V is for Victoria

Thanks to Her Majesty and her celebrated era, you can find Victoria as a place-name pretty much everywhere. There's an entire Wikipedia page devoted to places named after Queen Victoria. (We have two in Austin: Victoria Drive and Victoria Court.) And of course, let's not forget her many appearances on Doctor Who.

Victoria

Feminine form of "victorious", or possibly coming straight from the Latin word of the same spelling. Had a sudden rise in popularity in Commonwealth countries in the 19th century-- what a surprise!-- and remains fairly popular worldwide today: #32 in the U.S., #7 in Moscow, #11 in Ukraine, #13 in Buenos Aires and #16 in Ontario. It's not as popular in Britain, probably because it's still (I think?) considered to be an old woman's name. (Elizabeth and Margaret have suffered the same fate. That's what happens when a bunch of people name their children after royalty and then they all grow up.) 

Seriously. Don't mess with
Victoria.

Famous Victorias: Queen Victoria (seriously, read the article). She may not have originated Girl Power-- that was probably Elizabeth I-- but by gum, she extended it. Also, she was born in May, which is of course the very best month to be born in. What an amazing woman. Also: Victoria Woodhull (suffragist and first woman to run for the U.S. Presidency), Tori Spelling, Victoria Beckham, Crown Princess Victoria (Sweden), and there are a few young actresses called Victoria in the Harry Potter films.

Fictional Victorias: Victoria North (The Secret Language, written by Ursula Nordstrum and possibly the beginning of my love for school stories when I read it in the '80s), Victor/Victoria (a play that Julie Andrews starred in), Victoire Weasley (Harry Potter)

My Victorias: I have an aunt called Vicki, who is not named Victoria, but when I first learned the name Victoria I thought it must be Vicki's proper name. (This was before I learned of my family's habit of handing out short names as given names.) I know a handful of Victorias, but there aren't any who I talk to on a regular basis. I do not have any characters called Victoria... yet.

Are you a Victoria? Do you live in Victoria? On Victoria Street? 

Sources: 

Behind the Name

Baby Name Wizard

Harry Potter Wiki