Alvira

This name is a Spanish form derived from the Visigothic “aliwēr,” composed of two elements; “*aljaz / aljis / *aljǭ,” meaning “other, another, else, foreign” plus “*wēraz,” meaning “true, trustworthy.” The second hypothesis is from the Old Gothic name “Guilvira” from various Germanic combinations such as “*gailaz plus *wēraz / *gailaz plus *waraz. However, it is possibly of Arabic origin, meaning “the white,” linked to the Spanish “elva” (Latin: albinus). This hypothesis is supported by the ancient name of the city of Granada, which was “Elvira,” a Spanish adaptation of Arabic “Ilbirah” (bab Ilbirah). 1) Saint Caecilius of Elvira is venerated as the patron saint of Granada, Spain. Tradition makes him a Christian missionary of the 1st-century, during the Apostolic Age. He evangelized the town of “Iliberri or Iliberis” (Elvira/Granada) and became its first bishop. He is thus considered the founder of the Archdiocese of Granada, established around 64 AD. 2) Elvira of Castile (~1100–1135) was the first Queen of Sicily. 2) Elvira Ramírez (~935–986) was a Leonese princess who served as a regent of the kingdom during the minority of her nephew Ramiro III of León.