ALESIA f EnglishPossibly a variant of
ALICIA, or maybe from the ancient Gaulish city of Alesia.
ALETA f EnglishPossibly a variant of
ALETHEA. This was the name of the wife of the title character in the comic strip 'Prince Valiant' which first appeared in 1937.
ALEXANDRIA f EnglishFeminine form of
ALEXANDER. Alexander the Great founded several cities by this name (or renamed them) as he extended his empire eastward. The most notable of these is Alexandria in Egypt, founded by Alexander in 331 BC.
ALYSSA f EnglishVariant of
ALICIA. The spelling has probably been influenced by that of the alyssum flower, the name of which is derived from Greek
α (a), a negative prefix, combined with
λυσσα (lyssa) "madness, rabies", since it was believed to cure madness.
AMELIA f English, Spanish, Italian, Polish, Dutch, German, Ancient GermanicVariant of
AMALIA, though it is sometimes confused with
EMILIA, which has a different origin. The name became popular in England after the German House of Hanover came to the British throne in the 18th century - it was borne by daughters of George II and George III. Another famous bearer was Amelia Earhart (1897-1937), the first woman to make a solo flight over the Atlantic Ocean.
ARABELLA f EnglishMedieval Scottish name, probably a variant of
ANNABEL. It has long been associated with Latin
orabilis meaning "invokable".
ARJA f FinnishVariant of
IRJA. The Finnish poet Eino Leino used it in his poem 'Arja and Selinä' (1916), though belonging to a male character.
AVA (1) f EnglishVariant of
EVE. A famous bearer was the American actress Ava Gardner (1922-1990).
CIARA (2) f English (Modern)Variant of
SIERRA. Use of the name has perhaps been influenced by the brand of perfume called Ciara, which was introduced by Revlon in 1973.
CLEMENCY f English (Rare)Medieval variant of
CLEMENCE. It can also simply mean "clemency, mercy" from the English word, ultimately from Latin
clemens "merciful".
CRESSIDA f LiteratureMedieval form of
CHRYSEIS. Various medieval tales describe her as a woman of Troy, daughter of Calchus, who leaves her Trojan lover Troilus for the Greek hero Diomedes. Shakespeare's play 'Troilus and Cressida' (1602) was based on these tales.
CYBILL f English (Rare)Variant of
SIBYL. This name was borne by actress Cybill Shepherd (1950-), who was named after her grandfather Cy and her father Bill.
DEANNA f EnglishEither a variant of
DIANA or a feminine form of
DEAN. This name was popularized by the Canadian actress and singer Deanna Durbin (1921-), whose birth name was Edna. Her stage name was a rearrangement of the letters of her real name.
DENA f EnglishPossibly a short form of names ending with
dena. It has also been used as a variant of
DEANNA.
DEVON m & f EnglishVariant of
DEVIN. It may also be partly inspired by the name of the county of Devon in England, which got its name from the Dumnonii, a Celtic tribe.