Kamille

Kamille is an Americanized respelling of Camille, the French equivalent of Camilla which is a Latin feminine form of an old Roman family name Camillus. Camillus was a name given to pre-pubescent boys who were chosen from among the Roman nobility to attend the pagan Priests during rituals and sacrifices in ancient Rome (kind of like a pagan altar boy of sorts). The name Camilla appears in Virgil’s famous epic poem, “The Aeneid”; a woman honored in mythology as the strongest female mortal. As the daughter of King Metabus, Camilla 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. The king safely hurled his daughter to the other side of the water 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. As a French name, it’s no surprise that Camille is currently ranked as the 8th most popular name for baby girls in France. As a unisex name, Camille is also used for boys in France and ranked in at position #108 (2010). Slavs and Scandinavians tend to spell Camille with a K (Kamilla). Kamille in America is more often the “kreative” swapping of C names for K names – a way to differentiate it from the masses.