Browse Names - Behind the Name

See Also

Blakely f English (Modern)
From an English surname that was derived from Old English blæc "black" and leah "woodland clearing".

Brinley f English (Modern)
Combination of Bryn and the popular phonetic suffix lee. It also coincides with an English surname, which was derived from the name of a town meaning "burned clearing" in Old English.

Everly f English (Modern)
From an English surname that was from a place name, itself derived from Old English eofor "boar" and leah "woodland, clearing". Notable bearers of the surname were the musical duo the Everly Brothers, Don (1937-2021) and Phil (1939-2014).... [more]

Hartley m & f English (Rare)
From an English surname that was derived from a place name, itself from Old English heorot "hart, male deer" and leah "woodland, clearing".

Headley m English (Rare)
Variant of Hedley.

Hedley m English (Rare)
From a surname that was derived from a place name meaning "heather clearing" in Old English.

Leigh f & m English
From a surname that was a variant of Lee.

Oakley m & f English
From an English surname that was from various place names meaning "oak clearing" in Old English. A famous bearer of the surname was the American sharpshooter Annie Oakley (1860-1926).

Ripley f & m English (Rare)
From a surname that was derived from the name of various English towns, from Old English rippel "grove, thicket" and leah "clearing". A famous fictional bearer is the character Ellen Ripley (usually only called by her surname) from the Alien series of movies, beginning 1979.

Stanley m English
From an English surname meaning "stone clearing" (Old English stan "stone" and leah "woodland, clearing"). A notable bearer of the surname was the British-American explorer and journalist Henry Morton Stanley (1841-1904), the man who found David Livingstone in Africa. As a given name, it was borne by American director Stanley Kubrick (1928-1999), as well as the character Stanley Kowalski in Tennessee Williams' play A Streetcar Named Desire (1947).

Tenley f English (Modern)
From an English surname, itself possibly from a place name derived from Old English tind "point" and leah "woodland, clearing". This name was popularized in 2010 by a contestant on the reality television series The Bachelor.

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

Usage	clear
Language	clear
Place	clear

List	clear
Year	clear
Rank	clear

Country	clear
Month	clear
Day	clear

Sort	clear
Display	clear