Browse Names

Aiur m Basque
Derived from Basque ainuria or aiuria meaning "howl".

Amariah m Biblical
Means "Yahweh has said" in Hebrew. This is the name of several Old Testament characters.

Annunziata f Italian
Means "announced" in Italian, referring to the event in the New Testament in which the angel Gabriel tells the Virgin Mary of the imminent birth of Jesus.

Annunziato m Italian
Masculine form of Annunziata.

Ayelen f Mapuche
From Mapuche ayelen "laughing", ayliñ "clear" or aylen "ember".

Bacchus m Greek Mythology (Latinized)
From Greek Βάκχος (Bakchos), derived from ἰάχω (iacho) meaning "to shout". This was another name of the Greek god Dionysos, and it was also the name that the Romans commonly used for him.

Blaise m French
From the Roman name Blasius, which was derived from Latin blaesus meaning "lisping". Saint Blaise was a 4th-century Armenian martyr. A famous bearer was the French mathematician and philosopher Blaise Pascal (1623-1662).

Chanté f English (Modern)
Means "sung" in French.

Danai 2 f Shona
From Shona dana meaning "call, summon".

Ekwueme m Igbo
Means "one says, one does" in Igbo, indicating a person who is truthful about his behaviour.

Eulalia f Spanish, Italian, Polish, English, Ancient Greek
Derived from Greek εὔλαλος (eulalos) meaning "sweetly-speaking", itself from εὖ (eu) meaning "good" and λαλέω (laleo) meaning "to talk". This was the name of an early 4th-century saint and martyr from Mérida in Spain. Another martyr by this name, living at the same time, is a patron saint of Barcelona. These two saints might be the same person.

Euphemia f Ancient Greek, English (Archaic)
Means "to use words of good omen" from Greek εὐφημέω (euphemeo), a derivative of εὖ (eu) meaning "good" and φημί (phemi) meaning "to speak, to declare". Saint Euphemia was an early martyr from Chalcedon.

Gayan m Sinhalese
Possibly from Sinhala ගයනවා (gayanava) meaning "sing".

Handan f Turkish
From Persian خندان (khandan) meaning "laughing, smiling".

Iacchus m Greek Mythology (Latinized)
From Greek Ἴακχος (Iakchos), derived from ἰάχω (iacho) meaning "to shout". This was the name of an obscure Greek god worshipped in the Eleusinian mysteries and later identified with Dionysos.

Isaac m English, Spanish, Portuguese, Catalan, French, Jewish, Biblical, Biblical Latin
From the Hebrew name יִצְחָק (Yitzchaq) meaning "he will laugh, he will rejoice", derived from צָחַק (tzachaq) meaning "to laugh". The Old Testament explains this meaning, by recounting that Abraham laughed when God told him that his aged wife Sarah would become pregnant with Isaac (see Genesis 17:17), and later Sarah laughed when overhearing the same prophecy (see Genesis 18:12). When Isaac was a boy, God tested Abraham's faith by ordering him to sacrifice his son, though an angel prevented the act at the last moment. Isaac went on to become the father of Esau and Jacob with his wife Rebecca.... [more]

Larunda f Roman Mythology
Possibly connected to Greek λαλέω (laleo) meaning "to talk, to chatter", or the Latin term Lares referring to minor guardian gods. In Roman mythology Larunda or Lara was a water nymph who was overly talkative. She revealed to Juno that her husband Jupiter was having an affair with Juturna, so Jupiter had Larunda's tongue removed. By the god Mercury she had two children, who were Lares.

Ligeia f Greek Mythology, Ancient Greek
Derived from Greek λιγύς (ligys) meaning "clear-voiced, shrill, whistling". This was the name of one of the Sirens in Greek legend. It was also used by Edgar Allan Poe in his story Ligeia (1838).

Liron m & f Hebrew
Means "my song, my joy" in Hebrew, from לִי (li) "for me" and רֹן (ron) "joy, song".

Maina m Kikuyu
Means "sing, dance" in Kikuyu. Kikuyu males were traditionally organized into age sets or generations, each lasting about 30 years. The Maina generation occupied the last part of the 19th century.

Mélodie f French
French cognate of Melody.

Mélody f French
French variant of Melody.

Melody f English
From the English word melody, which is derived (via Old French and Late Latin) from Greek μέλος (melos) meaning "song" combined with ἀείδω (aeido) meaning "to sing".

Melpomene f Greek Mythology
Derived from Greek μέλπω (melpo) meaning "to sing, to celebrate with song". This was the name of one of the nine Muses in Greek mythology, the muse of tragedy.

Nabu m Semitic Mythology
Possibly from a Semitic root meaning "to announce". This was the name of a Babylonian and Assyrian god of wisdom, letters and writing.

Najwa f Arabic
Means "secret, whisper" in Arabic.

Nida f Arabic, Turkish, Urdu
Means "call, proclaim" in Arabic.

Omar 2 m Biblical, Biblical Hebrew
Derived from Hebrew אָמַר ('amar) meaning "speak, say". This is the name of a son of Eliphaz in the Old Testament.

Rani 2 m & f Hebrew
From Hebrew רַן (ran) meaning "to sing".

Rina 2 f Hebrew
Means "joy, singing" in Hebrew.

Rinat 2 f Hebrew
Variant of Rina 2.

Rona 2 f Hebrew
Feminine form of Ron 2.

Roni 1 f & m Hebrew
Means "my joy" or "my song" in Hebrew.

Ronit 2 f Hebrew
Strictly feminine form of Ron 2.

Samir 1 m Arabic, Azerbaijani
Means "companion in evening talk" in Arabic, from the root سمر (samara) meaning "to talk in the evening".

Sekai f Shona
From Shona seka meaning "laugh".

Sekani m Tumbuka
Means "laugh" in Tumbuka.

Shira f Hebrew
Means "singing" in Hebrew.

Taurai m & f Shona
From Shona taura meaning "speak".

Torgny m Swedish
From the Old Norse name Þórgnýr meaning "Thor's noise" from the name of the Norse god Þórr (see Thor) combined with gnýr "noise, grumble, murmur".

Yaron m Hebrew
Means "to sing, to shout" in Hebrew.