Felix (name)
Felix is a masculine given name that originates from the Latin word felix , meaning "happy", "lucky", "fortunate", "successful", or "fruitful". Its original meaning was "fruit-bearing", in reference to fruitful trees, arbor felix. The feminine forms are Felicia or Felicity. The name was popularized by Roman emperors and early Christian saints.
In Roman mythology, Felix was one of four sons of the god Saturn and Roman mortal Entoria. The name was used as an agnomen, or nickname, by the Roman general Lucius Cornelius Sulla, to denote his good fortune in war. It was also bestowed upon the Legio IV Flavia, a legion of the Imperial Roman army founded in 70 AD by the emperor Vespasian. It was used later as an imperial title, beginning with Commodus, who adopted it around 184 AD after military successes in Britain and Sarmatia. It would continue to be used by later emperors, including Aurelian.
In modern usage, Felix has maintained its popularity in various cultures, especially in English, German, and Scandinavian-speaking countries. In Romance languages such as French, Portuguese, and Spanish, the acute accent form "Félix" is commonly used. The Italian form of the name is "Felice", and its Polish and Serbian form is "Feliks". The name has continued to hold its positive connotations and is found across different regions and periods.
Notable people with the name include:
Romans
- Lucius Cornelius Sulla Felix, Roman general and statesman
- Antonius Felix, procurator of Judea
- A part of many Roman emperors' titles, starting with Commodus
- Flavius Felix, Roman consul
Late Antiquity and Middle Ages
Saints
"Saint Felix" may refer to:- Felix of Heraclea, Christian martyr, date unknown
- Felix and Constantia
- Felix, Fortunatus, and Achilleus
- Felix of Nola
- Felix and Regula
- Felix of Thibiuca
- Felix and Adauctus
- Felix and Nabor
- Felix of Girona
- Felix of Como
- Felix of Nîmes
- Felix of Hadrumetum
- Felix of Bilibio
- Felix of Cornwall
- Felix of Nantes
- Felix of Burgundy
- Felix the Hermit
- Felix of Rhuys
- Felix of Valois
Popes
- Pope Felix I
- Antipope Felix II
- Pope Felix III
- Pope Felix IV
Bishops and priests
- Felix , Christian bishop and theologian
- Felix of Byzantium, bishop of Byzantium
- Felix of Ravenna, archbishop of Ravenna
Early modern period (1500–1799)
- Felix of Cantalice, Italian Capuchin friar
- Felix of Nicosia, Italian Capuchin friar
Modern times (1800–present)
Aliases
- Felix Dodds, British author, futurist and artist
- Felix, British producer and DJ
- Nicholas Felix, born Nicholas Wanostrocht, English cricketer
- The codename of Cold War spy Dieter Gerhardt
- The codename of Securitate spy Dan Voiculescu
- The pen name of Tom Horan, Australian cricketer and cricket journalist
Given name
- Felix Adler , American screenwriter
- Felix Adler , German-American professor
- Felix Agnus, French-born sculptor, newspaper publisher and soldier
- Felix Andries Vening Meinesz, Dutch geophysicist and geodesist
- Félix Almagro, Spanish bullfighter
- Felix Anudike-Uzomah, American football player
- Felix Arndt, American pianist and composer
- Félix Auger-Aliassime, Canadian tennis player
- Félix Bañobre, Spanish basketball coach
- Felix Batista, Cuban-American anti-kidnapping expert
- Felix Baumgartner, Austrian skydiver
- Felix Behrend, German Australian mathematician
- Felix Bloch, Swiss-American physicist and Nobel laureate
- Felix Browder, American mathematician
- Felix Brych, German football referee
- Felix Bwalya, Zambian boxer
- Félix Caballero, Dominican priest
- Felix Calonder, Swiss politician
- Felix Cavaliere, American musician
- Félix Chopin, French bronze designer
- Felix Chung, Hong Kong politician
- Felix Dexter, Saint Kitts-born British actor, comedian and writer
- Felix Dias Bandaranaike, Sri Lankan lawyer and politician
- Felix Reginald Dias Bandaranaike I, Ceylonese judge and lawyer
- Felix Reginald Dias Bandaranaike II, Ceylonese judge and lawyer
- Felix Maria Diogg, Swiss painter
- Felix Dzerzhinsky, Soviet revolutionary and politician
- Felix Ehrlich, German chemist and biochemist
- Felix Eypeltauer, Austrian politician
- Félix Faure, French politician
- Félix Fénéon, French art critic and anarchist
- Félix Fermín, Dominican professional baseball shortstop
- Félix Omar Fernández, Puerto Rican track and field athlete
- Felix Francis, British crime writer
- Felix Frankfurter, Austrian-born American jurist
- Felix Friberg, Finnish footballer
- Felix Gelt, Canadian association football player
- Felix N. Gerson, American author and newspaper editor
- Félix González-Torres, Cuban-born American artist
- Félix Guattari, French psychoanalyst, political philosopher, semiotician, social activist, and screenwriter
- Felix Hamrin, Swedish politician
- Felix Hanemann, American singer and musician
