Sigourney f EnglishFrom an English surname that was derived from the French town of Sigournais, called
Segurniacum in medieval Latin, itself of unknown meaning. The American actress Sigourney Weaver (1949-), real name Susan, adopted this name in 1963 after the minor character Sigourney Howard in F. Scott Fitzgerald's novel
The Great Gatsby (1925).
Silver m & f English (Rare)From the English word for the precious metal or the colour, ultimately derived from Old English
seolfor.
Silvia f Italian, Spanish, Portuguese, Romanian, Slovak, German, Dutch, English, Late Roman, Roman MythologyFeminine form of
Silvius.
Rhea Silvia was the mother of
Romulus and
Remus, the founders of Rome. This was also the name of a 6th-century saint, the mother of the pope Gregory the Great. It has been a common name in Italy since the Middle Ages. It was introduced to England by Shakespeare, who used it for a character in his play
The Two Gentlemen of Verona (1594). It is now more commonly spelled
Sylvia in the English-speaking world.
Simay f TurkishMeans
"silver moon" in Turkish, from
sim meaning "silver, glitter" and
ay meaning "moon".
Sinclair m & f English (Rare)From a Scottish surname that was derived from a Norman French town called "Saint
Clair". A notable bearer was the American author Sinclair Lewis (1885-1951).
Sini f FinnishMeans
"blue" in Finnish. More specifically,
sini is a poetic term for the colour blue.
Síofra f IrishMeans
"elf, sprite" in Irish. This name was created in the 20th century.
Sionann f Irish MythologyIn Irish legend this was the name of a granddaughter of the sea god
Lir who went to Connla's Well, which was forbidden. The well burst and drowned her, leaving her body in the river thereafter known as the
Sionainn (see
Shannon).
Siria f ItalianPossibly a feminine form of
Cyrus. It also coincides with the Italian name for the country of
Syria.
Siriporn f ThaiDerived from Thai
ศิริ (sir) meaning "glory, splendour" and
พร (phon) meaning "blessing".
Sirje f EstonianPossibly from Estonian
sinisirje meaning
"blue-feathered", a word associated with a magical bird in the Estonian national epic
Kalevipoeg (1857) by Friedrich Reinhold Kreutzwald. Apparently this name was suggested by the linguist Julius Mägiste in the 1920s. It was subsequently used in the 1945 opera
Tasuleegid by Eugen Kapp.
Sirpa f FinnishDerived from Finnish
sirpale meaning
"small piece, fragment".
Sita f Hinduism, Hindi, NepaliMeans
"furrow" in Sanskrit. Sita is the name of the Hindu goddess of the harvest in the
Rigveda. This is also the name of the wife of
Rama (and an avatar of
Lakshmi) in the Hindu epic the
Ramayana. In this story Sita is rescued by her husband from the demon king Ravana.
Sitara f UrduMeans
"star" in Urdu, ultimately from Persian.
Siv f Swedish, Norwegian, Norse MythologyFrom Old Norse
Sif, which meant
"bride, kinswoman". In Norse mythology she was the wife of
Thor. After the trickster
Loki cut off her golden hair, an angry Thor forced him to create a replacement.
Sivan f HebrewFrom the name of the ninth month of the Hebrew calendar (occurring in late spring). It was adopted from the Babylonian calendar, derived from Akkadian
simānu meaning "season, occasion".
Skaði f Norse MythologyMeans
"damage, harm" in Old Norse. In Norse mythology she was a giantess (jǫtunn) associated with the winter, skiing and mountains. After the gods killed her father, they offered her a husband from among them as compensation. She ended up marrying
Njord.
Skuld f Norse MythologyMeans
"debt, obligation" in Old Norse. She was one of the three Norns, or goddesses of destiny, in Norse mythology. She was also one of the valkyries.
Sky f & m English (Modern)Simply from the English word
sky, which was ultimately derived from Old Norse
ský "cloud".
Skye f English (Modern)From the name of the Isle of Skye off the west coast of Scotland. It is sometimes considered a variant of
Sky.
Skylar f & m English (Modern)Variant of
Skyler. Originally more common for boys during the 1980s, it was popularized as a name for girls after it was used on the American soap opera
The Young and the Restless in 1989 and the movie
Good Will Hunting in 1997. Its sharp rise in the United States in 2011 might be attributed to the character Skyler White from the television series
Breaking Bad (2008-2013) or the singer Skylar Grey (1986-), who adopted this name in 2010 after previously going by Holly Brook.
