Basil

Meaning: (Royal, Kingly, Regal, Brave, Valiant, Saint Basil the Great was a 4th-century bishop of Caesarea and one of the fathers of the early Christian church. Due to him, the name (in various spellings) has come into general use in the Christian world, being especially popular among Eastern Christians. It was also borne by two Byzantine emperors. Medieval Personal Name. Movie Star Basil Rathbone.)

Origin: (Greek, French, English, Arabic, American)

Pronunciation: (BAZ-el, BAYZ-el, Go to this site and run your cursor over Basil to hear how it is said: http://www.howjsay.com/index.php?word=basil&submit=Submit)

Gender: Male

I was flipping around on T.V the other day and started watching The Great Mouse Detective a movie I used to love when I was a kid. The mouse on there is the Sherlock Holmes of the mouse world and lives below the actual Sherlock Holmes residence. The mouse is called Basil of Baker's Street. The author of the books which the movie was based on chose the name Basil in honor of Basil Rathbone the actor which played Sherlock Holmes in many early Sherlock Holmes movies. Basil is traditionally pronounced BAZ-el but many say BAYZ-el because of the Herb. I say it both ways depending on the contexts.