- Felix Hausdorff, German mathematician
- Felix Herkens, German politician
- Félix Hernández, Venezuelan baseball pitcher
- Félix José Hernández, Venezuelan football player
- Felix Hoffmann, German chemist
- Felix Hoffmann , German basketball player
- Felix Holtmann, Canadian politician
- Félix Houphouët-Boigny, Ivorian politician and physician
- Felix Jaehn, German DJ and record producer
- Felix Jones, American football player
- Felix Jones , Irish rugby union coach
- Felix Kaspar, Austrian figure skater
- Felix Klein, German mathematician
- Felix Kjellberg, Swedish YouTuber
- Felix Kroos, German football player
- Felix LaBauve, French-born American politician
- Felix Landau, Austrian SS Hauptscharführer
- Felix Latzke, Austrian football former player and manager
- Félix Lebrun, French table tennis player
- Félix Leclerc, French-Canadian singer-songwriter and political activist
- Felix , Australian rapper, member of boyband Stray Kids
- Felix Lehtinen, Finnish footballer
- Félix Lengyel, Canadian online streamer
- Felix A. Levy, American rabbi
- Felix von Luckner, German nobleman and navy officer
- Felix Luk, Hong Kong professional footballer
- Felix Magath, German football manager
- Félix Malloum, Chadian military officer and politician
- Felix Manalo, Filipino Christian minister and founder of Iglesia ni Cristo
- Félix Mantilla , Puerto Rican professional baseball player
- Félix Mantilla Botella, Spanish tennis coach
- Félix Mathé, French politician
- Felix J. McCool, American military officer
- Felix Mendelssohn, German composer
- Felix Michel Melki, Swedish-Lebanese footballer
- Félix Miélli Venerando, Brazilian football player
- Felix Morley, American journalist and college administrator
- Felix Neureuther, German alpine ski racer
- Felix Nilsson, Swedish ice hockey player
- Felix A. Obuah, Nigerian business magnate, politician and philanthropist
- Félix W. Ortiz, American politician
- Félix Oukiné, Cameroonian football player
- Felix Övermann, German rower
- Felix Pappalardi, American musician and producer
- Felix Passlack, German footballer playing for VFL Bochum
- Felix Perera, Sri Lankan politician
- Felix Pipes, Austrian tennis player
- Félix Podmaniczky, Hungarian film director
- Félix Porteiro, Spanish racecar driver
- Felix Potvin, Canadian ice hockey goaltender
- Felix Prohaska, Austrian conductor and professor of musicology
- Felix Reda, German researcher and politician
- Felix Riebl, Australian singer-songwriter
- Felix Roco, Filipino actor
- Félix Rodríguez , Dominican baseball player
- Félix Rodríguez , Cuban-American soldier and CIA intelligence operative
- Félix Rodríguez de la Fuente, Spanish naturalist and broadcaster
- Felix Rosenqvist, Swedish professional racing driver
- Felix Salmon, British American financial journalist
- Felix Sater, Russian-American mobster
- Felix Schütz, German ice hockey player
- Felix Siauw, Chinese-Indonesian Islamic cleric, preacher, author and da'i
- Felix Silla, Italian actor
- Felix da Housecat, American DJ and record producer
- Felix Standaert, Belgian diplomat
- Felix Straub, German bobsledder
- Felix Steiner, German Waffen-SS commander
- Félix Stevens, Cuban sprinter
- Felix Swinstead, English pianist and composer
- Félix Torres , Puerto Rican baseball player
- Félix Trinidad, Puerto Rican boxer
- Felix Unger, Austrian heart surgeon and specialist
- Félix Varela, Cuban Catholic priest and independence leader
- Felix Wankel, German mechanical engineer
- Felix Weingartner, Austrian conductor, composer and pianist
- Felix D. Williamson, American pilot and United States Army Air Forces major
- Felix Yusupov, Russian aristocrat
- Archduke Felix of Austria, Archduke of Austria, Prince Royal of Hungary and Bohemia
- Count Felix of Monpezat, member of the Danish royal family
- José Félix Uriburu, Argentinian Lieutenant
- Felix Zenger, Finnish beatboxer
- Felix Zietmann, German politician
- León Félix Batista, Dominican author and poet
- Prince Felix of Bourbon-Parma, son of the deposed Robert I, Duke of Parma
- Prince Félix of Luxembourg, son of Grand Duke Henri of Luxembourg and Prince of Nassau
- Prince Felix of Schwarzenberg, Austrian statesman and nobleman
Surname
- Allyson Felix, American track and field athlete
- António Félix da Costa, Portuguese racing driver
- Bertha Felix Campigli, American Coast Miwok photographer
- Damien Félix, French singer-songwriter
- Hans O. Felix, Norwegian trade unionist
- João Félix, Portuguese footballer
- Julie Felix, American-British singer
- Julien Félix, French aviator
- Kurt Felix , Swiss television presenter and entertainer
- Kurt Felix , Grenadian decathlete
- Margaret Elisabeth Felix, Indian educator
- Miguel Ángel Félix Gallardo, Mexican drug lord
- Murilo Félix, Brazilian politician
- Stanley Felix, Saint Lucian politician