Cyrano, while you’re at it. 😉
I’m laughing ’cause I just read through the replies. Yeah, someone did mention hiccough. Hiccup is just too phonetic for me, as is donut! 😉
Seren was NotD back in September: https://appellationmountain.net/2009/09/22/name-of-the-day-seren/
I’ve traveled without my calendar – really, why can’t I find an electronic solution?! But I will put Roxy on the calendar. When we’re reunited. 🙂
It has a stunning meaning. I actually kind of like it. It has a sassy sound to it. Very vivacious. I think it’s not really me. It’s not my style of different. However,if you like it – go for it! I think it would be interesting to meet a Vesper 🙂
If any of you ever read Casino Royale, Eva Green who played Vesper in the movie is Fleming’s physical description come to life!
Merry Christmas 🙂
Vesper is lovely. But “hiccough”? JK
LOL – I’m rather fond of hiccough! I also like doughnut.
But what I like best of all is that you noticed. 🙂
You probably like “catsup” too! 🙂
I’m Catholic – all I can think of is vespers as in evening services thanks to attending Catholic school for a whopping year and a half.
I’m glad you’ve added to my knowledge about this name. It is helpful to know it means “evening star”. Since one of Mary’s titles is “Morning Star”, that hopefully helps me to remember the connection should I run into a little Vesper.
Christina, I’m Catholic, too, but I went to a Moravian school. Every Christmas there was a big deal service called Vespers, complete with little beeswax candles. It was the most amazing thing, second only to Thanksgiving’s Lovefeast where we actually got to eat cookies in church. (JNE, am I calling the Thanksgiving service the right thing? It looks absurd now that I type it.)
I can’t decide if that makes Vesper a Very Appropriate Seasonal name or puts her back in the company of Trinity.
Yep – indeed it was Lovefeast… complete with the “melt me, mold me, fill me, use me” song, it was outright strange… but the cookies and apple juice made up for it!
Vesper makes me think of Moravian Christmas, 007, then the Vespa scooter… unfortunately it doesn’t make for a name that I’d be inclined to use.
Thanks, JNE – I COMPLETELY forgot about the lyric weirdness! 🙂