Meaning
The meaning of Patience
Patience comes through Old French patience from Latin patientia, the noun form of patior meaning to suffer or endure. The Latin word names forbearance and the capacity to bear suffering without complaint. In the New Testament Greek, two words sit behind the KJV patience: hypomonē, the endurance of those who hold fast under pressure, and makrothymia, the longsuffering quality of mercy that delays judgement. The KJV uses patience for both.
Virtue name
Why Patience became a Christian name
Patience names the Greek hypomonē, which the New Testament writers used to describe the endurance of believers under persecution, hardship, and waiting. James 5 names Job as the model and the prophets as the witness.
The Puritan virtue-name tradition picked up patience as a parental hope for the child: that they would bear what came to them with steadfastness. The name remained in steady English-speaking Christian use across centuries even as overall usage stayed small.
Sound
How to pronounce Patience
- Phonetic
- PAY-shens
- IPA
- /ˈpeɪʃəns/
2 syllables · stress: PAY-shens · ends in a consonant
Forms
Variants and nicknames
Short forms and nicknames
- Patti
- Tia
Languages
Patience in other languages
- Latin
- PatientiaPatientia is the Latin source word, used in Roman Stoic philosophy before the Christian appropriation.
- French
- Patience
Christian background
Christian and biblical background
Patience has been used as an English Christian name since the seventeenth-century Puritan tradition that produced Faith, Hope, Charity, Mercy, and Grace. The virtue is named throughout the New Testament epistles: Romans 5:3 says tribulation worketh patience, James 5:7 to 11 names the patience of Job as the model, and Revelation 14:12 closes the canon with the patience of the saints.
Bearers
Notable people named Patience
historical
Patience WorthThe literary persona attributed to Pearl Curran in early-twentieth-century American spiritualist writings, whose published novels and poems were taken seriously by literary critics of the period
Naming history
Naming tradition and history
Patience entered English naming through the Puritan period of the seventeenth century. It traveled to Colonial America with the Puritan virtue-name tradition and has been used in American Christian naming registers ever since, though rarely. The name sits outside the SSA Top 1000 in modern American naming, ranked #1297 in 2025.
Recent US use
Patience in recent US use
- Rank in 2025
- #1297
- Peak rank
- #578 in 2006
- Recent trend
- stable over the last 5 years
- Years in the SSA records
- 141 (since 1880)
Source: US Social Security Administration baby name data, 1880-2025.
Sibling fit
Sibling name suggestions
Phonetic neighbours
Names that sound similar to Patience
- Grace · Both are short-vowelled virtue names from the same English Puritan tradition; the sonic register is similar even where syllable count differs.
For families
For families looking at Patience
For a Christian family, Patience is a quiet virtue name that names New Testament endurance directly. Outside the SSA Top 1000 in 2025 at #1297, the name is rare in current American naming but recognizable across Christian and Quaker traditions.
Common questions
What does Patience mean?
Patience means forbearance, endurance, or steadfast waiting. The English word comes from Latin patientia.
Is Patience a biblical name?
Patience is not the name of a biblical person, but patience is one of the central virtues named in the New Testament epistles.
Is Patience a Christian name?
Yes. Patience is a classic English Christian virtue name from the seventeenth-century Puritan tradition.
How popular is the name Patience?
Patience ranked #1297 in US baby names in 2025, outside the SSA Top 1000 across the modern dataset.
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