Kamila

Kamila is the Polish and Slavic spelling of Camilla which in turn is the feminized form of an old Roman family name Camillus, possibly derived from the ancient (and now defunct) Etruscan language meaning “free-born”. In Latin, one called Camillus referred to a young boy who was chosen from among the Roman nobility to attend the Priests during sacrifices in Rome’s pagan era. This was an honor and so those selected were people of aristocracy. The name Camilla appears in Virgil’s famous epic poem, “The Aeneid” with the distinction of being the strongest female mortal. As the daughter of King Metabus, she was promised to the service of Diana (goddess of the hunt). While the king was fleeing his revolting subjects, he came upon a river as he was carrying the baby Camilla. He safely hurled her to the other side by tying her to his spear. She was raised as a warrior maiden and became accustomed to the chase as a servant of Diana. Virgil claimed that Camilla ran so quickly she could turn blades of grass into ashes. As an aside, “kāmil” is also the Arabic word for “perfection”.