human name;
Cecilia;
antiquity - 1297;
Originally, Monaco's inhabitants were Ligurians, and so she was given a Latin name. It was chosen more for aesthetic reasons than for any real meaning, though it could possibly allude to her poor sight. Pronounced "cheh-CHEE-lee-ah" in Latin and Italian, and "seh-SEE-lee-ah" in French. (Depending on who you're talking to, the C's would be lisped to some degree or another in Castilian Spanish.)
[More information on the name Cecilia here.]
Cecilia Boccanegra;
1297 - 1641;
At the end of the thirteenth century, a soothsayer from Genoa named Dracosia guided Francesco Grimaldi in his capture of the fortress at Monaco. He advised Grimaldi to dress himself as a monk and pretend to seek shelter at the castle before laying siege to it from the inside, à la the Greeks in the tale of the Trojan Horse. Dracosia foretold Grimaldi's success should he use this method, but when the church heard of his brilliant strategy, they immediately labeled Dracosia a heretic who "speaks evil," bestowing upon him the name "Black Mouth."
Therefore, it's fitting that Monaco, time and again proving herself an amazing tactician, not unlike Dracosia, should acquire the same surname as the mystic.
[More information on the name Boccanegra here.]
Cécile Boccanegra;
1641 - present;
In the 1640's, Monaco broke away from the Spanish Empire with France's help. So taken was she with French culture that she decided to "France-ify" herself, casting off her Latin name for a French variant. She retained her Italian surname, though, out of respect for Dracosia's cunning scheme that achieved her independence from Genoa.
antiquity - 1297;
Originally, Monaco's inhabitants were Ligurians, and so she was given a Latin name. It was chosen more for aesthetic reasons than for any real meaning, though it could possibly allude to her poor sight. Pronounced "cheh-CHEE-lee-ah" in Latin and Italian, and "seh-SEE-lee-ah" in French. (Depending on who you're talking to, the C's would be lisped to some degree or another in Castilian Spanish.)
[More information on the name Cecilia here.]
Cecilia Boccanegra;
1297 - 1641;
At the end of the thirteenth century, a soothsayer from Genoa named Dracosia guided Francesco Grimaldi in his capture of the fortress at Monaco. He advised Grimaldi to dress himself as a monk and pretend to seek shelter at the castle before laying siege to it from the inside, à la the Greeks in the tale of the Trojan Horse. Dracosia foretold Grimaldi's success should he use this method, but when the church heard of his brilliant strategy, they immediately labeled Dracosia a heretic who "speaks evil," bestowing upon him the name "Black Mouth."
Therefore, it's fitting that Monaco, time and again proving herself an amazing tactician, not unlike Dracosia, should acquire the same surname as the mystic.
[More information on the name Boccanegra here.]
Cécile Boccanegra;
1641 - present;
In the 1640's, Monaco broke away from the Spanish Empire with France's help. So taken was she with French culture that she decided to "France-ify" herself, casting off her Latin name for a French variant. She retained her Italian surname, though, out of respect for Dracosia's cunning scheme that achieved her independence from Genoa.