Arthit m ThaiMeans
"sun" in Thai, derived from the name of the Hindu god
Aditya.
Artur m Portuguese, Galician, Catalan, Polish, Czech, Russian, Ukrainian, Belarusian, German, Estonian, Swedish, Albanian, ArmenianForm of
Arthur in several languages.
Arundhati f Hinduism, HindiThe name of a star (also called Alcor), which was named after a type of climbing plant, possibly meaning "not restrained" in Sanskrit. In Hindu belief it is the name of the sage Vasishtha's wife, who is identified with the star.
Arushi f Hinduism, HindiFrom Sanskrit
अरुष (arusha) meaning
"reddish, dawn", a word used in the
Rigveda to describe the red horses of
Agni. This name also appears in the Hindu epic the
Mahabharata belonging to a daughter of
Manu and the wife of Chyavana, though in this case it might derive from Sanskrit
आरुषी (arushi) meaning
"hitting, killing".
Åsa f SwedishShort form of Old Norse feminine names beginning with the element
áss "god".
Asaph m BiblicalMeans
"collector" in Hebrew. This name belongs to several minor characters in the Old Testament.
Åse f Norwegian, Swedish, DanishNorwegian form of
Åsa, as well as a Swedish and Danish variant. It was used by the Norwegian dramatist Henrik Ibsen in his play
Peer Gynt (1867), where it belongs to the mother of the title character.
Asger m DanishFrom the Old Norse name
Ásgeirr, derived from the elements
áss meaning "god" and
geirr meaning "spear". It is a cognate of
Ansgar.
Asghar m Arabic, PersianMeans
"smallest, youngest" in Arabic. It is used by Shias in honour of Ali al-Asghar, a young son of
Husayn killed with his father.
Asif m Arabic, UrduPossibly derived from the Hebrew name
Asaph. In the Quran
27:40 an unnamed person magically transports the Queen of Sheba's throne to Solomon's court. According to some Islamic traditions, the person's name was Asif (or Asaf) and he was Solomon's vizier.
Aslaug f NorwegianDerived from the Old Norse elements
áss meaning "god" and
laug possibly meaning "vowed, promised, bound in oath".
Åsne f NorwegianFrom the Old Norse name
Ásný, derived from the elements
áss "god" and
nýr "new".
Asse m FrisianOriginally a short form of Germanic names beginning with the elements
asc meaning
"ash tree" or
ansi meaning
"god".
Assol f Russian (Rare), LiteratureFrom the 1923 Russian novel
Scarlet Sails by Alexander Grin, adapted into a 1961 Soviet movie. In the story, Assol is a young girl who is told by a prophetic old man that she will one day marry a prince. The meaning of the name is not uncertain, but it has been suggested that it was inspired by the Russian question
а соль (a sol) meaning
"and the salt?".
Astrid f Swedish, Norwegian, Danish, German, French, EnglishModern Scandinavian form of
Ástríðr. This name was borne by the Swedish writer Astrid Lindgren (1907-2002), the author of
Pippi Longstocking. It was also borne by a Swedish princess (1905-1935) who became the queen of Belgium as the wife of Leopold III.
Athaliah f & m BiblicalPossibly means
"Yahweh is exalted" in Hebrew. In the Old Testament this is both a feminine and masculine name. It was borne by the daughter of
Ahab and
Jezebel, who later came to rule Judah as a queen.
Athena f Greek Mythology, EnglishMeaning unknown. Athena was the Greek goddess of wisdom and warfare and the patron goddess of the city of Athens in Greece. It is likely that her name is derived from that of the city, not vice versa. The earliest mention of her seems to be a 15th-century BC Mycenaean Greek inscription from Knossos on Crete.
... [more] Attila m History, Hungarian, TurkishProbably 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 likely the name given to him by his Gothic-speaking subjects in Eastern Europe; his real name may have been Avitohol.
Attilio m ItalianItalian form of the Roman family name
Atilius, which is of unknown Etruscan origin. Marcus Atilius Regulus was a Roman consul and hero of the First Punic War.
Aubrey m & f EnglishFrom
Auberi, an Old French form of
Alberich brought to England by the Normans. It was common in the Middle Ages, and was revived in the 19th century. Since the mid-1970s it has more frequently been given to girls, due to Bread's 1972 song
Aubrey along with its similarity to the established feminine name
Audrey.
