Juventus

By Deane Barker •

The Roman goddess of youth and rejuvenation.

Juventus (the “J” is silent) means “youth” in Latin.

It is the name of many soccer teams, particularly Juventus F.C. based in Turin. That club was founded in the 1800s as Sport-Club Juventus, which likely translates to something like “Youth Sports Club.”

Why I Looked It Up

I knew this as the name of an Italian soccer team, but I was reading Cutting for Stone which is set in Ethiopia in the 1950s and it spoke of a “Juventus Club.” This would translate to “youth club.”

The Italians invaded Ethiopia in 1936 and occupied it until it was liberated during World War 2. Italians naming was quite common during this period, and many such names persisted for decades.

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