Columba was born to a noble pagan family in Zaragoza, the northwestern region of Spain. According to Catholic historian Florence Capes, Columba's history "is somewhat legendary"/ writer Fernando Lanzi called it "hardly historical". Columba fled as a child to Vienne, France and was baptized, receiving the name Columba (meaning "dove" in French).According to hagiographer Omer Englebert, she left Spain for France because she had been told it was where "a more beautiful religion flourished" and because she "had an insurmountable horror of idols". Historian Katharine Rabenstein stated that according to legend, Columba left Spain with other believers to avoid being denounced as a Christian. Columba continued to Sens, near Paris in north-central France, where she was martyred in 273.