Audrey f English, FrenchMedieval diminutive of
Æðelþryð. This was the name of a 7th-century saint, a princess of East Anglia who founded a monastery at Ely. It was also used by William Shakespeare for a character in his comedy
As You Like It (1599). At the end of the Middle Ages the name became rare due to association with the word
tawdry (which was derived from
St. Audrey, the name of a fair where cheap lace was sold), but it was revived in the 19th century. A famous bearer was British actress Audrey Hepburn (1929-1993).
Augustine 1 m EnglishFrom the Roman name
Augustinus, itself derived from the Roman name
Augustus. Saint Augustine of Hippo was a 5th-century Christian theologian and author from North Africa. For his contributions to Christian philosophy he is known as a Doctor of the Church. Due to his renown, the name came into general use in the Christian world. It became popular in England in the Middle Ages partly because of a second saint by this name, Augustine of Canterbury, a 6th-century Italian monk sent to England to convert the Anglo-Saxons.
Augustus m Ancient Roman, Dutch (Rare)Means
"exalted, venerable", derived from Latin
augere meaning "to increase". Augustus was the title given to
Octavian, the first Roman emperor. He was the adopted son of Julius Caesar who rose to power through a combination of military skill and political prowess. In 26 BC the senate officially gave him the name
Augustus, and after his death it was used as a title for subsequent emperors. This was also the name of three kings of Poland (
August in Polish).
Ava 3 f German, GermanicOriginally a short form of Germanic names beginning with the element
awi, of unknown meaning. This was the name of a 9th-century Frankish saint. It was also borne by a 12th-century poet from Melk, Austria.
Aveline f English (Rare)From the Norman French form of the Germanic name
Avelina, a diminutive of
Avila. The Normans introduced this name to Britain. After the Middle Ages it became rare as an English name, though it persisted in America until the 19th century.
Avis f EnglishProbably a Latinized form of the Germanic name
Aveza, which was derived from the element
awi, of unknown meaning. The Normans introduced this name to England and it became moderately common during the Middle Ages, at which time it was associated with Latin
avis "bird".
Avtandil m Georgian, LiteratureCreated by the Georgian poet Shota Rustaveli for his 12th-century epic
The Knight in the Panther's Skin. Rustaveli based it on Persian
آفتاب (aftab) meaning "sunshine" and
دل (del) meaning "heart". In the poem Avtandil is a knight who is sent by
Tinatin to search for the mysterious knight of the title.
Ayaz m Turkish, Azerbaijani, UrduFrom Turkish and Azerbaijani
ayaz meaning
"frost" or
"dry and cold air". This was the name of a slave and later companion of the 11th-century sultan Mahmud of Ghazni.
Ayda f Arabic, Persian, TurkishMeans
"returning, visitor" in Arabic. In Turkey this is also associated with
ay meaning "moon".
Ayla 3 f Literature, English (Modern)Created for the novel
Clan of the Cave Bear (1980) by author Jean M. Auel. In the novel Ayla is an orphaned Cro-Magnon girl adopted by Neanderthals.
Ayla is the Neanderthal pronunciation of her real name, which is not given.
... [more] Azariah m BiblicalMeans
"Yahweh has helped" in Hebrew, derived from
עָזַר ('azar) meaning "help" and
יָה (yah) referring to the Hebrew God. This is the name of many Old Testament characters including of one of the three men the Babylonian king ordered cast into a fiery furnace. His Babylonian name was
Abednego.
Azaziah m BiblicalMeans
"Yahweh is strong" in Hebrew. This is the name of three minor characters in the Old Testament.
Azélie f French (Rare)Perhaps a form of
Azalaïs. It was borne by Saint Marie-Azélie Guérin (1831-1877), also called Zélie, the mother of Thérèse of Lisieux.
Aziz m Arabic, Persian, Turkish, Urdu, Uzbek, Kyrgyz, TajikMeans
"powerful, respected, beloved" in Arabic, derived from the root
عزّ ('azza) meaning "to be powerful" or "to be cherished". In Islamic tradition
العزيز (al-'Aziz) is one of the 99 names of Allah. A notable bearer of the name was Al-'Aziz, a 10th-century Fatimid caliph.
Azrael m Judeo-Christian-Islamic LegendVariant of
Azriel. This was the name of an angel in Jewish and Islamic tradition who separated the soul from the body upon death. He is sometimes referred to as the Angel of Death.
Azriel m BiblicalMeans
"my help is God", derived from Hebrew
עָזַר ('azar) meaning "help" and
אֵל ('el) meaning "God". This is the name of three minor characters in the Old Testament.
