ABIELmBiblicalMeans "God is my father" in Hebrew. This was the name of the grandfather of Saul in the Old Testament.
ABIHUmBiblicalMeans "he is my father" in Hebrew. This is the name of a son of
Aaron in the Old Testament. He and his brother Nadab were killed by God because they presented him with unauthorized fire.
ABIJAHm & fBiblicalMeans "my father is
YAHWEH" in Hebrew. In the Old Testament this is the name of several characters, both male and female, including the second king of Judah.
ABIMAELmBiblicalMeaning uncertain, though the first element is likely Hebrew
אָב ('av) meaning "father". In the Old Testament he is listed as a descendant of Shem.
ABIMELECHmBiblicalMeans "my father is king" in Hebrew. This is the name of several characters in the Old Testament including a king of Gerar who takes
Abraham's wife
Sarah, but is forced by God to give her back.
ABIRAMmBiblicalMeans "my father is exalted" in Hebrew. In the Old Testament, Abiram is swallowed by an earthquake after rebelling against the leadership of
Moses.
ABISHAGfBiblicalMeans "my father strays" in Hebrew. In the Old Testament Abishag is a young woman who tends King
David in his old age.
ABISHAImBiblicalMeans "my father is a gift" in Hebrew. In the Old Testament he is one of King
David's heroes.
ABITALfBiblicalMeans "my father is the night dew" in Hebrew. She is the fifth wife of
David in the Old Testament.
ABNERmEnglish, Biblical, Biblical LatinMeans "my father is a light" in Hebrew, from
אָב ('av) meaning "father" and
נִיר (nir) meaning "lamp, light". In the Old Testament, Abner was a cousin of
Saul and the commander of his army. After he killed Asahel he was himself slain by Asahel's brother
Joab. It has been used as an English Christian given name since the Protestant Reformation. It was popular with the Puritans, who brought it to America in the 17th century.
ABRAHAMmEnglish, Hebrew, Spanish, French, Dutch, German, Swedish, Norwegian, Danish, Biblical, Biblical LatinThis name may be viewed either as meaning "father of many" in Hebrew or else as a contraction of
ABRAM (1) and
הָמוֹן (hamon) meaning "many, multitude". The biblical patriarch Abraham was originally named Abram but God changed his name (see Genesis 17:5). With his father
Terah, he led his wife
Sarah, his nephew
Lot and their other followers from Ur into Canaan. He is regarded by Jews as being the founder of the Hebrews through his son
Isaac and by Muslims as being the founder of the Arabs through his son
Ishmael.
... [more] ABSALOMmBiblical, Biblical LatinFrom the Hebrew name
אַבְשָׁלוֹם ('Avshalom) meaning "my father is peace", derived from
אָב ('av) meaning "father" and
שָׁלוֹם (shalom) meaning "peace". In the Old Testament he is a son of King
David. He avenged his sister
Tamar by arranging the murder of her rapist, their half-brother
Amnon. He later led a revolt against his father. While fleeing on the back of a mule he got his head caught in a tree and was killed by
Joab.
ABUmArabicMeans "father of" in Arabic. This is commonly used as an element in a kunya, which is a type of Arabic nickname. The element is combined with the name of one of the bearer's children (usually the eldest son). In some cases the kunya is figurative, not referring to an actual child, as in the case of the Muslim caliph
Abu Bakr.
AHABmBiblical, Biblical LatinMeans "uncle", from Hebrew
אָח ('ach) "brother" and
אֲב ('av) "father". This was the name of a king of Israel, the husband of
Jezebel, as told in the Old Testament. He was admonished by
Elijah for his sinful behaviour. This name was later used by Herman Melville in his novel 'Moby-Dick' (1851), where it belongs to a sea captain obsessively hunting for a white whale.
AITORmBasquePossibly means "good fathers" from Basque
aita "father" and
on "good". This was the name of a legendary ancestor of the Basques.
APOLLOmGreek Mythology (Latinized)From Greek
Απολλων (Apollon), which is of unknown meaning, though perhaps related to Indo-European *
apelo "strength". Another theory states that Apollo can be equated with Appaliunas, an Anatolian god whose name possibly means "father lion" or "father light". The Greeks later associated Apollo's name with the Greek verb
απολλυμι (apollymi) meaning "to destroy". In Greek mythology Apollo was the son of
Zeus and
Leto and the twin of
Artemis. He was the god of prophecy, medicine, music, art, law, beauty, and wisdom. Later he also became the god of the sun and light.
ATTILAmHistory, HungarianPossibly means "little father" from Gothic
atta "father" combined with a diminutive suffix. This was the name of a 5th-century leader of the Huns, a nomadic people from Central Asia who had expanded into Eastern Europe by the 4th century.
Attila was the name given to him by his Gothic-speaking subjects in Eastern Europe; his real name may have been Avithohol.
BABAKmPersian, Ancient PersianMeans "little father" in Persian. This was the name of the father of Ardashir, the founder of the Sassanid Empire in Persia. It was also borne by the 9th-century resistance leader Babak Khorramdin.
CLEOPATRAfAncient Greek (Latinized)From the Greek name
Κλεοπατρα (Kleopatra) which meant "glory of the father", derived from
κλεος (kleos) "glory" combined with
πατηρ (pater) "father" (genitive
πατρος), This was the name of queens of Egypt from the Ptolemaic royal family, including Cleopatra VII, the mistress of both Julius Caesar and Mark Antony. After being defeated by Augustus she committed suicide by allowing herself to be bitten by an asp. Shakespeare's tragedy 'Antony and Cleopatra' (1606) is based on her.
FUm & fChineseFrom Chinese
富 (fù) meaning "abundant, rich, wealthy",
芙 (fú) meaning "hibiscus, lotus" or
甫 (fǔ) meaning "begin, man, father", in addition to other characters with a similar pronunciation. A famous bearer was the 8th-century Tang dynasty poet Du Fu, whose given was
甫.
JOABmBiblicalMeans "
YAHWEH is father" in Hebrew. According to the Old Testament, he was the commander of King
David's army. In separate incidents he killed both
Abner and
Absalom. When
Solomon came to power he was executed.
JUPITERmRoman Mythology (Anglicized)From Latin
Iuppiter, which was ultimately derived from the Indo-European *
Dyeu-pater, composed of the elements
Dyeus (see
ZEUS) and
pater "father". Jupiter was the supreme god in Roman mythology. He presided over the heavens and light, and was responsible for the protection and laws of the Roman state. This is also the name of the fifth and largest planet in the solar system.
MOABmBiblicalMeans "of his father" in Hebrew. In the Old Testament this is the name of a son of
Lot. He was the ancestor of the Moabites, a people who lived in the region called Moab to the east of Israel.
NNAMDImWestern African, IgboMeans "my father is alive" in Igbo. This name is given to a child when it is believed that he is a reincarnation of his grandfather.
NNENNAfWestern African, IgboMeans "father's mother" in Igbo. This name is sometimes given to a child when it is believed that she is a reincarnation of her paternal grandmother.
ODILIAfAncient GermanicDerived from the Germanic element
odal meaning "fatherland" or
aud meaning "wealth, fortune". Saint Odilia (or Odila) was an 8th-century nun who is considered the patron saint of Alsace. She was apparently born blind but gained sight when she was baptized.