In the novel The Da Vinci Code, protagonist Robert Langdon mistakenly suggests that the Mona Lisa’s name is an anagram of the Egyptian gods Amon and Isis. However, the most widely accepted theory is that she is Lisa di Antonio Maria, the wife of Florentine merchant Francesco Giocondo, as documented in Italian painter Giorgio Vasari’s 1550 biography of da Vinci. The term “Mona” is an Italian honorific for women, derived from “madonna” meaning “my lady.” The Italian title for the painting is “La Gioconda,” based on her husband’s surname, which translates to “La Joconde” in French. Both names originate from the Latin word “iucundus,” meaning “pleasant,” fittingly describing her enigmatic smile.
