Someone asked me an intriguing question at Fujifilm’s Create With Us event in Minneapolis this last weekend. “How did Fujifilm come up with their film names,” he wondered, “like Provia, Velvia, and Astia? I know they were slide films, but what do those names mean?” I didn’t have an answer, so I spent some time researching, hoping to find something concrete.

The short answer is that Fujifilm never said what those name mean, or how they originated. The etymology is unknown. If Fujifilm ever did say—perhaps way back in the past—it never made it onto the internet. All we can do now is guess, so let’s do just that.

Fujifilm had four lines of Fujichrome color reversal (slide) film that were given brand names: Velvia, Provia, Astia, and Sensia. The other slide films that they produced over the years weren’t given fancy names, only more utilitarian designations like 100D or 64T. I always thought that the “Pro” in Provia was short for “Professional” and “via” meant route. In this assumption, Provia simply means the path that professional photographers should take, which seems logical. After digging deeper, I don’t think that’s correct (although, since Fujifilm never said, it certainly could be—who knows?).

The commonality between the four slide film names is the “ia” ending, which (very likely) is Latin. In Latin, ia can be a feminine or abstract noun ending. It can be used to say the quality or condition of something, related to whatever is in front of the ia. So we have Velv -ia, Prov -ia, Ast -ia, and Sens -ia. Whatever the beginning is, the ia ending indicates that the film is the quality or condition of that.

Velvia has the most concrete information on the etymology. While Fujifilm never stated it, there are numerous sources (perhaps we’re in urban legend territory) that claim “Velv” is short for Velvet. The name Velvia is implying that the film has a velvety quality, which is to say that it is “richly colored with lush blacks.” The name seems to match the film fairly well.

Provia is another story. I couldn’t find anything to suggest what exactly “Prov” could be short for. Some possible options are Providential, Proven, Proverbial, Provide or Provision. None of those seem like strong candidates. I suppose Provia could mean the condition of being proven, although that would be an odd description for a brand-new film (when it was first released). Perhaps the purchase of a roll of Provia was a providential choice by the photographer—that’s definitely plausible. I think my original idea for the name meaning (Pro -via not Prov -ia) is also a possibility, but it doesn’t fit the pattern. This one is quite murky.

Astia has three likely options: Aesthetic, Astute, or Astral. The first one—Aesthetic—seems like the obvious answer; perhaps the original working name for the film was actually Aestia, but later shortened to Astia for marketing purposes. Astia would mean that the quality of the film is its aesthetic. Astute could imply a nuanced, perceptive rendering. Astral could be a reference to the sun. Those last two seem weaker than the first, but it could be anything, so who knows?

For Sensia, it obviously has something to do with Sense: Sensible, Sensitive, Sensory, Sensation, etc.. Since Sensia was a consumer film, Sensible seems like a solid answer—Sensia is a sensible choice, after all—but it could be any of them. To sense is to feel (emotion), so Sense could certainly be the word that the film was named after.

I said there were four Fujichrome films, but actually there was a fifth: Fortia. This was a limited edition emulsion sold only in Japan, and only in the spring. It was more vibrant and bold than Velvia. The “Fort” in Fortia is likely from the Latin word Fortis, which is where we get the English word Fort, and it means strong or brave. That seems to fit the film well: you have to be brave to use it due to its strong colors.

For Velvia and Fortia, I think we have the answer: Velvet and Fortis, respectively. Fujichrome Velvia gives a velvety picture quality; Fujichrome Fortia has strong colors that only the bravest photographers will appreciate. For Provia, Astia, and Sensia, there’s a bit less clarity, as there are a number of potential options. Despite Fujifilm naming their “standard” Film Simulation after Fujichrome Provia, the etymology of Provia is the most murky. Astia is likely a reference to Aesthetic, and Sensia is likely a reference to either Sense or Sensible, but neither is certain. Since Fujifilm has never said, we only have our imaginations, and perhaps that is what they intended for their customers from the beginning—the names mean whatever we want them to.