Faustina

Faustina is a feminine given name of Roman origin, used in Italian, Portuguese, Spanish, and other Romance languages. It is the feminine form of Faustino, a name derived from the Roman cognomen Faustinus, which itself stems from the name Faustus, meaning "auspicious, lucky" in Latin.

Etymology

The root of Faustina is the Latin adjective faustus, defined as "auspicious, lucky." In ancient Rome, Faustus was used both as a cognomen (a family name) and, less commonly, as a praenomen (given name). The extended forms Faustinus and Faustina emerged as common derivatives. The name carries with it the weight of Roman naming conventions and Christian hagiography, as several early saints bore the name Faustus or its variants.

Notable Bearers

Perhaps the most historically significant bearer is Annia Galeria Faustina (usually referred to as Faustina the Elder), a Roman empress and wife of Emperor Antoninus Pius in the 2nd century AD. Her daughter, Faustina the Younger, was also an empress as the wife of Marcus Aurelius. Both were deified after death and linked to temples and civic benefactions.

In the Catholic Church, Saint Faustina Kowalska (1905–1938) is a Polish nun venerated as a mystic and the “apostle of Divine Mercy.” Her diary, Diary: Divine Mercy in My Soul, is widely read, and she is associated with the Divine Mercy devotion.