LUKE m English, BiblicalEnglish form of the Greek name
Λουκας (Loukas) which meant "from Lucania", Lucania being a region in southern Italy (of uncertain meaning). Luke was a doctor who travelled in the company of the apostle
Paul. According to tradition, he was the author of the third gospel and Acts in the New Testament. He was probably of Greek ethnicity. He is considered a saint by many Christian denominations.
... [more] LUMINIȚA f RomanianMeans "little light", derived from Romanian
lumina "light" combined with a diminutive suffix.
LUNA f Roman MythologyMeans "the moon" in Latin. Luna was the Roman goddess of the moon, frequently depicted driving a white chariot through the sky.
LUTHER m EnglishFrom a German surname, itself from the Germanic given name
LEUTHAR. The surname was borne by Martin Luther, a 16th-century monk and theologian, who started the Protestant Reformation by nailing his famous 95 theses to a church door. It has since been used as a given name in his honour, especially among Protestants. A notable bearer from the modern era was the American civil rights leader Martin Luther King (1929-1968).
LUX f & m VariousDerived from Latin
lux meaning "light".
LUZ f SpanishMeans "light" in Spanish. It is taken from the title of the Virgin
Mary,
Nuestra Señora de la Luz, meaning "Our Lady of Light".
LYALL m English (Rare)From a Scottish surname which was derived from the Old Norse given name
Liulfr (which was derived in part from
úlfr "wolf").
LYKKE f DanishMeans "good fortune, happiness" in Danish.
LYLE m EnglishFrom an English surname which was derived from Norman French
l'isle "island".
LYNDON m EnglishFrom an English surname which was derived from a place name meaning "lime tree hill" in Old English. A famous bearer was American president Lyndon B. Johnson (1908-1973).
LYNETTE f EnglishForm of
LUNED first used by Alfred Lord Tennyson in his poem 'Gareth and Lynette' (1872). In modern times it is also regarded as a diminutive of
LYNN.
LYNN f & m EnglishFrom an English surname which was derived from Welsh
llyn "lake". Before the start of the 20th century it was primarily used for boys, but it has since come to be more common for girls. In some cases it may be thought of as a short form of
LINDA or names that end in
lyn or
line.
LYRA f AstronomyThe name of the constellation in the northern sky containing the star Vega. It is said to be shaped after the lyre of Orpheus.
LYS f FrisianFrisian diminutive of
ELISABETH. It also coincides with the French word for "lily".
MABEL f EnglishMedieval feminine form of
AMABILIS. This spelling and
Amabel were common during the Middle Ages, though they became rare after the 15th century. It was revived in the 19th century after the publication of C. M. Yonge's novel 'The Heir of Redclyffe' (1854), which featured a character named Mabel (as well as one named Amabel).
MABELLE f EnglishVariant of
MABEL. It also coincides with the French phrase
ma belle meaning "my beautiful".
MABYN f WelshMeans "youth" in Welsh. This was the name of an obscure 6th-century Welsh saint. She was one of the daughters of Saint Brychan.
MACARENA f SpanishFrom the name of a barrio (district) in Seville, which got its name from a temple which may have been named for a person
Macarius (see
MACARIO). The Virgin of Macarena, that is
Mary, is widely venerated in Seville.
MACARIO m SpanishSpanish form of the Latin name
Macarius, derived from the Greek name
Μακαριος (Makarios), which was in turn derived from Greek
μακαρ (makar) meaning "blessed, happy". This was the name of several early saints.
MACBETH m HistoryAnglicized form of the Gaelic given name
Mac Beatha meaning "son of life", implying holiness. This was the name of an 11th-century Scottish king. Shakespeare based his play 'Macbeth' loosely on this king's life.
MACK (1) m EnglishFrom a surname which was originally a shortened form of various Gaelic surnames beginning with
Mac or
Mc (from Gaelic
mac meaning "son"). It is also used as a generic slang term for a man.
MACKENZIE f & m EnglishFrom the Gaelic surname
Mac Coinnich, which means "son of
COINNEACH". A famous bearer of the surname was William Lyon MacKenzie (1795-1861), a Canadian journalist and political rebel. As a feminine given name, it was popularized by the American actress Mackenzie Phillips (1959-).