Skyler m & f English (Modern)Variant of
Schuyler, based on the pronunciation of the surname but respelled as if it was a blend of the English word
sky with names such as
Tyler. It was rare before 1980, and first gained popularity as a name for boys. It is now more common for girls, though it is more evenly unisex than the mostly feminine variant
Skylar.
Sláine f & m Old Irish, Irish MythologyFrom Old Irish
slán meaning
"health, safety". This was the name of a legendary high king of Ireland, one of the Fir Bolg. It was also the name of a daughter of the 11th-century high king Brian Boru.
Slavěna f CzechDerived from Czech
slavná meaning
"glorious", a derivative of Old Slavic
slava "glory".
Sława f PolishShort form of names containing the Slavic element
slava meaning
"glory".
Smiljana f Croatian, SerbianFrom the Serbo-Croatian word
smilje, a type of plant, known as everlasting or immortelle in English (genus Helichrysum).
Smilla f Danish, Swedish, LiteratureInvented by the Danish author Peter Høeg for the heroine of his novel
Miss Smilla's Feeling for Snow (1992). In the book the name is explained as a short form of
Smillaaraq, a blend of Danish
smil "smile" and the Greenlandic name
Miillaaraq.
Smiltė f LithuanianMeans
"sandwort" in Lithuanian, referring to flowering plants from the genus Arenaria.
Sneewittchen f LiteratureOlder form of
Schneewittchen (see
Snow White). This was the Low German form originally used by the Brothers Grimm for their adaptation of the folktale
Snow White.
Snieguolė f LithuanianFrom Lithuanian
sniegas meaning
"snow" and a diminutive suffix. As a word,
snieguolė can also mean
"snowdrop flower", while
Snieguolė is also the Lithuanian name for
Snow White.
Snow White f LiteratureEnglish translation of German
Sneewittchen, derived from Low German
Snee "snow" and
witt "white" combined with the diminutive suffix
-chen. This is the name of a girl who escapes her evil stepmother and takes refuge with seven dwarfs in an 1812 story recorded by the Brothers Grimm, who based it on earlier European folktales. The High German translation would be
Schneeweißchen, but this was used by the Grimms for an unrelated character in another story (
Snow-White and Rose-Red). The modern German form is typically the hybrid
Schneewittchen. The story was adapted into a film by Walt Disney in 1937.
Socorro f SpanishMeans
"succour, help, relief" in Spanish. It is taken from the title of the Virgin
Mary María del Socorro meaning "Mary of Perpetual Succour".
Sofia f Greek, Italian, Portuguese, Catalan, Swedish, Norwegian, Danish, German, Finnish, Estonian, Slovak, Romanian, English, Russian, Ukrainian, BulgarianForm of
Sophia used in various languages.
Soile f FinnishPossibly from Finnish
soilu meaning
"glimmer, blaze".
Sok m & f KhmerMeans
"healthy, peaceful, happy, pleasant" in Khmer, ultimately from Sanskrit
सुख (sukha).
Solange f FrenchFrench form of the Late Latin name
Sollemnia, which was derived from Latin
sollemnis "religious". This was the name of a French shepherdess who became a saint after she was killed by her master.
Soledad f SpanishMeans
"solitude" in Spanish. It is taken from the title of the Virgin
Mary,
María de la Soledad, meaning "Mary of Solitude".
Soleil f VariousMeans
"sun" in French. It is not commonly used as a name in France itself.
Sóley f IcelandicMeans
"buttercup (flower)" in Icelandic (genus Ranunculus), derived from
sól "sun" and
ey "island".
Solfrid f NorwegianFrom the Old Norse elements
sól "sun" and
fríðr "beautiful, beloved". This name was coined in the 19th century.
Sólja f FaroeseMeans
"buttercup (flower)" in Faroese (genus Ranunculus). The buttercup is the national flower of the Faroe Islands.
Solveig f Norwegian, Swedish, DanishFrom an Old Norse name, which was derived from the elements
sól "sun" and
veig "strength". This is the name of the heroine in Henrik Ibsen's play
Peer Gynt (1876).
Sona 1 f HindiMeans
"gold" in Hindi, derived from Sanskrit
सुवर्ण (suvarna) meaning literally "good colour".
Sondra f EnglishVariant of
Sandra. It was popularized in the English-speaking world by a character in Theodore Dreiser's novel
An American Tragedy (1925) and the subsequent movie adaptation (1931).
Songül f TurkishFrom Turkish
son meaning "last, final" and
gül meaning "rose".
