PRONOUNCED: BEE-ə-triks (English), BE-ah-triks (German), BAY-ah-
triks (Dutch) Meaning & History Probably from Viatrix, a
feminine form of the Late Latin name Viator which meant
“voyager, traveller”. It was a common name amongst early
Christians, and the spelling was altered by association with
Latin beatus “blessed”. Viatrix or Beatrix was a 4th-
centurysaint who was strangled to death during the persecutions
of Diocletian. In England it became rare after the Middle Ages,
but it was revived in the 19th century. A famous bearer was the
British author and illustrator Beatrix Potter (1866-1943), the
creator of Peter Rabbit.