MACSEN m WelshWelsh form of
MAXIMUS. Magnus Maximus (known as Macsen in Welsh) was a 4th-century co-ruler of the Western Roman Empire. In Wales he was regarded as the founder of several royal lineages. He appears in the Mabinogion, a collection of tales from Welsh myth.
MACY f EnglishFrom an English surname which was from various towns named
Massy in France. The towns themselves were originally named from a Gallo-Roman personal name that was Latinized as
Maccius. This is the name of a chain of American department stores founded by Rowland Hussey Macy (1822-1877).
MADAI m BiblicalMeans "Medes" in Hebrew. In the Old Testament this is the name of a son of
Japheth. He was the ancestor of the Medes, an ancient people related to the Persians.
MADARA f LatvianFrom the Latvian name for a type of flowering plant, known as cleavers or bedstraw in English.
MÄDCHEN f VariousMeans "girl" in German. It is not used as a name in Germany itself.
MADDOX m English (Modern)From a Welsh surname meaning "son of
MADOC". It was brought to public attention when the actress Angelina Jolie gave this name to her adopted son in 2002.
MADE m & f Indonesian, BalineseFrom Sanskrit
मध्य (madhya) meaning "middle". This name is traditionally given to the family's second-born child.
MADELINE f English, FrenchEnglish form of
MAGDALENE. This is the name of the heroine in a series of children's books by Ludwig Bemelmans, first published 1939.
MADHAVA m Sanskrit, HinduismMeans "vernal, of the springtime" in Sanskrit. This is an epithet of several Hindu gods. It was also the name of a 14th-century Hindu scholar.
MADISON f & m EnglishFrom an English surname meaning "son of
MAUD". It was not commonly used as a feminine name until after the movie 'Splash' (1984), in which the main character adopted it as her name after seeing a street sign for Madison Avenue in New York City. A famous bearer of the surname was James Madison (1751-1836), one of the authors of the American constitution who later served as president.
MADOC m WelshPossibly derived from Welsh
mad "fortunate" combined with a diminutive suffix.
MADONNA f EnglishFrom a title of the Virgin
Mary meaning "my lady" in Italian. A famous bearer of the name is American singer Madonna Ciccone (1958-), known simply as Madonna.
MAE f EnglishVariant of
MAY. A famous bearer was American actress Mae West (1893-1980), whose birth name was Mary.
MÁEDÓC m Ancient IrishMeaning unknown. Saint Máedóc (also known as Áedán) of Ferns was a 7th-century Irish bishop.
MAËL m French, BretonFrench form of Breton
Mael, which was derived from a Celtic word meaning "chief" or "prince". Saint Mael was a 5th-century Breton hermit who lived in Wales.
MÁEL MÁEDÓC m Ancient IrishMeans "disciple of Saint
MÁEDÓC" in Irish. Saint Máel Máedóc (also known as Malachy) was a 12th-century archbishop of Armagh.
MÁEL SECHNAILL m Ancient IrishMeans "disciple of Saint
SEACHNALL" in Irish. This was the name of two Irish high kings: Máel Sechnaill mac Máele Ruanaid who ruled all of Ireland in the 9th century; and Máel Sechnaill mac Domnaill (called Malachy) who defeated the Norse of Dublin in the 10th century.
MAEVE f Irish, Irish MythologyAnglicized form of the Gaelic name
Medb meaning "intoxicating". In Irish legend this was the name of a warrior queen of Connacht. Her fight against Ulster and the hero
Cúchulainn is told in the Irish epic 'The Cattle Raid of Cooley'.
MAGDALENA f Polish, German, Dutch, Swedish, Norwegian, Danish, Spanish, Occitan, Slovene, Czech, Bulgarian, Macedonian, Croatian, Serbian, Romanian, Finnish, EnglishLatinate form of
MAGDALENE.
MAGDALENE f German, English, Biblical, Biblical Latin, Biblical GreekFrom a title which meant "of Magdala".