Sonja f German, Dutch, Swedish, Norwegian, Danish, Icelandic, Finnish, Slovene, Serbian, Croatian, MacedonianForm of
Sonya in various languages.
Sonnhild f German (Rare)From German
Sonne meaning "sun" combined with the Old German element
hilt meaning "battle". This name was created in the modern era.
Sons-ee-ah-ray f ApachePossibly means
"morning star" from Apache
sons-ee-ah-ray. This name was featured in the western movie
Broken Arrow (1950).
Sonsoles f SpanishFrom a Spanish title of the Virgin
Mary,
Nuestra Señora de Sonsoles, meaning "Our Lady of Sonsoles". Sonsoles is a sanctuary in the Spanish province of Ávila, which contains a famous statue of Mary.
Sonya f Russian, EnglishRussian diminutive of
Sophia. This is the name of a character in Leo Tolstoy's novel
War and Peace (1869, English translation 1886).
Sopdet f Egyptian MythologyFrom Egyptian
spdt meaning
"triangle", derived from
spd meaning "to be sharp" and a feminine
t suffix. This was the name of the Egyptian goddess of the star Sirius.
Sophia f English, Greek, German, Ancient GreekMeans
"wisdom" in Greek. This was the name of an early, probably mythical, saint who died of grief after her three daughters were martyred during the reign of the emperor Hadrian. Legends about her probably arose as a result of a medieval misunderstanding of the phrase
Hagia Sophia "Holy Wisdom", which is the name of a large basilica in Constantinople.
... [more] Sophonisba f Phoenician (Latinized), HistoryFrom the Punic name
𐤑𐤐𐤍𐤁𐤏𐤋 (Ṣapanbaʿl) probably meaning
"Ba'al conceals", derived from Phoenician
𐤑𐤐𐤍 (ṣapan) possibly meaning "to hide, to conceal" combined with the name of the god
Ba'al. Sophonisba was a 3rd-century BC Carthaginian princess who killed herself rather than surrender to the Romans. Her name was recorded in this form by Roman historians such as Livy. She later became a popular subject of plays from the 16th century onwards.
Sora f & m JapaneseFrom Japanese
空 (sora) or
昊 (sora) both meaning "sky". Other kanji with the same pronunciations can also form this name.
Sorcha f Irish, Scottish GaelicMeans
"radiant, bright" in Irish. It has been in use since late medieval times. It is sometimes Anglicized as
Sarah (in Ireland) and
Clara (in Scotland).
Sorrel f English (Rare)From the name of the sour tasting plant, derived from Old French
sur "sour", a word of Frankish origin.
Sothy m & f KhmerMeans
"intelligence, wisdom" in Khmer.
Spes f Roman MythologyMeans
"hope" in Latin. In Roman mythology this was the name of the personification of hope.
Spirit f English (Rare)From the English word
spirit, ultimately from Latin
spiritus "breath, energy", a derivative of
spirare "to blow".
Spring f EnglishFrom the name of the season, ultimately from Old English
springan "to leap, to burst forth".
Sprita f EsperantoMeans
"witty, lively" in Esperanto, ultimately from Latin
spiritus "breath, energy".
Srbuhi f ArmenianMeans
"holy woman, female saint" in Armenian, derived from
սուրբ (surb) meaning "holy, sacred".
Stacy f & m EnglishAs a feminine name it is commonly considered a diminutive of
Anastasia, though it was originally used independently of that name, which was rare in America in the 1950s when Stacy began becoming popular. It had earlier been in use as an uncommon masculine name, borrowed from the surname Stacy or Stacey (derived from
Stace, a medieval form of
Eustace).
Star f EnglishFrom the English word for the celestial body, ultimately from Old English
steorra.
Stefani f English, BulgarianEnglish variant and Bulgarian form of
Stephanie. A notable bearer is Stefani Germanotta (1986-), an American singer better known as Lady Gaga.
Stelara f EsperantoFrom Esperanto
stelaro meaning
"constellation", ultimately from Latin
stella "star".
Stella 1 f English, Italian, Dutch, GermanMeans
"star" in Latin. This name was created by the 16th-century poet Philip Sidney for the subject of his collection of sonnets
Astrophel and Stella. It was a nickname of a lover of Jonathan Swift, real name Esther Johnson (1681-1728), though it was not commonly used as a given name until the 19th century. It appears in Tennessee Williams' play
A Streetcar Named Desire (1947), belonging to the sister of Blanche DuBois and the wife of Stanley Kowalski.