Browse Names - Behind the Name

See Also

Bragi m Norse Mythology, Icelandic
Derived from Old Norse bragr meaning "first, foremost" or "poetry". In Norse mythology Bragi is the god of poetry and the husband of Iðunn.

Casilda f Spanish
Meaning uncertain. This is the name of the 11th-century patron saint of Toledo, Spain. It might have an Arabic origin (Saint Casilda was a Moorish princess), perhaps from قصيدة (qasidah) meaning "poem". Alternatively it could be derived from a Visigothic name in which the second element is hilds meaning "battle".

Herod m Biblical
From the Greek name Ἡρῴδης (Herodes), which probably means "song of the hero" from ἥρως (heros) meaning "hero, warrior" combined with ᾠδή (ode) meaning "song, ode". This was the name of several rulers of Judea during the period when it was part of the Roman Empire. This includes two who appear in the New Testament: Herod the Great, the king who ordered the slaughter of the children, and his son Herod Antipas, who had John the Baptist beheaded.

Hesiod m Ancient Greek (Anglicized)
From the Greek name Ἡσίοδος (Hesiodos), which probably meant "to throw song" from ἵημι (hiemi) meaning "to throw, to speak" and ᾠδή (ode) meaning "song, ode". This was the name of an 8th-century BC Greek poet.

Kavita f Hindi, Marathi
Means "poem" in Sanskrit.

Kavitha f Telugu, Tamil, Kannada
South Indian form of Kavita.

Luule f Estonian
Means "poetry" in Estonian.

Otis m English
From an English surname that was derived from the medieval given name Ode, a cognate of Otto. In America it has been used in honour of the revolutionary James Otis (1725-1783).

Salme f Estonian
From Estonian salm meaning "poem, verse". This name appears in the Estonian national epic Kalevipoeg (1857) by Friedrich Reinhold Kreutzwald.

Shion f & m Japanese
From Japanese 紫苑 (shion) meaning "aster". It can also come from 詩 (shi) meaning "poem" and 音 (on) meaning "sound". Other kanji combinations can form this name as well.

Shiori f & m Japanese
As a feminine name it can be from Japanese 詩 (shi) meaning "poem" combined with 織 (ori) meaning "weave". It can also be from 栞 (shiori) meaning "bookmark" (usually feminine) or 撓 (shiori) meaning "lithe, bending" (usually masculine), as well as other kanji or kanji combinations.

Thi f Vietnamese
From Sino-Vietnamese 詩 (thi) meaning "poetry, poem, verse".

Usage	clear
Language	clear
Place	clear

Initial	clear
Start	clear
End	clear
Substring	clear
Pattern	clear help?
the letters in the pattern are compared to the letters in the name * is a wildcard that matches zero or more letters example: oo matches names which contain oo _ is a wildcard that matches exactly one letter example: __z matches names which have two letters and then z

Meaning	clear help?
	expand search to include grammatical forms
	expand search to include close synonyms
	expand search to include subclasses
	expand search to related names
separate search terms with spaces search for an exact phrase by surrounding it with double quotes this field understands simple boolean logic force a term to be included by preceding it with a + sign force a term to be excluded by preceding it with a - sign expand search to include grammatical forms: attempt to include grammatical forms of the meanings example: speak includes spoke expand search to include close synonyms: attempt to include synonyms of the meanings example: brave includes courageous expand search to include search narrower synonyms: attempt to include subclasses of the meanings example: reptile includes turtle expand search to related names: allow related names to inherit the meaning of the main form
Description	clear help?
	ignore name meanings
the description is the meaning and history write-up for the name separate search terms with spaces search for an exact phrase by surrounding it with double quotes example: "lord of the rings" matches names from the novel 'The Lord of the Rings' this field understands simple boolean logic force a term to be included by preceding it with a + sign force a term to be excluded by preceding it with a - sign example: +greek +(legend myth) -zeus matches Greek names of myths or legends not about Zeus ignore name meanings: keywords from the name meanings are ignored

Pronunciation	clear help?
	case sensitive
see the pronunciation key for a guide on how to write the sounds sounds can only be searched in names that have been assigned pronunciations * is a wildcard that will match zero or more letters in the pronunciation example: lee matches names which end with the sound lee* _ is a wildcard that will match exactly one letter in the pronunciation example: __z matches names which have two letters and then a z (s) matches exactly one syllable in the pronunciation example: (s)(s)ra matches names which have two syllables and then the sound rah (c) matches a consonant (k) matches a consonant or consonant cluster (v) matches a vowel (p) matches a plosive or stop consonant (f) matches a fricative consonant (n) matches a nasal consonant case sensitive: check this if you wish distinguish between unstressed lowercase sounds and stressed uppercase sounds
Syllables	clear help?
syllables can only be counted in names that have been assigned pronunciations names without pronunciations are excluded from results

Related name	clear
Relationship	clear help?
	expand search to ancestral names
the "relationship" is how the name relates to its parent name example: searching for diminutive matches Betsy because it is a diminutive of its parent Elizabeth selecting *(all core forms)* excludes peripheral forms such as diminutives, short forms, and combinations expand search to ancestral names: relationships between names further up the family tree are included

Impression	clear help?
name impressions are based on the ratings left by the behindthename.com community
Impression	clear help?
name impressions are based on the ratings left by the behindthename.com community
Impression	clear help?
name impressions are based on the ratings left by the behindthename.com community

List	clear
Year	clear
Rank	clear

Country	clear
Month	clear
Day	clear

Sort	clear
Display	clear