Prospero

Origin and meaning of Prospero

Prospero comes from Latin prosper, 'favourable, fortunate, thriving' — a wish-name promising success and plenty. Widespread since Christian antiquity thanks to Saint Prosper of Aquitaine, a fifth-century theologian, it owes part of its literary fame to the magician Prospero in Shakespeare's Tempest. Used in Italy and across the Spanish- and Portuguese-speaking worlds as Próspero and Prosper, it is rather rare today, yet keeps a solemn, auspicious tone that gives it a striking character.

Variants around the world

How Prospero sounds in other languages.

Famous people

• San Prospero d'Aquitania— saint
• Prospero Alpini— scientist