Mary Magdalene, a character in the New Testament, was named thus because she was from Magdala - a village on the Sea of Galilee whose name meant "tower" in Hebrew. She was cleaned of evil spirits by
Jesus and then remained with him during his ministry, witnessing the crucifixion and the resurrection. She was a popular saint in the Middle Ages, and the name became common then. In England it is traditionally rendered
Madeline, while
Magdalene or
Magdalen is the learned form.
MAGNHILD f NorwegianDerived from Old Norse
magn "mighty, strong" and
hildr "battle". This was the name of a novel by the Norwegian author Bjørnstjerne Bjørnson.
MAGNOLIA f EnglishFrom the English word
magnolia for the flower, which was named for the French botanist Pierre Magnol.
MAGNUS m Swedish, Norwegian, Danish, Late RomanLate Latin name meaning "great". It was borne by a 7th-century saint who was a missionary in Germany. It became popular in Scandinavia after the time of the 11th-century Norwegian king Magnus I, who was said to have been named after
Charlemagne, or Carolus Magnus in Latin (however there was also a Norse name
Magni). The name was borne by six subsequent kings of Norway as well as three kings of Sweden. It was imported to Scotland and Ireland during the Middle Ages.
MAHA f ArabicMeans "oryx" in Arabic. The oryx is a variety of antelope that is said to represent beauty.
MAHALA f EnglishVariant of
MAHALAH or
MAHALATH. It has occasionally been used as an English Christian name since the Protestant Reformation.
MAHATMA m HistoryFrom the Indian title
महात्मा (Mahatma) meaning "great soul", derived from Sanskrit
महा (maha) meaning "great" and
आत्मन् (atman) meaning "soul, spirit, life". This title was given to, among others, Mohandas Karamchand, also known as Mahatma Gandhi (1869-1948).
MAHAVIRA m SanskritMeans "great hero" from Sanskrit
महा (maha) meaning "great" and
वीर (vira) meaning "hero, man". This was the name of the 6th-century BC founder of Jainism.
MAHLAH f & m BiblicalFrom the Hebrew name
מַחְלָה (Machlah), possibly from
חָלָה (chalah) meaning "weak" or "sick". This name is used in the Old Testament as both a feminine and masculine name. In some versions of the Bible the masculine name is spelled
Mahalah.
MAHLI m BiblicalFrom the Hebrew name
מַחְלִי (Machliy), possibly meaning "weak" or "sick". This was the name of two characters mentioned briefly in the Old Testament.
MAHULENA f CzechPossibly inspired by
MAGDALENA. The Czech author Julius Zeyer created it for a character in his play 'Radúz and Mahulena' (1898).
MAI (2) f JapaneseFrom Japanese
舞 (mai) meaning "dance" or
麻衣 (mai) meaning "linen robe". It can also come from
真 (ma) meaning "real, genuine" combined with
愛 (ai) meaning "love, affection". Other kanji or kanji combinations can also form this name.
MAIA (2) f Roman MythologyMeans "great" in Latin. This was the name of a Roman goddess of spring, the wife of
Vulcan. The month of May is named for her.
MAILE f HawaiianFrom the name of a type of vine that grows in Hawaii and is used in making leis.
MAINCHÍN m IrishMeans "little monk", derived from Irish
manach "monk" combined with a diminutive suffix.
MAIRE f FinnishDerived from Finnish
mairea "gushing, sugary".
MAIRWEN f WelshCombination of
MAIR and Welsh
gwen meaning "white, fair, blessed".
MAITLAND m English (Rare)From an English surname which was from a Norman French place name possibly meaning "inhospitable".
MAJ m SloveneEither a masculine form of
MAJA (1), or else from the Slovene name for the month of May.
MAJA (2) f Croatian, Serbian, Macedonian, Slovene, German, Danish, Swedish, Norwegian, Polish, Czech, SlovakDiminutive of
MARIA.
MAJOR m EnglishFrom a surname which was originally derived from the given name
Mauger, an Old French form of the Germanic name
Malger meaning "council spear". The name can also be given in reference to the English word
major.