Lorena

Lorena is the Italian, Spanish and Portuguese form of Lorraine which is best known as a northeastern region of France (known as Lothringen in German). In medieval times, Lorraine was first established as a Frankish kingdom in the 9th century which later became a duchy of the German kingdom in the 10th century. Parts of the former duchy are now in present-day France, Belgium, Luxemburg and Germany. The kingdom of Lorraine (from the Latin “Lothari regnum” meaning “Lothar’s kingdom”) was originally named after Lothair I, a great-grandson of Charlemagne, who ruled Middle Francia in the 9th century which then included the kingdoms of Lorraine, Burgundy, Provence and Italy. The name “Lothar” is ultimately derived from the ancient Chlodochar from the Germanic elements “hrod” meaning “fame” and “hari” meaning “army”. Therefore, Lorraine essentially means “kingdom of the famous army”. Aside from Lorena being the Spanish/Italian form of the French region of Lorraine, the name Lorena was embraced by Americans in the mid-19th century due to a popular antebellum song called “Lorena” (1856). The lyrics were written by Reverend Henry Webster in reaction to his broken engagement. He changed his fiancée’s name to Lorena (an anagram of Lenore, the lost love in Edgar Allen Poe’s narrative poem “The Raven”). In fact, Scarlett O'Hara's daughter with Frank Kennedy in the 1936 novel “Gone with the Wind” was named Ella Lorena in reference to the song (a favorite among the confederate soldiers). While Lorena has enjoyed decades of usage among English and Spanish speakers, today the name is most popular in Croatia. Go figure.