Bianca

Italian, Romanian

Italian cognate of Blanche. Shakespeare used characters named Bianca in 'Taming of the Shrew' and 'Othello', meaning "From a medieval French nickname meaning "white, fair". This name and its cognates in other languages are ultimately derived from the Germanic word blanc. An early bearer was the 12th-century Blanca of Navarre, the wife of Sancho Iii of Castile. Her granddaughter of the same name married Louis Viii of France, with the result that the name became more common in France."