AslanmTurkish, Kazakh, Azerbaijani, Chechen, Ossetian, Circassian, Literature From Turkic arslan meaning "lion". This was a byname or title borne by several medieval Turkic rulers, including the Seljuk sultan Alp Arslan (a byname meaning "brave lion") who drove the Byzantines from Anatolia in the 11th century. The author C. S. Lewis later used the name Aslan for the main protagonist (a lion) in his Chronicles of Narnia series of books, first appearing in 1950.
BorismBulgarian, Russian, Slovene, Croatian, Serbian, Macedonian, Czech, Slovak, Georgian, German, French From a Bulgar Turkic name, also recorded as Bogoris, perhaps meaning "short" or "wolf" or "snow leopard". It was borne by the 9th-century Boris I of Bulgaria, who converted his realm to Christianity and is thus regarded as a saint in the Orthodox Church. To the north in Kievan Rus it was the name of another saint, a son of Vladimir the Great who was murdered with his brother Gleb in the 11th century. His mother may have been Bulgarian.... [more]
IsraelmJewish, English, Spanish, Biblical, Biblical Greek From the Hebrew name יִשְׂרָאֵל (Yisra'el) meaning "God contends", from the roots שָׂרָה (sarah) meaning "to contend, to fight" and אֵל ('el) meaning "God". In the Old Testament, Israel (who was formerly named Jacob; see Genesis 32:28) wrestles with an angel. The ancient and modern states of Israel took their names from him.
KimmomFinnish Meaning unknown. It was popularized by Eino Leino's poem Kimmo's Revenge (1902).
LawrencemEnglish Variant of Laurence 1. This spelling of the name is now more common than Laurence in the English-speaking world, probably because Lawrence is the usual spelling of the surname. The surname was borne by the author and poet D. H. Lawrence (1885-1930), as well as the revolutionary T. E. Lawrence (1888-1935), who was known as Lawrence of Arabia.
LeonardomItalian, Spanish, Portuguese Italian, Spanish and Portuguese form of Leonard. A notable bearer was Leonardo da Vinci (1452-1519), an Italian artist and scientist of the Renaissance. He is known as the inventor of several contraptions, including flying machines, as well as the painter of the Mona Lisa. Another famous bearer was Leonardo Fibonacci, a 13th-century Italian mathematician. A more recent bearer is American actor Leonardo DiCaprio (1974-).
LestermEnglish From an English surname that was derived from the name of the city of Leicester, originally denoting a person who was from that place. The city's name is derived from the river name Ligore combined with Latin castra "camp".
MyronmEnglish, Ukrainian, Ancient Greek Derived from Greek μύρον (myron) meaning "sweet oil, perfume". Myron was the name of a 5th-century BC Greek sculptor. Saints bearing this name include a 3rd-century bishop of Crete and a 4th-century martyr from Cyzicus who was killed by a mob. These saints are more widely revered in the Eastern Church, and the name has generally been more common among Eastern Christians. As an English name, it has been used since the 19th century.
OrlandomItalian, Spanish, Portuguese, Carolingian Cycle Italian form of Roland, as used in the epic poems Orlando Innamorato (1483) by Matteo Maria Boiardo and the continuation Orlando Furioso (1532) by Ludovico Ariosto. In the poems, Orlando is a knight in Charlemagne's army who battles against the invading Saracens. A character in Shakespeare's play As You Like It (1599) also bears this name, as does a city in Florida.
PietromItalian Italian form of Peter. Pietro was the given name of the Renaissance painter known as Perugino.
RégismFrench From a French surname meaning "ruler" in Occitan. This name is often given in honour of Saint Jean-François Régis (1597-1640), a French Jesuit priest.
SantiagomSpanish, Portuguese Means "Saint James", derived from Spanish santo "saint" combined with Yago, an old Spanish form of James, the patron saint of Spain. It is the name of the main character in the novella The Old Man and the Sea (1951) by Ernest Hemingway. This also is the name of the capital city of Chile, as well as several other cities in the Spanish-speaking world.
Sharonf & mEnglish, Hebrew From an Old Testament place name, in Hebrew שָׁרוֹן (Sharon) meaning "plain", referring to a fertile plain on the central west coast of Israel. This is also the name of a flowering plant in the Bible, the rose of Sharon, a term now used to refer to several different species of flowers.... [more]
ToddmEnglish From an English surname meaning "fox", derived from Middle English todde. As a given name it was rare before 1930. It peaked in popularity in most parts of the English-speaking world in the 1960s or 70s, but it has since declined.
TravismEnglish From the English surname Travis (a variant of Travers). It was used in America in honour of William Travis (1809-1836), the commander of the Texan forces at the Battle of the Alamo.
TylermEnglish From an English surname meaning "tiler of roofs", derived from Old English tigele "tile". The surname was borne by American president John Tyler (1790-1862).
WaltermEnglish, German, Swedish, Norwegian, Danish, Polish, Italian, Germanic From the Germanic name Waltheri meaning "power of the army", from the elements walt "power, authority" and heri "army". In medieval German tales (notably Waltharius by Ekkehard of Saint Gall) Walter of Aquitaine is a heroic king of the Visigoths. The name was also borne by an 11th-century French saint, Walter of Pontoise. The Normans brought it to England, where it replaced the Old English cognate Wealdhere.... [more]