Ba'al m Semitic Mythology, Biblical HebrewHebrew form of Semitic
ba'l meaning
"lord, master, possessor". This was the title of various deities, often associated with storms and fertility, who were worshipped by the Canaanites, Phoenicians, and other peoples of the ancient Near East. It was particularly applied to the god
Hadad.
Babylas m Late Greek, French (Rare)Derived from the name of the ancient Mesopotamian city of Babylon. Saint Babylas was a 3rd-century patriarch of Antioch who was martyred during the reign of the Roman emperor Decius.
Bakır m TurkishTurkish form of
Baqir. It coincides with the Turkish word
bakır meaning "copper".
Bala 1 m & f Hinduism, TamilMeans
"young" in Sanskrit. This is a transcription of both the masculine form
बाल and the feminine form
बाला (a minor Hindu goddess).
Baldric m English (Archaic)Derived from the Old German elements
bald "bold, brave" and
rih "ruler, king". It was borne by a 7th-century Frankish saint, the founder of the monastery of Montfaucon. The Normans introduced this name to Britain, and it was common in the Middle Ages.
Baldwin m English, GermanicMeans
"bold friend", derived from the Old German elements
bald "bold, brave" and
wini "friend". In the Middle Ages this was a popular name in Flanders and among the Normans, who brought it to Britain. It was borne by one of the leaders of the First Crusade, an 11th-century nobleman from Flanders. After the crusaders conquered Jerusalem, he was crowned as the king of the Kingdom of Jerusalem.
Baptiste m FrenchMeans
"baptist" in French, originally deriving from Greek
βάπτω (bapto) meaning "to dip". This name is usually given in honour of Saint John the Baptist, and as such it is often paired with the name
Jean.
Barbara f English, Italian, French, German, Polish, Hungarian, Slovene, Croatian, Dutch, Swedish, Danish, Norwegian, Late RomanDerived from Greek
βάρβαρος (barbaros) meaning
"foreign". According to legend, Saint Barbara was a young woman killed by her father Dioscorus, who was then killed by a bolt of lightning. She is the patron of architects, geologists, stonemasons and artillerymen. Because of her renown, the name came into general use in the Christian world in the Middle Ages. In England it became rare after the Protestant Reformation, but it was revived in the 19th century.
Barbe f FrenchFrench form of
Barbara. In modern times it is usually only used in reference to the saint, while
Barbara is more common as a given name.
Bård m NorwegianNorwegian form of the Old Norse name
Bárðr, which was derived from the elements
bǫð "battle" and
friðr "peace".
Bartholomew m English, BiblicalEnglish form of
Βαρθολομαῖος (Bartholomaios), which was the Greek form of an Aramaic name meaning
"son of Talmai". In the New Testament
Bartholomew is the byname of an apostle, possibly the same person as the apostle
Nathanael. According to tradition he was a missionary to India before returning westward to Armenia, where he was martyred by flaying. Due to the popularity of this saint the name became common in England during the Middle Ages.
Baruch m Biblical, Biblical Latin, HebrewMeans
"blessed" in Hebrew. In the Old Testament this is the name of a companion of the prophet Jeremiah, acting as his scribe and assistant. The deuterocanonical Book of Baruch was supposedly written by him. A famous bearer was Baruch Spinoza (1632-1677), a Dutch-Jewish rationalist philosopher.
Basil 1 m EnglishFrom the Greek name
Βασίλειος (Basileios), which was derived from
βασιλεύς (basileus) meaning
"king". Saint Basil the Great was a 4th-century bishop of Caesarea and one of the fathers of the early Christian church. Due to him, the name (in various spellings) has come into general use in the Christian world, being especially popular among Eastern Christians. It was also borne by two Byzantine emperors.
Bathilde f French (Rare)Derived from the Old German elements
batu and
hilt, which both mean
"battle". This is another name used to refer to Saint
Balthild. It is also borne by a character in Adolphe Adam's ballet
Giselle (1841).
Bathsheba f BiblicalMeans
"daughter of the oath" in Hebrew. According to the Old Testament, this was the name of a woman married to
Uriah the Hittite. She became pregnant by King
David, so he arranged to have her husband killed in battle and then married her. She was the mother of
Solomon.
Batraz m Ossetian, Caucasian MythologyPossibly from Turkic
bagatur meaning
"hero, warrior, brave". This is the name of the leader of the superhuman Narts in Caucasian mythology.
Baudilio m SpanishFrom
Baudilius, a Latinized form of a possibly Frankish name formed of the element
bald "bold, brave". Saint Baudilius (or Baudilus) was a 3rd or 4th-century saint who was martyred at Nîmes in France.