Ancient Greek origin
Source-reportedFrom Ancient Greek Ἱππόλυτος (Hippólutos).
Sources for this account (1)
- Wiktionary: HippolytusCC-BY-SA-4.0 · retrieved 2026-10-15
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A name. A world of connections.
Ancient Greek roots
[hɪpˈpɔ.ly.tʊs] · Latin (Classical Latin)
01 / Meaning & origin
Hippolytus is a masculine given name documented in Latin. English Wiktionary traces it to Ancient Greek Ἱππόλυτος.
From Ancient Greek Ἱππόλυτος (Hippólutos).
02 / Across borders
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03 / By the numbers
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04 / Through time
Passages quoted verbatim from public-domain reference works. They reflect the scholarship of their time, not current consensus, and may use obsolete spellings.
Hippolytus— “horse destruction”
One would have imagined that Hippos and λύω (to destroy) must have suggested the name of Hippolytus, the son of Theseus, who was destroyed by his own horse, terrified by a sea monster; but, on the other hand, he appears to have been named after his mother Hippolita, the beautiful queen of the Amazons, whom Shakespeare has shown us hunting in his wondrous Attic forest. However this may be, Hippolytus has many namesakes; among them an early Christian writer, and also a priest…
One would have imagined that Hippos and λύω (to destroy) must have suggested the name of Hippolytus, the son of Theseus, who was destroyed by his own horse, terrified by a sea monster; but, on the other hand, he appears to have been named after his mother Hippolita, the beautiful queen of the Amazons, whom Shakespeare has shown us hunting in his wondrous Attic forest. However this may be, Hippolytus has many namesakes; among them an early Christian writer, and also a priest at Rome, who in the year 252 was condemned by the persecuting judge to die the death his name suggested. The Christians buried him in a catacomb, which bears his name. Sant’Ippolito became a parish church at Rome, and of course gave a title to one of the cardinals, and Ippolito and Ippolita have always been fashionable Italian names. He was also the patron of horsemen and horses, and the latter were solemnly blessed in his name. Xanthippe’s name is feminine of Xanthippus (a yellow horse!) What a pity it was not a grey one!
Yonge, History of Christian Names (1884), Part III, Chapter III (Names From Animals, Etc), Section II (The Horse) · Public domain (Project Gutenberg)
People recorded with this given name in Wikidata. Their names may use a different spelling, or include it as a middle or baptismal name.
Christian theologian and saint (c. 170–c. 235)
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06 / Behind the facts
Review status: Source-reported — no editorial review recorded yet. Last data change 2026-10-15.
Wiktionary text: CC BY-SA 4.0. Wikidata: CC0. Commons recordings retain their individual file licences. Complete attribution is available in each group above and alongside each chart.
