Browse Names - Behind the Name

Val m & f English
Short form of Valentine 1, Valerie and other names beginning with Val.

Valya f & m Russian, Bulgarian
Diminutive of Valentina or Valentin.

Vân f & m Vietnamese
From Sino-Vietnamese 雲 (vân) meaning "cloud".

Vanja m & f Croatian, Serbian, Slovene, Swedish, Norwegian
Croatian, Serbian and Slovene (masculine and feminine) form of Vanya. It is also used in Scandinavia, where it is primarily feminine.

Vanna 2 f & m Khmer
From Khmer វណ្ណ (von) meaning "colour", ultimately from Sanskrit वर्ण (varna).

Vaska m & f Russian, Macedonian, Bulgarian
Russian diminutive of Vasiliy (masculine) or a Macedonian and Bulgarian diminutive of Vasilija (feminine).

Veasna m & f Khmer
Means "fate, destiny" in Khmer, ultimately from Sanskrit वासना (vasana) meaning "imagination, impression".

Vesper m & f Roman Mythology, Dutch (Modern)
Latin cognate of Hesperos. This name was used by the British author Ian Fleming for a female character, a love interest of James Bond, in his novel Casino Royale (1953). She also appears in the film adaptations of 1967 and 2006.

Vic m & f English
Short form of Victor or Victoria.

Vieno f & m Finnish (Rare)
Means "gentle" in Finnish.

Vijaya m & f Hinduism, Telugu, Kannada, Tamil, Malayalam, Marathi, Hindi
Means "victory" in Sanskrit. This is a transcription of both the masculine form विजय and the feminine form विजया, both of which are used frequently in Hindu texts. It is the name of a grandson of Indra, a son of Krishna and it is another name of the goddess Durga. This was also the name of a semi-legendary 6th-century BC king of Sri Lanka.

Vinh m & f Vietnamese
From Sino-Vietnamese 榮 (vinh) meaning "glory".

Vinnie m & f English
Diminutive of Vincent and other names containing vin.

Vivian m & f English, Swedish, Norwegian, Danish
From the Latin name Vivianus, which was derived from Latin vivus "alive". Saint Vivian was a French bishop who provided protection during the Visigoth invasion of the 5th century. It has been occasionally used as an English (masculine) name since the Middle Ages. In modern times it is also used as a feminine name, in which case it is either an Anglicized form of Bébinn or a variant of Vivien 2.

Vlasta f & m Czech, Slovak, Croatian, Serbian, Slovene
Originally a short form of names beginning with the Slavic element volstĭ meaning "power, rule, sovereignty". Descendants of this word include Czech vlast "homeland" and Serbo-Croatian vlast "power". It is sometimes masculine in Czech and Serbian.

Vosgi f & m Armenian
Alternate transcription of Armenian Ոսկի (see Voski).

Voski f & m Armenian
Means "gold" in Armenian.

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