Villanelle

English from Italian

"pastoral song"

Villanelle Origin and Meaning

The name Villanelle is a girl's name meaning "pastoral song".

Is Villanelle the new Sonnet? This elaborate name is a form of poetry — an example is Dylan Thomas's Do Not Go Gentle Into That Good Night — but many know it better as an assassin's codename in the TV show Killing Eve. Inspired by that, Villanelle debuted on the American charts in 2022 when it was used for five baby girls.

It's rich with nickname potential, but we're not sure if it sounds too villainous... or if it could be an appealing "bad girl name" like Delilah.
As a word, Villanelle is derived from the Italian villanella, a type of pastoral song with refrains. Villanella ultimately comes from the Medieval Latin villanus, meaning "farmhand".